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Birth Doula Training Background
The Simkin School provides one of the highest quality doula training courses in the country. Internationally renowned author and childbirth educator Penny Simkin created and taught our Labor Support Course beginning in 1988. Since then, more than 4,000 women and men have come to SMS to discover the doula in themselves under the nurturing guidance of our instructors.
Our early graduates founded the PALS Doulas, a professional organization providing peer support, continuing education, doula certification, and referrals. Following PALS’ success, doulas around the country joined together to found DONA International. SMS was the first organization to be granted DONA institutional approval for our curriculum and faculty.
SMS’s Labor Support Course is approved as one step toward PALS or DONA International certification. Students who are interested in becoming a certified doula must fulfill additional experiential requirements, including attending and receiving evaluations for at least three births after completing the Labor Support Course. For more information on doula certification, contact PALS (206.325.1419) or DONA International (888.788.3662).