DONA International (formerly Doulas of North America) was founded in 1992 and is the first and largest
doula
A doula () is a trained professional who provides expert guidance for the service of others and who supports another person (the doula's client) through a significant health-related experience, such as childbirth, miscarriage, induced abortion o ...
training and certification organization.
The current president of the non-profit is Nikia Lawson.
History
In the 1980s,
Dr. Marshall Klaus,
Dr. John H. Kennell, Phyllis Klaus, Penny Simkin, and Annie Kennedy first formed a partnership of doulas and medical professionals.
Klaus (1927-2017), a
neonatologist
Neonatology is a subspecialty of pediatrics that consists of the medical care of newborn infants, especially the ill or premature newborn. It is a hospital-based specialty, and is usually practised in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The ...
, and Kennell (1922-2013),
a
pediatrician
Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...
, gave credibility to doulas Phyllis Klaus, Simkin, and Kennedy
by supporting their work through the research of
parent-child bonding
Human bonding is the process of development of a close, interpersonal relationship between two or more people. It most commonly takes place between family members or friends, but can also develop among groups, such as sporting teams and whenever ...
in the 1960s at
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...
.
Doulas Of North America (DONA) was formally founded in 1992 and the organization was the first of its kind to both train and certify the non-medical birth support of doulas and marked the start of professional doulas on a nationwide basis.
Kennedy (who had originally founded the Pacific Association of Labor Support in 1989 in Seattle, WA with Simkin alongside the doula training at Seattle Midwifery School) become the first president of the organization.
In 2004, the organization re-branded as DONA International.
By 2016, there were 12,000 doulas certified through the organization.
Training and certification
DONA International offers
birth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...
and
postpartum
The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to end within 6 weeks as the mother's body, including hormone levels and uterus size, returns to a non-pregnant state. The terms puerperium, puerperal perio ...
doula training and certification. To certify as a birth doula, an in-person workshop is mandatory, along with supplementary text reading, breastfeeding training and childbirth education, clients experience, business training, essay, and references. The in-person workshop is taught by approved trainers who are able to the required coursework which includes emotional support, physical support or comfort measures, communication, interventions, ethics and professional behavior.
Advocacy
DONA International has five advocacy areas:
* Doula profession promotion and credibility
*
Health disparities
Health equity arises from access to the social determinants of health, specifically from wealth, power and prestige. Individuals who have consistently been deprived of these three determinants are significantly disadvantaged from health inequiti ...
and inequities
* Insurance payment
* Legislative action
* Research and data collection
References
External links
DONA International
{{Authority control
Childbirth
Women's health