Getting certified is a step that many doulas take in their professional career, but it is not required. This page is designed to give you more information about the doula certification process to determine if this is right for you.

Please note: You do NOT need to decide whether to pursue certification until after your training.

Why do people get certified as a birth or postpartum doula?

Certification not only establishes credibility but also ensures doulas meet professional standards within our field. Many doulas love the information they learn in their training and want to dive deeper into the content related to pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum time.

Additionally, certification can open up more opportunities for work in hospitals, birthing centers, or private practice since many clients prefer or require a certified doula. For some, it’s also about becoming part of a professional community with shared resources, mentorship, and continued education.

In the Midwest, you may find your certification is required to work for non-profits and local community-based organizations. For example, my goal to get certified quickly as a new doula was to be able to support young moms through the Young Women’s Resource Center in Des Moines. Their funding was through a grant that would provide payments for doulas who were certified.

Currently, we are seeing a bigger demand for doula support through employee benefit programs. For example, Carrot Fertility Benefits will pay for certified doula support for birth and up to six weeks of postpartum support, too.

Steps to Certification

Attend a Training. All of the trainings I teach are approved trainings through Perinatal Professionals Association. I’ve done all of the “behind the scenes” work to make sure your training covers all of the required topics–and more!
Become a member of our partner certification company, Perinatal Professionals Association.
Enroll in the Certification Program through Perinatal Professionals Association.
Complete Cert Points. You will choose from a menu of activities to obtain certification. Some people will have their cert points done a few weeks while others will take the full year. Certification steps are done at your own pace.
Complete Exams. Don’t worry-these are open book and untimed exams!
Agree to policies.