DONA International

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DONA International (formerly Doulas of North America) was founded in 1992 and is the first and largest doula training and certification organization. [1] The current president of the non-profit is Telia Anderson (2025), Erica Lane is the President Elect (2026), and Dr. Robin Elise Weiss (2024) is the Immediate Past President. [2]

Contents

History

In the 1980s, Dr. Marshall Klaus, Dr. John H. Kennell, Phyllis Klaus, Penny Simkin (1938–2024), [3] and Annie Kennedy first formed a partnership of doulas and medical professionals. [4] [5] Klaus (1927–2017), [6] a neonatologist, and Kennell (1922–2013), [7] a pediatrician, gave credibility to doulas Phyllis Klaus, Simkin, and Kennedy [8] by supporting their work through the research of parent-child bonding in the 1960s at Case Western Reserve University.[ citation needed ]

Doulas Of North America (DONA) was formally founded in 1992 and the organization was the first of its kind to both train and certify the non-medical birth support of doulas and marked the start of professional doulas on a nationwide basis. [4] [5] Kennedy (who had originally founded the Pacific Association of Labor Support in 1989 in Seattle, WA with Simkin alongside the doula training at Seattle Midwifery School) become [9] the first president of the organization. [8]

In 2004, the organization re-branded as DONA International. [4]

By 2016, there were 12,000 doulas certified through the organization. [1]

Training and certification

DONA International offers birth and postpartum doula training and certification. [10] To certify as a doula, an in-person, virtual, or hybrid workshop is mandatory, along with supplementary text reading, lactation training and childbirth education, and clients experience. [11] The workshop is taught by approved trainers who are able to the required coursework which includes emotional support, physical support or comfort measures, communication, interventions, ethics and professional behavior. [12]

Advocacy

DONA International has numerous advocacy areas:

References

  1. 1 2 "About DONA International". DONA International. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  2. ↑ "Leadership and Staff". GuideStar. June 18, 2025. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
  3. ↑ Green, Penelope (2024-04-25). "Penny Simkin, 'Mother of the Doula Movement,' Dies at 85". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  4. 1 2 3 "History of DONA International". DONA International. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  5. 1 2 Simonds, Wendy; Rothman, Barbara Katz; Norman, Bari Meltzer (2013-10-23). Laboring On: Birth in Transition in the United States. Routledge. ISBN   9781135939984.
  6. ↑ Roberts, Sam (2017-08-25). "Dr. Marshall H. Klaus, Maternity-Ward Reformer, Dies at 90". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  7. ↑ Vitello, Paul (2013-09-21). "John Kennell, Advocate of Infant Bonding, Dies at 91". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  8. 1 2 "DONA International (1992– ) | The Embryo Project Encyclopedia". embryo.asu.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  9. ↑ "DONA History: Annie Kennedy". History of DONA International. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  10. ↑ "Become a Doula". DONA International. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  11. ↑ "Become a Birth or Postpartum Doula – Certification". DONA International. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  12. ↑ Gilliland, Amy L. (2016). "What Motivates People to Attend Birth Doula Trainings?". The Journal of Perinatal Education. 25 (3): 174–183. doi:10.1891/1058-1243.25.3.174. ISSN   1058-1243. PMC   6265612 . PMID   30538414.
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