Become a Doula

with Indiana Birth & Parenting

Here at Indiana Birth & Parenting, we’re always looking to grow our team. Candidates MUST be able to provide genuine + unbiased care. No exceptions.

We recognize and honor the fact families come in different shapes, sizes, and backgrounds. Here at Indiana Birth & Parenting, we serve all! This means doulas must be ready, and more importantly willing, to meet our clients where they’re at in that exact moment.

Our team of professional doulas recognize what a transformative time it is preparing for, laboring, delivering, and caring for a baby. Indiana Birth & Parenting affiliated doulas must be able to support parents moving forward with their original plan, along with supporting parents wishing to change course at any point during their pregnancy, labor & delivery, and postpartum journey.

We’ve provided a jam-packed FAQ section below with general information for all doulas, along with specifics for birth and postpartum roles!

General FAQs

What are you looking for in a doula?

We have extremely high standards! When we opened Indiana Birth & Parenting, there were a couple of agencies, a handful of doula partnerships, and several solo doulas in the area. Since we opened, our local doula community has exploded! Over the last couple of years, there’s been a natural development of “categories” local doulas seem to fall into:

- Doulas interested in content creation- emphasis on networking and an online presence.
- Doulas creating revenue streams associated with doula work outside of direct client care- emphasis on working from home and virtual support/education.
- Doulas with a desire to work consistently and directly with clients- emphasis on face-to-face care and support.

We’re all about women supporting women- and the more professional doulas in our community, the better! Since we can’t be in all the doula lanes at the same time, our company’s lane is supporting local doulas by connecting them with incredible families. Seriously, we sometimes have to pinch ourselves because we have the best clients!

Here at IBP, our team consists of professional working doulas who are gifted with the deep desire to focus on the heart of doula work by directly supporting clients. In this current climate of technology and information overload, our clients rely on and NEED their doula/doula team showing up…literally. There’s no replacing human connection. This intimate side of doula work is deep in our marrow. It’s why, even as extremely busy business owners, we’re still working directly with our clients alongside our team on the birth and postpartum sides full time.

The doulas who are a fit for IBP want to provide face-to-face doula care over anything else.

How do you show up for clients?

Professionalism: We approach each family with understanding and sensitively, never making assumptions. We’re trained to remain professional in every situation, and to never center ourselves in a client’s birth space, home, and experiences.
Awareness: This falls into the attunement category. Our training has taught us how to communicate with different personality types, and also how to recognize different ways people process and absorb information. We’re always situationally aware, and equally emotionally aware.
Knowledge: We stay up to date on our certifications, learn about the latest pregnancy and baby products, and intentionally seek out and absorb as much information as possible. We’re pregnancy, birth & parenting sponges.
Connection: We are comfortable getting messy in the trenches with our clients. We are true empaths. We celebrate all the highs and lows being our clients’ biggest cheerleaders- even after face-to-face support wraps up.
Accessibility: A birth doula team must be accessible to clients at all times- that’s why we use the partnership model for birth so this responsibility doesn’t fall on one person’s shoulders. For postpartum, we are not on call but we are available and accessible. Our clients can still text us with simple questions or have a list of questions for us/things they need extra support with when we arrive at each shift.
Honesty: This one speaks for itself. Honesty on every level is key.
Care: The industry burnout rate for a doula is 3 years. Having the ability to care for our clients even when the work itself is hard is a must. We also deeply care about our company, community, other professional doulas, and professionals working parallel to ours supporting expecting & new parents in their own ways.

What training do I need?

All birth and postpartum doulas must complete training and certification in order to be an affiliated doula with IBP. We are open to multiple training programs. Your training and certification process is your own investment and something you worked hard for! IBP clients cannot be used for any doula certification purposes. No exceptions.

Other than training + certification, what else is required?

All Independent Contracted doulas must be CPR certified, stay up-to-date on their certification, carry their own insurance through their registered LLC, and pass a background check.

