No requirements, just the right mindset.

At Nurturing Birth, we believe the best doulas come in all shapes, sizes, and life experiences. You don’t need specific qualifications, a particular type of birth or feeding experience, or even to have had children yourself - just an open heart, a listening ear, and a commitment to support families with care, respect and dignity.

We celebrate diversity in every sense: age, background, culture, gender, ability, and family experience. We welcome those from all communities and life paths, and we’re proud to create a learning space where everyone is treated with equality, respect, and encouragement.

Inclusive language and practices are central to our courses, helping you support families from all walks of life with sensitivity and confidence. If you’re ready to learn, grow, and offer meaningful support, you belong here.

Training with Nurturing Birth is designed as a supportive journey that guides you from your very first steps to confidently booking in and working with clients.

It begins with pre-course modules, giving you foundational starting point and preparing you for the group course experience.

During the group course, you’ll explore the doula role in depth, develop practical skills, and connect with fellow trainees in a safe and interactive environment.

After the course, post-course modules are carefully designed to consolidate your learning, build your confidence, and support you as you set up and grow your business.

All coursework is fully supported and has a three-month completion window - giving you structure and motivation while allowing you to progress at a pace that works for you. During this time, you’ll also have at least two (of the three included) mentoring sessions to reflect, ask questions, and feel supported in your practice.

There is no limit on when you can start reaching out to clients and begin your doula journey with confidence. Some of our doulas book clients just weeks after their training and others take it more slowly. Each journey is different and you will be encouraged to follow your own personal path into this career.

We offer doula courses in various UK locations (see below) with regular course dates in London.

We try and move around to support demand in different areas. Many of the venues we use have accommodation options so do ask if that is of interest and we always choose high-end properties with everything you need to feel comfortable. Bring your slippers and settle in for a warm welcome, fuelled by endless tea, fruit, biscuits and cake.

Many courses are run during the week, but we also offer occasional weekend options to suit different schedules.

Recently, we’ve hosted training in London, Reading, Chichester, Exeter, Bradford and we're heading to Battersea, Sheffield, Bristol, Coventry and more places in 2026 and beyond.....

If you'd like a course in your area, let us know - we’re happy to explore running a course wherever there’s enough demand.

Don't forget - for added flexibility, we also run online group courses on Zoom, bringing our comprehensive training directly to you, no matter where you are.

When you join Nurturing Birth, you’ll gain access to a comprehensive range of materials and resources to support your journey:

• A detailed and user-friendly course manual that serves as an essential guide throughout your training and beyond.

• Lifetime access to our online learning portal, packed with pre-course and post-course modules, additional content to deepen your understanding

• Access to our comprehensive online Resource Board

• 3 personal 60–90 minute mentoring sessions with a mentor of your choice to reflect, set goals, and receive tailored guidance.

• Ongoing access to our weekly Virtual Cuppa with facilitators, mentors and the wider Nurturing Birth community.

• An invitation to join our private Facebook group

• A free 12-month listing on our International Doula Directory to help you start promoting your services and connecting with clients.

These resources are designed not just to guide you through the training but also to help you build a thriving and sustainable doula business.

Join Nurturing Birth and you'll be supported throughout your journey.

During your training your facilitator/s and our amazing coursework coordinator will answer all your questions and encourage your progression through the course.

You'll also be warmly invited to our weekly Virtual Cuppa on Zoom, where you can connect as often as you like with fellow doulas. Many of our members are regulars, making it the perfect space for peer support and this is available to you for 50 weeks of the year!

You’ll also gain access to our private online community where we ask questions, share relevant resources, post doula job requests and generally doula one another.

While there are currently no formal regulations for working as a doula, we take pride in offering top-notch training and outstanding continual support.

As a fully accredited Doula UK course provider, we adhere to the Doula UK Code of Conduct and Philosophy, ensuring our standards reflect the highest level of professionalism and care.

Code of Conduct & Philosophy.

There are no hidden costs with your initial training - everything you need is included in your course fee. Here's what we offer all our doulas;

• Access to our comprehensive NB Manual

• Access to our Online Resource Board

• Weekly "Virtua Cuppa" session for our community (available 50 weeks of the year)

• Three one-to-one mentoring sessions, specifically for you

• Full support to gain your NB Certification

• A FREE listing on our Doula Directory

• Access to our private online community

At Nurturing Birth, we specialise exclusively in birth and postnatal doula training. Our course is designed to equip you with the essential skills needed to confidently support families through antenatal care, birth, and the postnatal period.

