Postpartum Doulas
Ìyá Pittsburgh is committed to addressing health disparities for those who have been historically marginalised in perinatal and reproductive healthcare spaces. This is why Ìyá Pittsburgh is proud to include postpartum doula and support companion mentorships and services to its expanding offerings for the community.
Postpartum Doulas & Support Companions new to birthwork benefit from mentoring from experienced birthworkers, peer support, and assistance finding their first client(s) for evaluations needed for most certifying organizations.
After training, it can be tough to get experience in the field. Postpartum doulas working toward certification or even just looking to increase their expertise and client base can struggle to find opportunities to put their training into practice. Ìyá Pittsburgh is committed to assisting new doulas & support companions to enter the field with confidence and support. In partnership with several experienced postpartum doulas, we are offering mentorship on an hourly basis.
What are we offering?
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in-person, supervised postpartum client placements
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1:1 supervision and consultation opportunities
How does this help?
We know newly trained doulas run into challenges getting practical experience after classroom training. Clients are often looking for seasoned doulas, and some may feel hesitant about hiring newly trained folks. Our program has located clients who are willing to work with a newer postpartum doula and a postpartum doula mentor.
Once a “student” doula is interviewed successfully, we’ll match them with an experienced postpartum doula mentor, AND with a postpartum client. This gives the client the assurance of having a seasoned doula present, and allows for the student doula to get valuable in person experience.
Services are paid hourly, so the student doula has flexibility in how much supervision to schedule. The minimum number of hours for supervised doula care is eight (8), which would include two 4-hour postpartum shifts. 1:1 supervision/consultation meetings have no minimum number of hours.
Supervised doula experience fee: $20-$35 per hour
Supervision and consultation fee: $40 per hour
Interested doulas, please complete an application.
COMING SOON!
Ìyá Pittsburgh has created a mentorship cohort program that includes:
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an 8-hour intensive training that covers material often left out of traditional training programs, including the realities of working in client homes
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12 hours of in-person supervised mentorship— first client provided
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one-on-one, individualized birth debriefing with mentor
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group cohort debriefing and community building
Cost: $1200
Next Cohort Onboarding: TBD
Clients working with postpartum doula mentees benefit from receiving at least 8-hours of in-home, subsidized doula support from a new doula being advised by an experienced mentor. The option also exists for additional unsupervised hours at a discounted rate.