Will I have a mentor as a new IBP doula?

YES! We do not offer mentorship outside Indiana Birth & Parenting. Not because we don’t want to! Our overall client load is extremely heavy all year long. There’s simply not enough hours in the day to mentor doulas outside of our own company, while also meeting the care needs of our clients. Any affiliated doula with IBP has complete access to us, along with connections with the other doulas on our team. The teaching and mentoring side of our company is our favorite part!

How much does mentoring cost?

Absolutely nothing! We don’t charge any fees for the support we offer doulas affiliated with IBP. Because of that, we are ALL IN with every single Independent Contractor. We’re invested in your success and well-being as doulas, and as people. We’re always available to answer questions in real time- even in the middle of the night. We love sharing the tips we’ve learned over the years, listen to doulas process things that are hard, celebrate their wins, and cheer them on every step of the way. And we’re ALWAYS learning new things from the IBP doulas, too! Open, honest, and collaborative care benefits all involved…especially our clients.

What is a typical IBP affiliated doula’s client load?

It varies from doula to doula. Here’s what we look for: flexibility, reliability, and consistency. Postpartum doulas will need to know their availability far in advance to provide ongoing support to clients. We typically go by seasons and check in with our doulas to learn their winter, spring, summer, and fall availability. Birth Doulas will need to be able to work with an on-call schedule (typically every other week) as a part of a team birth doula using the partnership model, and have their personal schedules planned out and locked in AT LEAST 6 months in advance.

Birth Doula FAQs:

I only want to be a birth doula affiliated with IBP- is that possible?

Yes- just not right away. IBP uses the partnership model for birth doula support, so it is crucial that the two doulas that are paired up make a great team- not just personality wise, but also on goals. Our current birth teams are also postpartum doulas who have been with us for at least one year. We mentor them on the birth side. Over the years, we have seen how supporting fresh postpartum families directly educates and prepares doulas to care for clients during pregnancy and labor. It also helps us see how well doulas are able to pivot in any given circumstance, and how well they work with other doulas. Postpartum doulas who transition over to the birth side of care are welcome to continue working with postpartum clients, or they can choose to accept birth clients only.

I’m not a new birth doula, and I’m not interested in being a postpartum doula. Can I still be affiliated with IBP on the birth side only?

Yes! We welcome experienced doulas eager to support IBP clients within the birth doula team partnership model. If you’re the right birth doula for our team, we will absolutely consider you! Our preference is having all birth doulas support at least one postpartum client so we can learn your communication style and your own “special sauce” so we can match you with a birth doula partner that’s a good fit. This is best for our clients, and our doulas.

Why does IBP use the partnership model for birth?

Accessibility for our clients is key. We’ve done this long enough to know that babies come when babies come- and sometimes they come too early. Clients need us when they need us. When a clients hires an IBP birth team, that team goes on call from the signing of contract. One solo doula couldn’t sustainably support multiple clients while also being on call 24/7 for many months, year after year. The burnout rate is very high in the doula world, so the partnership model is one way we try to combat that. We don’t like the idea of backups- potentially a doula supporting a client in labor without ever meeting the client beforehand. Our model builds in the backup and the client gets to know and bonds with both doulas equally- so a familiar face knowledgeable on their wishes walks through the door when it’s baby time! The call schedule is shared between the two birth doulas on a team 50/50. This partnership is very much a close relationship, so strong communication and collaboration skills are musts. Big decisions such as travel plans are discussed with your birth partner prior to booking trips. Continuous communication with your doula partner about illness, family emergencies, big and small life moments, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. that can change your on-call availability is also a requirement. Also communicating small things like being unavailable for a few hours at a time (meetings, appointments, etc.) are required for a successful partnership.

How many births will I attend per month?

You will attend on average half of the births, and your partner will attend the other half. Of course this can vary every month, but in the end it usually even outs, naturally. Each team gets to choose what their max amount of births per months is. The safety zone for IBP is 4 max per birth team.

