What Is the Difference Between a Doula and a Childbirth Educator?

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These two go together like peanut butter and jelly, y’all! 

Annnnd this question is asked a lot, both from families trying to figure out what kind of support they need and from doulas wondering whether adding childbirth education to their practice makes sense.

Here is the quick and dirty answer: a doula supports you through the experience and a childbirth educator prepares you for it. Again, they are such an awesome pair. 

What a birth doula does

A birth doula is with you prenatally, during labor and birth, and in the immediate postpartum period. They provide continuous physical, emotional, and informational support (those are the three pillars of doula support). 

Birth doulas help you navigate what is happening in real time, support your birth partner, advocate for your right to informed consent, and are such a calming and safe person beside you when stuff gets a bit scary or unexpected.

A doula is not teaching you a curriculum. (Hint: this is where the childbirth educator comes in)

Doulas are scanning the birthing space, responding to your needs in the moment, and making sure you never feel alone and really understand what is happening (and even what might happen next). 

We go deep on what this looks like day to day here.

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What a childbirth educator does

A childbirth educator, often called a CBE for short, teaches you what to expect before any of it happens.

They cover the physiology of labor, comfort measures, the role of birth partners, interventions and their evidence base, feeding options, newborn care, and postpartum planning. Everything is based on the research and they want you to understand practice based care over evidenced based care. 

You come away from a good childbirth education class feeling informed, prepared, and significantly less scared.

NOTE: sometimes the hospitals offer CBE classes that are taught by nurses who work at that hospital. Not always, but often, families report that the classes guided them to be compliant and they very much served the high intervention agenda of the hospital. Again, this is not always or at all hospitals, but it is very likely to happen. 

OK, back to more about the role of a childbirth educator. A CBE is not with you at your birth. They are with you in the preparation stage, giving you the knowledge base that makes every decision feel less overwhelming when you are actually in it.

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Can one person be both?

Yes, and this combination is one of the most awesome things a birth doula can offer.

A lot of bebo mia trained doulas are also certified childbirth educators and the overlap is so, so beautiful. 

When you teach your own childbirth classes, you build relationships with families before they are even in labor. They already know you, trust you, and you guys are already in somewhat of a relationship flow. 

And, the best part, as we have written about here, between 30 and 50 percent of childbirth education students go on to hire their instructor as their doula.

Your class pays you once for the teaching portion of your prenatal class and again when those students become your birth clients. It is one of the smartest practice-building moves a doula can make.

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Do families need both?

Not always, but often yes. A childbirth education class gives you the knowledge about all the places you have choice. A doula gives you the support with the choices you want to make.  

Let’s look at an example: In your CBE class, you will learn all about the epidural. The risks and benefits and side effects, and what happens if it doesn’t work. Now, you are working with your doula and you guys discuss what you want and how your doula can support you. And your doula will tell you all the ways they can minimize the side effects with their tools and tricks and tips. Then at the birth, your doula can help you think through whether you want one right now when the anesthesiologist is standing there waiting.

Both are investments in a birth experience that feels informed and supported rather than managed and survived.

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How to get certified in both

At bebo mia our Childbirth Educator Certification is available as a standalone program and is also part of our full spectrum doula training. It comes with a done-for-you curriculum, lifetime certification, and no hidden fees or recertification costs.

You can find out more about the CBE certification here: https://bebomiainc.samcart.com/products/childbirth-education-certification

And if you want to explore the full spectrum doula training which covers birth doula, postpartum doula, and childbirth education together, that is here: https://bebomia.com/doulatraining

Questions? Email us at [email protected] or book a free doula career strategy session. We love helping people figure out the path that makes the most sense for them.

Xoxo
Bianca, founder of bebo mia inc.