Hi Reader,

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Are you…

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A. Exploring a career as a healing or helping professional?

B. Thinking about being a doula?

C. Trained as a doula but just getting started?

D. A doula with a thriving practice?

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Most people who end up at D started at A. But most people who start at A think of more traditional helping and healing roles, such as being a therapist, nurse, body worker, doctor, or social worker, and never considering being a doula.

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What a missed opportunity!
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The fact is, many people don’t even know about doulas or have a limited understanding of doulas. Let’s see about your doula IQ and whether you know about the benefits of being a doula. Take this TRUE or FALSE quiz:
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1. Doulas work in birth, postpartum, and death
2. Doulas have to be certified
3. Being a doula is a part-time job or hobby
4. A doula can’t make a living off their work
5. Doulas and coaches are the same thing

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Now, let’s check your understanding of doulas:

1. Doulas work with birth, postpartum, and death — True, but there are so many other doula roles! Over twenty to be exact! Doula support is available for any of life’s challenging situations—miscarriage, fertility, adoption, divorce, cancer care, surgery, menopause, pet loss, dementia, psychedelic therapy—but we need more doulas in those areas. Curious to learn more about these roles? Check out my book on 26 different doula roles here.​
2. Doulas have to be certified — False. There are currently no laws, regulations, or licenses that apply to doulas anywhere in the world (some jurisdictions have tried…and failed). Doulas can choose to get certified by a doula organization, and some programs that use doulas may require their doulas to be certified, but it is not a legal requirement to work as a doula.
3. Being a doula is a part-time job or hobby — It can be. It can also be full-time work and a 20+ year career.
4. A doula can’t make a living off their work — False. Many doulas support themselves and their families with their doula work. Others choose to keep their work part-time and contribute to their family’s income with their doula work. The best thing is that doulas can decide how much (or how little) they want to work. They can take fewer clients when they have other work or their kids are small. They can add clients when the kids are in school or they want to focus solely on their doula career.
5. Doulas and coaches are the same thing — False. Doulas work with clients for a focused period of time around a particular stressful life event. Coaches tend to work with clients over a longer period of time. Doulas also attend those events with their client, offering in-person support, hands-on relaxation and comfort techniques, decision-making tools, and emotional processing. Listen to my recent podcast appearance describing the difference between doulas and coaches for more information:

​Listen on Apple Podcasts​

​Listen on Spotify​

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Wherever you are in the process of being a healing or helping professional, each step has its advantages and challenges:

• When you are in the exploratory phase, your options are wide open but you may feel overwhelmed and not know which direction to go. Here’s the solution for that.​
• If you are thinking about being a doula, choosing the right doula role or doula training is a crucial decision that you may not have any guidance for. Here’s the solution for that.​
• If you’ve trained as a doula but don’t know how to grow your business (especially if you didn’t know you’d need to start a business), you may feel disillusioned without having clients to serve. Here’s the solution for that.​
• If you have a thriving doula practice, please tell me about it! What was your process to become a doula and what has made your career successful? I may want to feature you in an upcoming newsletter or book. Just reply to this email.​

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And remember this important fact: You can start out as a doula

🌟 without student debt

🌟 in as little as a 40-hour training

Imagine, a thriving career you can begin almost immediately to bring you years of satisfaction. 😇

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As you know, I work primarily with the As, Bs, and Cs to become a D. If you need help along the way, schedule a free consultation with me to help you on your way.

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Here’s to what you want to do in the world 🥂

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Carrie

Author, ​So You Want to Be a Doula​​

​​​Website​​​​

​​See all past issues​​

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P.S. Doula Magic, my 3-hour course for people wanting to explore the healing and helping professionals and the doula role, is just the thing for you As and Bs! And it’s coming up soon on June 25. 🪄 Get the details and sign up here. 🪄
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