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About Us Mentorship

Oh hey there 2018… We have been waiting for you!

 

As the Director of Doula Canada I am beyond excited for what is to come in 2018; and for our great Doula nation!

After all, is there anytime more inspiriting than turning the page on a new calendar and peeking at the 365 blank days ahead?

I think not!

The excitement of those blank pages lies in the knowledge that we will be welcoming new members, graduating new alumni, supporting new families, having deep conversations, and pushing forward with the dream of doula support and education for any family who cares to share in the benefits our field can offer.

Our Doula Canada calendar for the New Year is ambitious; and we wouldn’t have it any other way!

For 2018 our goal is to pair opportunity and ambition with holistic fulfillment.  We plan to do this by offering programs never before offered by a doula training certification and membership organizations, creating new provincial/territorial initiatives to strike up communication and awareness about our field, and finding time for some fun too!

Because…

We love fun at Doula Canada (our 4th pillar, right after compassion, communication, and chill the eff out).

You will soon notice a new website where students will be easily found by potential clients in their respective communities.  We will be launching our online Learning Centre where students can continue to learn through course specific modules, free templates, video, audio, and online discussion forums.  We will be hosting our first ever Annual General Meeting and Team Retreat, making plans for Purely Doula retreats across Canada, and hosting weekly Facebook Lives where you can connect with experts in their fields.

This year we have also partnered with Tynan Rhea to offer her Sex & Birth training – a 8 week online training that is sure to open your eyes to this important topic in new parents live.  Wait, there’s more!  We are also incredibly humbled to be welcoming Barb Matteucci, alumni and now Program Coordinator for our national Infant and Pregnancy Loss training (dates in most provinces for 2018).

Labour, Postpartum, Educator, Loss, Continued Learning…. and more!

For the new year our team will also be announcing non-profit goals we have set as an organization.  A percentage of each registration in any core course after February 1 will be donated back to a provincial/ territorial charity that works to support new families or infants in some capacity.  We are grateful for your support Canada, and now we are choosing to use the opportunities you have granted us to give back.  Keep your eyes open for further details and our first provincial charity announcement (rotated each month to a new province or territory).

So, as we enter a new year across this beautiful terra firm remember that there are 12 new chapters, 365 new chances, 1440 minutes each day, and thousands of Doula Canada members here to help you along the way.

This will be a good year.

Shaunacy
​Director, Doula Canada

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Members

Bidding 2017 Adieu .. a Year in Review

 

​What a year Doula Canada!

If I were to summarize the year in a word it would be “new.”  New members, new instructors, new courses, new experiences, new ideas!

The team here at Doula Canada is full of gratitude for the growth and development of our organization this past year; and for the growth in the professional field of doulas and childbirth educators across this great nation.  Bravo Canada!

This year we welcomed over 1100 new Canadian students to our Doula Canada nation.  These new members, added to the remarkable response in 2016 has made us one of the fastest growing membership and in-class certification organizations in Canada.  Thank you!

We are also pleased to have welcomed dozens of new students from France, China, India, Costa Rica, Brazil, Russia, and Australia.  These students, along with our alumni in Bolivia, Luxembourg and other countries across the globe are spreading the message of compassionate support and the value of communication we take as our pillars at Doula Canada.

 Our doula family of students and alumni were not the only exciting growth we saw in 2017.  This year our team added many new members who offer a diverse range of skills and experience to our core programs at Doula Canada.  We are pleased to have welcomed Falon Martin as our newest doula instructor and Barb Matteucci as our official program coordinator for our Infant and Pregnancy Loss program.  Jillian Hand continues to steer the direction of our Atlantic Canada trainings, and we are excited for Jessica Persiel-Jones to be preparing an exciting round of trainings in Alberta for early 2018.

We are also pleased to have welcome 8 new Provincial Liaisons to our roster of support.  An amazing team of dedicated individuals who will be making provincial contacts and working to develop initiatives with Doula Canada in their respective provinces.  Welcome to Caylan Barber (BC), Laura Boucher (AB), Carma Proskie (SK), Kira Beaudry (MB), Ashley Mitchell (ON), Manon Laviolette (NB), Shandelle Meeker (NS), and Samantha Whitman (NFLD/LAB).  In 2018 we look forward to working with them to build the Doula Canada message and to welcoming new PLs for all other provinces and territories.

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​This year Doula Canada become the official training for doula studies at Douglas College in British Columbia.  In partnership with Douglas College we are pleased to be offering our curriculum under the direction and skill of Sharron Gibbs and Shelley Gray.  Their experience and dedication to this field is both commendable and exciting, and we are extremely pleased to be working with them in this new relationship.

Along with a growing Doula Nation of students, instructors, provincial liaisons, and industry partners, we graduated more students in our Labour Doula, Postpartum Doula, and Childbirth Educator program than any previous year.  Our students who have now become alumni worked diligently to complete their certification requirements and continue to be an important part of our community.  To each of you a huge congratulations on your accomplishments.  We are proud to call you part of Doula Canada.

Whoa!  What a year indeed.  We added 6 new online workshops (EU credited), our Dual Stream certification option for Labour and Postpartum doula, our Infant and Pregnancy Loss program, a partnership with Tynan Rhea in the Sex and Birth training…. *wipes sweat from brow*….. AND supported THOUSANDS of Canadian families.

Thousands of Canadian families.

No matter how far we have come in 2017 our organization as a whole is grateful for the experiences and honour of welcoming and supporting clients and the anticipating of “new.”

Love and light Doula Canada.

You seriously kicked ass in 2017, and we can’t wait to see what 2018 holds in store!!