Ready to become a postpartum doula, but not quite sure where to start?
Nurtured Doula Trainings offers in-person Postpartum Doula Training in Iowa and select locations throughout the Midwest, along with live online training. You’ll learn how to care for newborns, support recovering parents, help with feeding and rest, and handle the everyday situations that come up when you’re working in a family’s home.
Your training doesn’t end when class is over. You’ll have continued mentorship, help getting your business started, and guidance if you decide to pursue professional certification.
Train to become a postpartum doula. Get ready for your first clients. Build a career you love.
Feel Ready to Support Your First Postpartum Family
Postpartum doula training should give you more than information about newborns and recovery. It should prepare you to walk into a family’s home and know how to support them with confidence.
With Nurtured Doula Trainings, you’ll learn how to support families through the realities of the early postpartum weeks, from newborn care and feeding support to recovery, rest, household transitions, and helping new parents find their footing.
You’ll also practice the hands-on skills you’ll use with real families and learn what professional postpartum doula work actually looks like, including how to structure a shift, communicate with clients, stay within your scope of practice, and provide the calm, practical support families are looking for.
Your training also includes a 2-Hour Lactation Workshop specifically for Postpartum Doulas, with practical information to help you support breastfeeding families while staying within your scope of practice. You’ll receive a Certificate of Attendance that you can add to your professional credentials and share with prospective families. Angela Swieter, IBCLC is the lactation instructor during most in person and online trainings.
We also know that being a great postpartum doula is only part of building a career. Your training will also cover what comes next: starting your business, finding clients, preparing for your first shifts, and deciding whether professional certification is right for you.
Your training includes:
✓ Comprehensive live Postpartum Doula Training
✓ Hands-on newborn care practice during in-person trainings
✓ Practical postpartum support skills you can use with your first clients
✓ 2-Hour Lactation Workshop for Postpartum Doulas + Certificate of Attendance
✓ Business start-up education and professional resources
✓ Digital resource library to continue learning after training
✓ Post-training group mentorship for the questions that come up once you begin working with families
✓ A straightforward, optional path to professional postpartum doula certification
Looking For an In-Person Doula Training in Iowa or the Midwest?
Want to learn postpartum doula skills in person? Nurtured Doula Trainings offers in-person Postpartum Doula Training in the Des Moines, Iowa area, along with select training dates throughout the Midwest.
Live online Postpartum Doula Training is also available for future doulas who prefer to learn from home or aren’t located near an upcoming in-person training.
Upcoming In-Person Postpartum Doula Training
Des Moines / Waukee, Iowa
- October 13-14, 2026 from 8:30am-6:30pm CST in Des Moines, IA (In Person)
Live Online Postpartum Doula Training
Can’t make it to Iowa? Live online training gives you real-time instruction, discussion, and access to your trainer from home. You’ll still be part of a live training experience where you can ask questions, work through real-world postpartum scenarios, and learn alongside other future doulas.
- November 12, 17, 18, 2026 from 8:30am-3:30pm CST (Online)
Before You Choose a Doula Training, Choose Your Trainer
There are a lot of doula training and certification options out there. So how do you choose the right one?
We believe you should choose your trainer for your education experience. This is the foundation of your new career and you want to learn from someone you connect with and who has a lot of experience in this field. Choose your certification organization for your credentials and reputation.
Your trainer is the person who will prepare you to actually support families. Before registering for any doula training, take a little time to learn about the person who will be teaching you.
Look for a trainer who:
✓ Has real experience supporting postpartum families and understands the realities of working in clients’ homes
✓ Is familiar with both daytime and overnight postpartum support, newborn care, feeding, recovery, and the changing needs of families during the early weeks
✓ Teaches practical skills, not just information you need to complete a course
✓ Understands the professional side of postpartum doula work, including client expectations, boundaries, scope of practice, scheduling, and building a sustainable business
✓ Stays connected to the doula profession and understands what families are looking for from postpartum support today
✓ Offers continued support after training when the real-world questions start coming
Nurtured Doula Trainings are taught by Katie Nyberg, a professional doula since 2010, doula trainer since 2016, and owner of an active Iowa doula agency. What you learn is shaped by what’s happening with new parents, their babies, and doula businesses right now.
Nurtured Postpartum Doula Training is taught by Katie Nyberg, an experienced doula, doula trainer since 2016, and owner of an active Iowa doula agency. The training is shaped by years of working with postpartum families and by what families are asking for from professional postpartum doulas right now.
Before you register, you’re welcome to talk with Katie. Ask questions about the training, postpartum doula work, certification, or what getting started in this career could look like for you.
Choose the Support You Want After Doula Training
Every package includes the same comprehensive Postpartum Doula Training, professional resource book, group mentorship, and business start-up guidance.
