Here is some genuinely exciting news about fertility doula work. The demand is enormous and the competition is low.
There are not enough fertility doulas to meet the need and the families who need this support are actively looking for someone like you.
Over 2.5 million people are going through assisted reproductive technology right now. Three million ART cycles will happen this year alone. These families are navigating one of the most emotionally complex experiences of their lives largely alone, in a medical system that is excellent at the clinical side and almost completely unequipped for the emotional side.
That gap is your practice, sweet doula!
Here is how to fill it…
Start with who already knows and trusts you
Your existing client base and network are your fastest path to fertility clients and most doulas completely overlook this.
We want you to remember that secondary infertility is extremely common. Clients who hired you for a first birth or postpartum experience may be struggling with fertility challenges the second time around. A simple email to your existing list letting them know you now offer fertility support will bring people back to you who have been looking for someone they already trust.
Your personal network is also full of people navigating fertility challenges in the shadows since fertility topics are still pretty secret or taboo to talk about freely. When you announce that you understand this space and are available to support people through it, you will hear from people who have been carrying this alone for a long time.
Build relationships with fertility clinics
This is one of the most powerful and underused referral sources for fertility doulas and the dynamic is genuinely different from what most doulas experience in birth spaces.
Fertility clinics actively welcome fertility doulas. They are exceptional at the clinical side of treatment and they know it. What they cannot provide is the emotional support, the hand holding through appointments, the presence through the two week wait, the processing after a failed cycle. When you come to a fertility clinic as a doula, you are not competing with them. You are lightening a load they cannot carry alone and that means that they want to refer you.
Go in and introduce yourself. Ask about their patient population. Ask how you can support the families they serve. Come as a collaborator and you will find a warmer reception than you might expect.
Connect with therapists and counsellors
Mental health professionals who work with people navigating infertility are exceptional referral partners. Their clients are already doing emotional processing work and when those clients need practical support, information, and presence through the clinical side of their journey, a fertility doula is a natural referral.
Build genuine relationships with therapists who work in this space. Understand their approach.
ProTip: Make sure your values align with the therapist!
When they trust you, they refer you, and those referrals tend to be warm and ready to work with you.
Show up in fertility communities
Online and in person fertility support groups are filled with people actively looking for resources, guidance, and community. Showing up consistently and genuinely in these spaces, not to pitch yourself but to be present and useful, builds the kind of trust that leads to referrals and clients over time.
Reddit communities like r/infertility and r/IVF have hundreds of thousands of members. Facebook groups for people going through specific fertility treatments are active and engaged. These communities are protective of their members and suspicious of anyone who shows up just to sell something. Show up as someone who cares and knows their stuff and the community will do the marketing for you.
Connect with perinatal professionals who hear fertility concerns first
Midwives, lactation consultants, childbirth educators, pelvic health physiotherapists, and other doulas are often the first to hear when a client is struggling with secondary infertility or navigating a pregnancy after a difficult fertility journey. These relationships become strong referral sources when they know you specialize in this area.
Be specific when you introduce yourself to these providers. Not just “I am a doula” but “I specialize in fertility support and I am a great referral for clients who are navigating infertility or ART.” The more specific you are the more useful you are as a referral.
Talk about fertility everywhere
This is something that is skipped more than you know. We want you to talk about it in all the places possible.
- On your website.
- In your newsletter.
- On your social media.
- Freebies and pink spoons
- Community info events at your library
- Putting posters up around your town
- In conversations with friends and family.
The more visible you are as someone who understands and supports fertility journeys, the more people will think of you when someone in their life needs help.
This does not mean posting clinical content daily. It means consistently letting people know that this is an area you care about and are trained to support. Stories work better than information here. Share what drew you to this work. Share why it matters to you. People connect with the why before they connect with the what.
Offer a fertility support group
Running a fertility support group, whether in person or online, is one of the most effective ways to build a fertility doula practice. It serves multiple people at once, creates community, generates word of mouth, and positions you as the expert in your area on this topic.
A good fertility doula training will teach you how to facilitate these groups including how to structure them, how to hold the emotional space, and how to price them. This is a skill worth developing early because a well-run fertility support group essentially markets your one on one services for you.
The full spectrum advantage
One of the most powerful things about building a fertility doula practice is what happens when a client you have supported through a fertility journey gets pregnant.
They are not going to hire a stranger as their birth doula. They already have you. You have the relationship, the history, and the trust. You know their story in a way that no new doula could. You have been beside them from the beginning of their trying to conceive journey, and now you can stay there all the way through birth and into the postpartum period. This is full spectrum doula work in the deepest possible sense and it is one of the most meaningful things you can offer.
It also makes sound business sense. One client becomes a long term relationship. That relationship generates referrals to other fertility clients, other birth clients, and other postpartum clients. A fertility practice feeds your whole practice.
Getting the training to back it up
None of this works without the foundation of a solid fertility doula training. Your lived experience and your instincts matter enormously. But families navigating fertility challenges deserve a doula who also has clinical knowledge, ethical frameworks, and the specific skills to support them well.
bebo mia’s Fertility Support Specialist Certification is self-study so you can complete it on your own timeline. It covers the full landscape of fertility and reproductive health, pregnancy loss, support group facilitation, one on one consulting, and building a practice that fills.
You can find out more and grab your spot here.
And if you want to talk through whether this is the right move for your practice right now, book a free doula career strategy session or email us at [email protected].
The families going through this need more support than they are getting. You can be part of changing that.
Come join us, sweet doula.
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