A key part of our training focuses on understanding the boundaries of the doula role and navigating how to “wear other hats” if you’re trained in additional areas. We also maintain wonderful relationships with other training providers and are happy to signpost you to them if you’re looking to expand your skills further.

Any doula can tell you that every job brings something different, birth is very unpredictable and each postnatal family has individual requirements. During your training you will be working through different “scenarios” designed to challenge your response to different situations and to use the skills you’ll be working on. We cover many different topics, including loss, multiple births, cultural differences and feeding issues.

As part of your course, we’ll guide you through the essentials of business and marketing to help you build a thriving and sustainable practice. Your facilitator and mentor will work with you to develop a personalised action plan.

We understand the complexities and challenges of setting up and running a successful business, and we’re committed to doing everything we can to help you succeed. Our aim is to help you to find your own drive and confidence to build a business that works for you. With the demand for doula support growing steadily, there’s no better time to get started and we take business support seriously.

Once you have completed your training with us you will be offered a FREE listing on our Doula Directory and we will also help you find other places to be listed and found by anyone looking for doula support.

We celebrate diversity in all its forms - and that definitely includes neurodivergence! Several members of our team and community identify as neurodivergent, or “neuro-spicy,” as some like to call it. Your unique perspective is valued here, and we’ll support you in a way that works for you.

If you have specific needs or strategies that help you learn best, we encourage you to share them with us so we can support you throughout the training and you can always speak to your facilitator if you need anything during your course.

We are often asked this, and the answer is no. At Nurturing Birth, we believe that the skills, topics, and scenarios covered in the antenatal and birth parts of our training are invaluable, even for those planning to work exclusively postnatally.

Understanding the journey families experience during pregnancy and birth provides deeper context and insight, which we feel is essential to offering well-rounded postnatal support.

Whether or not you plan to support births, this knowledge will enhance your ability to empathise with and assist families during the postnatal period.

The short answer is no—there are no mandatory ongoing requirements to maintain your certification. However, we strongly encourage all our doulas to continue incorporating mentoring into their practice, as it helps with ongoing growth and reflection. Staying connected within the Nurturing Birth family is also important, and we invite you to participate in our weekly Virtual Cuppa and engage with our private Facebook group for continued peer support. We see great success as a result of this.

We place great emphasis on the importance of self-care to help you avoid burnout and ensure that you can continue to offer the best support to your clients. We also encourage continued professional development and research, allowing you to stay up to date with the latest practices and resources. This ensures you can provide your clients with the most current, evidence-based information and maintain the highest standards of care.

There is no one-size fits all when it comes to doulas.

Your earning potential can vary depending on your location, experience, and the number of clients you take on. Many doulas in the UK charge between £1000 and £3,000 for birth support, with postnatal care typically priced somewhere between £20-£50 per hour.

There are also multiple ways of working as a doula. Some prefer to take a limited number of clients and do not overlap on-call periods, whilst others may take on multiple clients per month and work with doula colleagues to create a supportive network. We will help you navigate these different approaches during the course, also ensuring you understand the costs involved in running your business and how to make it grow and thrive.

Building a thriving doula business takes commitment and drive. At Nurturing Birth, we will do everything we can to help you succeed by providing comprehensive training, business support, and ongoing guidance. However, it’s important to note that success also requires determination and persistence as well as your doula skills. We can help you hone those skills too. The demand for doulas is growing steadily, so by putting yourself out there and also networking with your peers your clients will find you.

We believe the role of a doula is incredibly important and impactful, both for families and society. As such, we encourage our doulas to think carefully about pricing themselves accordingly, ensuring they are valued for the demanding and essential work they do.

Absolutely! Please don’t hesitate to reach out and talk to us. Choosing a course provider is much like choosing a doula—the fit has to feel “just right.”

We’re here to answer your questions and help you figure out if Nurturing Birth is the right choice for you.

You can email us at info@nurturingbirth or book a free 30-minute Zoom chat with me HERE.

We’d love to hear from you and help guide you on this exciting journey.