Want a little more help getting started? Plus and Premium Packages add professional tools, continued coaching, and more one-on-one support as you prepare to work with your first postpartum families.
Essential Training Package:
$620
Everything you need to build a strong foundation as a professional doula, with comprehensive training, continued group mentorship, and practical guidance to help you confidently get started.
✓ Postpartum Doula Training & Two-Hour Breastfeeding Workshop
✓ Resource Book: The Doula’s Guide to Supporting New Parents
✓ Post-Training Group Mentorship
✓ Post-Training Business Startup Guidance
Plus Training Package:
$790
Everything in Essential, plus practical tools and personalized support to help you feel prepared and confident as you begin working with clients.
✓ Postpartum Doula Training & Two-Hour Breastfeeding Workshop
✓ Resource Book: The Doula’s Guide to Supporting New Parents
✓ Post-Training Group Mentorship
✓ Post-Training Business Startup Guidance
✓ Doula Starter Bag + Professional Tools
✓ 6 Week Post-Training Coaching & Support Email Series
✓ 30-Minute Private Mentoring Session
Premium Training Package:
$950
Our most supportive training experience, with additional education and personalized coaching to help you build your skills and confidence as a professional doula.
✓ Postpartum Doula Training & Two-Hour Breastfeeding Workshop
✓ Resource Book: The Doula’s Guide to Supporting New Parents
✓ Post-Training Group Mentorship
✓ Post-Training Business Startup Guidance
✓ Doula Starter Bag + Professional Tools
✓ 6 Week Post-Training Coaching & Support Email Series
✓ 3 Private 30-Minute Mentoring Sessions
Ready to Save Your Seat?
Choose the payment option that works best for you.
- Option 1: Pay $100 now to reserve your seat; You will receive your invoice which is due one week prior to your training. You will gain access to the online bonus content once you pay in full.
- Option 2: Pay in full to reserve your seat and gain early access to the Bonus Online Content!
Additional Requirement: You will need to purchase the Sixth Edition (Nov 2024) of your course textbook, “Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn” by Penny Simkin, et al. Please bring this to your training session. You do not need to read it prior to you training.
Before registering, please view all terms and conditions below. Make sure you understand the terms for refunds, cancellations, children in training spaces, etc. Please email katie@theiowababylady.com for any questions or concerns you have prior to registering.
Click here –> for Terms and Conditions
What Happens After Doula Training?
Finishing your Postpartum Doula Training is exciting! But it’s completely normal to still have questions about what happens when you start working with real families.
How do I find my first client? What should I charge? What do I actually do during a four-hour postpartum shift? What about an overnight? What if the baby won’t settle? How much should I help around the house? What if a parent asks me something outside my scope?
You don’t have to have every answer figured out the day your training ends. You’ll have access to post-training group mentorship, business start-up guidance, sample forms, professional resources, and additional materials to help you take what you learned in training and put it into practice with real families.
What About Postpartum Doula Certification?
Postpartum doula training and professional certification are two different things.
You can begin working as a private-practice postpartum doula after completing your professional training without becoming certified. Some doulas choose certification because they want professional credentials, want to work with organizations that require certification, or need certification to qualify for certain reimbursement opportunities.
You don’t need to decide before training.
Nurtured Postpartum Doula Training is approved for Postpartum Doula Certification through the Perinatal Professionals Association (PPA). Link: Perinatal Professionals Association
During training, we’ll walk through the certification process step by step so you’ll know exactly what to do if you decide certification is right for your career.
Is Postpartum Doula Certification Required in Iowa?
No. Professional certification is not required to begin working as a private-practice postpartum doula in Iowa.
Certification may be required by certain employers, community programs, grant-funded programs, or reimbursement programs. Your decision may depend on where you want to work and the kind of postpartum doula career you want to build.
Want More Ways to Work With Families?
Many doulas choose to train in both birth and postpartum support, and for good reason. Being dual-trained gives you more ways to work with families and more flexibility as you build your doula career.
As a Birth and Postpartum Doula, you can support families during pregnancy and birth, during the newborn weeks, or continue working with the same family across both stages.
You can also build a schedule that works for you. Some doulas love attending births, while others prefer daytime postpartum shifts or overnight newborn support. Being trained in both gives you options as your interests, availability, and career change.
Save $150 When You Train in Both
If you already know you’d like to become both a Birth Doula and Postpartum Doula, register for both professional trainings together and save $150.
You’ll complete each training separately so you receive the education, hands-on skills, and professional preparation specific to each role.
Not sure which path is right for you? Schedule an info call with Katie. We can talk about what birth and postpartum doula work actually look like and which training, or combination of trainings, best fits the career you’re hoping to build.
Ready to Register for Your Postpartum Doula Training?
Additional Postpartum Doula Training FAQ
How do I become a Postpartum Doula?
