Mentoring for Birth Workers

 

Thoughtful, compassionate guidance along your journey.

Whether you’re looking for help on the business side of things, navigating complicated situations with your clients, or learning new skills, we’d love to support you!

Our doula practice focuses on helping our clients find wisdom within themselves, rather than viewing us as experts who will tell them what is best. We love supporting birth workers in the same way - we’d love to help you find ways to build on your strengths to create a practice that serves both you and your clients beautifully!

Many new and aspiring birth workers have trouble finding a mentor in their local community. We offer virtual sessions via Zoom to support you wherever you are.

We were lucky to find amazing mentors when we were getting started as doulas. We can speak firsthand to the immense value of a mentoring relationship and the huge difference it made in helping us create a practice that really felt like ours.

You deserve support just like your clients do, and we’re here to help!

Rates

  • 30 minute session: $85

  • 1-2 hour session: $150

  • Bundle of three 30-minute sessions: $225

  • Bundle of three 1-2 hour sessions: $400

 

How it works

  1. When you register, decide if you’d like to book a 30 minute session, a 1-2 hour session, or a bundle of 3 sessions.

  2. Depending on your needs, we’ll decide if Marlee or Megan would be a better fit for you.

  3. We’ll email you a link to book your first session.

  4. We’ll meet on Zoom for our conversation.

  5. Keep in touch! Schedule another session anytime.

Times when extra support can make all the difference

  • You’re deciding whether you want to pursue birth work, or how to get started

  • It’s time to set up your business and you want some guidance

  • You’re anticipating situations you might encounter as you work with clients and want to prepare

  • You want support working through a challenge that has arisen in your practice

  • Your practice doesn’t feel sustainable and you’re looking for ways to make it work

 

Examples of topics we can work through together
(plus anything else you want to talk about!)

Laptop on desk with plants doula business mentor

Business topics

  • Deciding on a training organization that fits your goals and values

  • Creating your website

  • Formalizing your business structure

  • Drafting your contracts

  • Setting your prices

  • Creating systems in your business

  • Software options to help run your practice more smoothly

  • Deciding if, when, and how to add other services to your practice

  • Meaningful networking strategies

Communication skills

  • Navigating pricing conversations with prospective clients

  • Discussing controversial topics with your clients

  • Meaningful ways to share information with your clients that doesn’t feel overwhelming

  • How to move forward when your client doesn’t want more information about a certain topic

  • Ways to support your clients who make choices you wouldn’t choose

  • Answering the question, “What do you think I should do?”

 

Creating a sustainable practice

Summer forest path with bluebells virtual doula mentor

  • Care practices to support your body, mind, and soul

  • Navigating places where you’re feeling stuck in your business

  • Debriefing from difficult experiences in your work

  • How your values show up in your practice

  • Navigating virtual birth work

  • Maintaining a schedule that works for your life

  • Creating and holding boundaries in your practice

  • Navigating relationships with other birth professionals

  • How to find back-up doulas

  • Exploring partnership models

 

Support for birth doulas

  • Conducting meaningful prenatal and postpartum visits

  • What advocacy can look like as a birth doula

  • Working with clients who have a high-risk pregnancy

  • Strategies for supporting clients in a hospital setting

  • Navigating inductions with your clients

  • Handling long births

  • How to support for clients who have an epidural

  • Supporting cesarean births, both scheduled and unexpected

  • Working with clients planning a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean)

  • Working with clients experiencing anxiety and/or depression

  • What to do if your client loses their baby during pregnancy or birth

 

Support for postpartum doulas

Queer parents smiling with newborn postpartum doula mentor

  • Deciding on your focus/specialty

  • Defining your boundaries

  • Creating service packages

  • Setting your schedule

  • Working with nontraditional families

  • Navigating feeding challenges with clients

  • Supporting clients who had a difficult birth experience

  • What to do if clients ask you to do something that doesn’t feel safe

  • What advocacy can look like as a postpartum doula

  • Working with clients experiencing anxiety and/or depression

 

Support for lactation professionals

Parent pumping milk lactation counselor training
 

  • Learning skills to improve your lactation/feeding support

  • Discussing pumping and bottle feeding with your clients

  • How to support clients who are bottle feeding and nursing

  • Working with clients who are exclusively pumping

  • Supporting clients who are exclusively formula feeding

  • What advocacy can look like as a lactation professional

  • Recognizing when additional resources could be helpful

  • Deciding whether and how to pursue additional lactation training

 

Support for bereavement doulas

Raindrops making ripples in water stillbirth doula mentoring

  • What to say and what not to say when a client loses their baby

  • Helping your clients navigate their options if their baby has a fatal diagnosis

  • Navigating second and third trimester inductions when the baby is not expected to live

  • What advocacy can look like as a bereavement doula

  • Ways to make a hospital stay more tolerable after a loss

  • Meaningful ways to support your clients postpartum

  • Caring for yourself in this heavy work