What do we look for in a birth doula?

Someone who can support every kind of birth- unmedicated, medicated, cesarean, hospital birth, birth center, and home birth. The majority of our births are in the hospital setting.
Doulas who are passionate about pregnancy and birth- but MORE passionate about the people having babies and supporting clients through every type of situation.
Doulas who won’t center themselves in someone’s pregnancy and birth space.
Organization! This is imperative.
STRONG and timely communication skills- with IBP, their birth doula partner, and their clients.
Planners. We are a very busy agency with birth teams usually taking 3-4 births a month which means scheduling in advance, and sticking to the availability you gave IBP and your birth partner, is required.
Flexibility! Understanding that babies come when babies come. While the partnership model creates a safety net for IBP doulas so we can be present with in our personal lives (holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) sometimes doulas will still need to support clients on these occasions. It’s simply part of birth work. But the systems we’ve built are designed to help our doulas remain present and stable outside of supporting births. Occasionally, a sweet little baby decides to join us no matter what we have going on.
Initiative. All of our birth doulas have their own “special sauce” and there’s room for them to nurture their strengths and grow as a doula.
Proud to be an Indiana Birth & Parenting birth doula!

Postpartum Doula FAQs:

Do I need experience to be a postpartum doula?

Most doulas have been “doula-ing” their entire lives. They are the ones running towards someone needing help and the ones friends & family call on when there is a need or emergency. While our preference is at least one year experience, we equally welcome new certified postpartum doulas who meet our high standards and are open to free mentorship from us prior to working directly with IBP clients.

Doulas affiliated with IBP are Independent Contractors. Does that mean I will always work alone?

Not always! It’s common for our clients to want 50 hours per week for several months, and it’s not safe for one doula to take on large contracts by themselves. Recovery sleep the next day and nights off are so important for our doulas physical, mental and emotional health. Most 4-5 night per week clients have two doulas supporting them. This is why the ability to work with other IBP affiliated doulas is a valued requirement.

Will I be working with daytime or overnight clients?

That’s up to you! Our client load is mainly with overnights. We do have some daytime clients, but overnight care is what we are always in need of. Most overnight shifts are 10 hours long and daytime shifts are 4-5 hours long. We prefer doulas choose either overnight or daytime, but we are open to some doulas working both- just not at the same time especially if the doula is brand new.

Where are IBP clients located?

All over! IBP mainly serves Hamilton and Marion counties. We occasionally have clients in Johnson, Boone and Hendricks counties as well. We do our best to match doulas with clients located near them, but in order to care for our community, sometimes ICs will accept contracts with a longer commute. And, for doulas outside of our typical service area, we will market towards clients closer to them.

I’m more of a hobby doula and prefer to work a few hours a month. Is IBP a good fit for me?

Thankfully we know there is the right doula out there for every client. And some local families only want short-term care and there are doulas who can provide that. With IBP, clients tend to hire us for solid care with contracts lasting anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Most ICs average 40hrs per week, or they work more part-time with another IC to cover a full-time contract. However, we do have some overnight doulas with 1-2 nights per week availability and that works well when paired with a doula working a more of a full-time schedule. Consistency in availability is key, and that’s what we look for regardless on how many nights per week a doula works.

What do we look for in a postpartum doula?

Someone who can support new parents and their feeding choices- breast, formula, pumping, and combination. And have experience spotting when something is off.
Doulas who practice AAP safe sleep guidelines in clients’ homes.
Knowledgeable in perinatal mood disorders and staying up to date on resources for clients.
Doulas who won’t center themselves in someone’s home and postpartum experience.
Organization! This is imperative.
STRONG and timely communication skills- with IBP, clients, and other doulas on the same postpartum contract.
Planners. We are a very busy agency averaging 10+ full time postpartum clients every single month.
Flexibility!
Big picture thinkers who are equally detail oriented.
Proud to be an Indiana Birth & Parenting postpartum doula!