The first step is completing a professional Postpartum Doula Training where you’ll learn about postpartum recovery, newborn care, infant feeding, family adjustment, professional boundaries, scope of practice, and how to support families during the early weeks and months after birth.
Nurtured Doula Trainings offers in-person Postpartum Doula Training in the Des Moines, Iowa area, select Midwest locations, and live online.
What does a Postpartum Doula Do?
Postpartum doulas provide practical, educational, and emotional support to families after a baby is born. Support may include newborn care, feeding support, helping parents get rest, light household support, sibling adjustment, postpartum recovery education, and helping families feel more confident caring for their new baby.
Postpartum doulas may work daytime, evening, or overnight shifts depending on the services they choose to offe
How long does Postpartum Doula Training take?
Nurtured Postpartum Doula Training includes 18 hours of live professional training plus additional education, resources, and post-training support. The optional, post-training content is pre-recorded and takes about six hours to finish.
How much does Postpartum Doula Training cost?
Nurtured Postpartum Doula Training packages currently range from $620 to $950, depending on the amount of professional tools, additional education, coaching, and private mentoring you’d like included.
Every package includes the complete Postpartum Doula Training, professional resources, post-training group mentorship, and business start-up guidance.
Where can I take an in-person Postpartum Doula Training in Iowa?
In-person Nurtured Postpartum Doula Trainings are offered in the Des Moines / Waukee, Iowa area, with select trainings offered in other Midwest locations.
If you’re searching for an in-person postpartum doula training near Des Moines, Ames, Ankeny, West Des Moines, Waukee, or Central Iowa, our Des Moines-area training is a convenient option.
Do you offer Postpartum Doula Training elsewhere in the Midwest?
Yes. Nurtured Doula Trainings is based in Iowa and offers select in-person training dates in other Midwest cities.
Future doulas are welcome to travel from throughout Iowa and neighboring states to attend. Interested in bringing Nurtured Postpartum Doula Training to your area? Contact us about hosting a future training.
Can I take Postpartum Doula Training online?
Yes. Live online Postpartum Doula Training is available for students who can’t attend an in-person training.
Unlike a completely self-paced course, you’ll participate in live instruction, discussion, real-world scenarios, and interaction with your trainer from home.
Can Postpartum Doulas work overnight?
Yes, but you don’t have to. Many professional postpartum doulas offer overnight newborn support in addition to daytime postpartum care.
Your training will introduce you to the different ways postpartum doulas can structure their services so you can decide what type of support and schedule fit the career you want to build.
Do I have to become certified to work as a postpartum doula?
No. Doula training and professional certification are separate.
Certification is optional for many private-practice postpartum doulas, although certain employers, organizations, community programs, or reimbursement programs may require professional certification.
If you choose to pursue certification, Nurtured Postpartum Doula Training is approved for Postpartum Doula Certification through the Perinatal Professionals Association (PPA), and we’ll walk you through the process during training. Link: Perinatal Professionals Association
Will I know how to find clients after training?
Yes. This training will give you ideas for networking and finding your first clients. Lots of new doulas ask this question, and we give practical examples of where to find your first families to support.
Every Nurtured Postpartum Doula Training package includes post-training group mentorship and business start-up guidance. You’ll also have access to professional resources and additional materials to help you prepare for your first clients.
Can I start taking clients right after training?
Yes, you will be qualified to start supporting families. After completing your professional training, you can begin offering private-practice postpartum doula services while continuing to build your skills and experience.
Professional certification is a separate, optional next step for many doulas.
Learn the Skills. Build Your Confidence. Start Your Doula Career.
You don’t need to have a background in healthcare, years of newborn experience, or your entire business figured out before you begin. Doulas just need a place to start. (Hint–this is your starting place!)
Nurtured Postpartum Doula Training gives you the education, practical skills, professional resources, and continued support to take that first step and keep moving forward after training is over.
What Students Say About Nurtured Doula Training
Check out our Google Reviews! Here’s what past students have shared about their experience:
“My experience training with Katie was wonderful. I learned an incredible amount while feeling safe and supported to ask for clarification when needed. She’s professional, patient and kind. We had to be online for the entire class, and she created a positive and effective learning environment in that space.”
“The training was very informational, learned a lot. I have a much better understanding of everything, including labor. Everyone asked amazing questions to get a better understanding. Katie was an amazing teacher and I feel like if I have any questions later in the future she would always be happy to help.”
Ready to Become a Postpartum Doula?
Choose an upcoming in-person or live online Postpartum Doula Training and take the first step toward working professionally with new and growing families.
Not sure which training package is right for you? Schedule an info call with Katie before registering. You’re welcome to ask questions about training, certification, postpartum doula work, or what getting started could look like for you.
