How Moms Can Earn Extra Money By Becoming A Doula #GuestPost

It is always helpful to find ways to earn a little extra money when you are a mom. There are lots of different ways you can find the right side hustle for you and your family. Today's guest post is a more than a side hustle. Learn how you can make some extra money by becoming a doula.

How Moms Can Earn Extra Money By Becoming A Doula

Doulas are professionals in the healthcare field that provide support to mothers during their pregnancy and labor.  Moms make the best doulas because they have all the qualities that are right for the job: compassion, patience, and understanding.  These qualities are needed as a doula in order to be a caretaker and a companion for women undergoing childbirth.  Moms understand that pregnancy and birth are not only a physical change for a woman, but also an emotional process as well.  Moms who become doulas know this intimately and perform incredibly well during their training.

What is the role of a doula?

A doula serves her client by providing supportive care during pregnancy, labor, and shortly after during the postpartum period.  The support comes in two forms: physical and emotional.  Physical support can come in the form of massages and aromatherapy to help reduce stress and relieve muscle aches caused by pregnancy.  Emotional support is just as important.  A doula gives emotional support through assurance, being an active listener, being a warm companion who is always there, and not being judgmental regarding the mother's choices.

The second important role of a doula is to provide childbirth education to her client in order to empower the mom into making the best choices for herself as well as her newborn.  By answering her client's questions regarding her pregnancy and birth in a non-biased manner, a doula becomes an integral part of helping making the birth a happy and fulfilling experience.

How can a mom become a doula?

Moms can train to become doulas by reading training literature and attending childbirth events. Doula certification programs such as Doulas of North America and Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association have a standardized training curriculum for moms interested in how to become a doula. These programs offer reading material, classes (both online and offline, as well as training workshops for both birth doulas and postpartum doulas.  While having a certification is not required, it makes landing a job much easier due to having past training experience through the certification program.

How much do moms earn as a doula?

After getting certified as a doula, moms can find work by networking with potential clients through the certification programs' contact list and through outreach via social media. As with most jobs, more established doulas tend to earn more due to having more experience.  Furthermore, doulas are more in demand in larger cities such as New York City vs. a rural town.  The average salary of a doula is $30,000.  This salary increases as the doula builds her reputation and brand through word of mouth and social media.  Birth doulas and labor doulas typically earn more than postpartum doulas due having to support the mother during the week before the birth as well as the entirety of her labor.  In contrast, postpartum doulas serve the mother during the few days after the childbirth.

About the Author
Doulatrainingguide.com is a website devoted to educating women interested in a career in healthcare about doula training opportunities and certification requirements. The author is Emily Thompson, who is also the editor of the website and a doula who wants to help future doulas in training.