Doula Training | CHOICES Center for Reproductive Health

A Calling to Care: Learn How to Support Families as a Doula

Join us for a FREE Full Spectrum Doula Training Program geared toward developing BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) birth workers!

What is a Full-Spectrum Birth Justice Doula?

Doulas are trained professionals who provide support during:
✅ Pregnancy
✅ Childbirth
✅ Postpartum
✅ Abortion care

What Do Doulas Do?

💜 Provide emotional, physical, and informational support
💜 Facilitate communication between patients & medical providers
💜 Identify warning signs that require medical attention
💜 Advocate for equitable, respectful treatment in birth & reproductive care

What is Birth Justice?

Birth justice is a movement that ensures all birthing people receive fair, safe, and compassionate care during:
✔️ Pregnancy
✔️ Labor & childbirth
✔️ Postpartum recovery

Why Join?

✔️ Help reduce costly interventions in maternal care
✔️ Improve maternal & infant health outcomes
✔️ Expand the BIPOC birth workforce in Southern Illinois
✔️ Make a lasting impact in your community

Topics Covered in Training:

📌 Birth & postpartum care
📌 Abortion doula support
📌 Trauma-informed care
📌 Reproductive health & rights
📌 Medical system navigation
📌 Cultural competency in birthwork

Training Schedule:

Clinical Rotations and Shadow Births with Doula Mentor/Supervisor (100 hours), April 21-June 30, 2025
Full Spectrum Doula Training & Certification with Sokana Collective Training Academy (40 hours), May 21-25
Abortion Doula Training with CHOICES (8 hours)
Perinatal Mental Health Training for Medical Providers with Postpartum Support International (4.5 hours), self-paced
Breastfeeding/Lactation Support with CHOICES (4 hours)
Neonatal Resuscitation Program and Certification with CHOICES (4 hours)
Biweekly 30-minute Progress Check-Ins (5 hours), April 21-June 30, 2025
Cohort Graduation (2 hours)

Resources/stipend amount provided

Stipend of $3,350 (cohort members will receive half upon completing half of the program training hours and will receive the remaining after completion of the program)
Gas cards to offset the cost of transportation
Childcare for in-person trainings
Laptops and WiFi hotspots
Doula bags with supplies for clinical hours and births

Doulas are trained professionals who provide pregnant people with emotional, physical, and informational support before, during, and after childbirth or abortion. They also facilitate communication between patients and medical providers and can identify warning signs that require medical attention. Birth justice is a movement that advocates for equitable and respectful treatment of all birthing people during pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and postpartum.

Thanks to an initiative from the Illinois Department of Public Health, CHOICES and the Little Resource Center are partnering to help address the maternal health crisis in Southern Illinois by launching a doula training program to build a stronger birth workforce. By strengthening the birthwork community, this initiative aims to reduce costly interventions, improve maternal and infant health, and lay the foundation for expanding the BIPOC birth workforce in the region. We’re recruiting 15 people to become certified full-spectrum reproductive doulas, trained in both birth and abortion care.

Some topics covered include: