About the Workshop
This intensive, in-person workshop meets the three classwork requirements for DONA International certification - equipping you with the skills and knowledge to begin your practice as a birth doula.
Birth Doula Workshop
Practice core communication and physical comfort skills through hands-on exercises with peers and instructor feedback.
Introduction to Childbirth
Evidence-based knowledge about the labor and birth process, stages of labor and parents' choices throughout.
Breastfeeding for Doulas
Foundational breastfeeding knowledge so doulas can support postpartum families with confidence.
What's Included
Workshop Materials
Comprehensive digital copies of all training manuals, slide decks, contracts and forms used in the workshop.
Google Classroom
Ongoing access to all course materials online via Google Classroom.
Certificate of Completion
Official certificate upon successful completion of the workshop.
Meet Your Instructor
Kim James
My workshops are rigorous, fast-paced, and designed to give you the introductory skills and knowledge to get started as a birth doula. I believe in hands-on, in-person, learning. I teach using interactive techniques that let you physically practice the doula's communication and comfort skills rather than just hearing about them.
Stoking curiosity and pushing people to grow beyond what they thought was possible in four days is my job. I want to increase your self-efficacy and confidence, so you can use your new doula skills immediately after your workshop. Let's work together soon!
A bit more about me: I have maintained an active, thriving birth doula practice since 2000, keeping my skills sharp and my relationships strong with local and national perinatal leaders. A certified birth doula and approved trainer through DONA International and the Washington State Department of Health, I have taught Birth Doula Skills Workshops for 18 years at the Simkin Center for Allied Birth Vocations at Bastyr University. I develop advanced birth doula skills topics and am an invited speaker to conferences and seminars around the country.
By the way, the website you're on now, DoulaMatch.net, is my and my husband's creation. Since 2008, over 30,000 doulas have created profiles across the US and Canada, with more than 100,000 reviews from the families they've served.
What Past Students Say
"Kim is one of the most engaging instructors I have ever had. Her course is immersive, informative, and inclusive. I left her birth doula course confident in my abilities to be a responsive and supportive birth doula."
- Alissa Avila-Hansen, CD(DONA)
"Kim was a wealth of knowledge and through the 4 weeks we spent together in class, she taught not only the basics of what a Birth Doula needs to know, but so much more. I left her class feeling very prepared."
- Rachel Groux
Schedule & Location
Offered twice each year - the next two workshops are January 29 - February 1, 2027 and September 24 - 27, 2027.
event Workshop Dates
January Workshop Next
September Workshop
location_on Venue
Parent Trust for Washington
2200 Rainier Avenue S
Seattle, WA 98144
Ready to Begin Your Doula Practice?
Includes workshop materials, Google Classroom access and certificate of completion
arrow_forward Register for the Workshopevent January 9 - February 1, 2027 - or - September 24 - 27, 2027 location_on Seattle, WA
