Doula Training & RLBC Immersion for Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color

RLBC's BIPOC-only doula trainings are on hold at the moment due to COVID-19. If you would like to be notified when we have our next training in the calendar, please fill out the form that can be found on our "Get Involved" page, and we'll reach out to you as soon as applications are open.
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In the meantime, we highly recommend training with Sumi's Touch, 
which you can learn more about by following the link below:

RLBC is also now offering virtual skill shares. 
If you'd like to be notified of future skill share offerings, you can sign up here:

​If you have an idea of a skill share you'd like to host,
​we invite you to fill out an application here:

More information about our training:

​RLBC's training certifies* doulas to provide prenatal, birth, and postpartum support to parents. The training includes hands-on experience with skilled doulas, midwives, healers, and reproductive justice trailblazers. Individuals who complete the RLBC training certification requirements become RLBC Certified Doulas (although many collective members prefer to refer to themselves as RLBC Certified Birthworkers. Either title is accurate).

RLBC certification requirements:
  • Full attendance of our 4-day in-person training
  • Providing prenatal, birth and postpartum support to at least 3 RLBC birthing clients through our doula-client matching process, and following the RLBC support model.
  • Attendance of our biweekly doula circles, which you can learn more about here.

*Important note regarding certification:

We deeply believe that an individual's value as a support person is not tied to being 'certified' or not. Certification in the field of reproductive health too often means paying high annual fees to a certifying body for a superficial status boost designed by a capitalist system to value one person over another based on their ability to pay and jump through inaccessible bureaucratic hoops.

We also know that many certifying organizations devalue ancestral knowledge, and include little to no education around the colonial history of birth domestically and globally, the systemic and interpersonal forms of oppression that affect BIPOC people, cultural humility and competence, or generally how intersectional identities of birthing people affect their birthing experiences and the kind of support they need. 

Certification can be just another way to gatekeep support practice, and to ensure that colonial hierarchies based on respectability, sophistication, and status are adhered to. We reject this. 

We affirm and celebrate that knowledge about reproductive health and support comes from all sources of experience. It does not come only from certifying organizations that too often have gained their knowledge by experimentation on BIPOC bodies and/or co-opting generational wisdom and research from BIPOC peoples.

At the same time, we acknowledge that seeking out birth and other forms of health support can be a stressful process. For many people looking for support, certification is one of the only ways they know of to evaluate whether their support person is a good fit. To help ease that burden, our birthworkers do receive certifications upon completing our training.
​We believe that everyone deserves a doula.
#EveryoneDeservesaDoula #EDD

​rootsoflaborbc@gmail.com
(805) 910-RLBC (7522)