DONA vs CBI Doula training

[sophianichole]

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about becoming a Nurse Midwife and in the meantime I thought it would be great to become a doula.

I've heard mixed things on DONA vs. CBI.

Obviously DONA is more exmemberive (and has the annoying yearly fees?) but it is more well known from what I've heard.

Ive also heard CBI is a great program and worth doing.

What are your experiences? Feel free to share other programs not mentioned.

Thanks all!

[sophianichole]

Please feel free to comment on CAPPA and Birthing from within too!

[klone, MSN, RN]

I'm not incredibly impressed with CAPPA. I only have firsthand experience with their lactation certification, but it did not seem very stringent at all.

Between DONA and ALACE, I've always preferred ALACE, but I admit that I haven't looked into either curriculum for over a decade, so it's possible that things have changed. DONA certainly is a better known certification. I'm honestly not sure that it matters a whole lot, from the perspective of building a client base.

[sophianichole]

Thanks for your reply!

Yes, I've seen a lot of positive things on both ALACE and CBI. I think the only reason I'd go with DONA is because of its prestige and the workshops. Unfortunately there aren't any ALACE workshops near me at this time... so I guess my main back and forth is between CBI and DONA.

If I did CBI I think I would want to pay to go to a workshop anyways... which would end up making it a similar price to DONA. I just think it's crazy you have to pay annually $100 to stay certified in DONA...

[Kala08]

I know this is a bit of an old post but I thought I would follow up since I am a certified birth doula. I recently completed my certification with CBI. I was able to complete everything in about 3 months (which I understand quite a bit faster than usual).

I would say that the CBI requirements seem quite a bit easier to complete than DONA, but DONA will likely provide you more preparation. I chose CBI because I could complete all of the coursework online and I only had to attend two births to finish the certification. This worked much better for my schedule, and so in the end I'm still glad I chose it. I have heard that it can be quite challenging to get all the certifying births you need with DONA (because some OBs/midwives simply won't fill out the eval form).

That said, I'm still relatively new to being a doula and so I'm still working to improve my knowledge. For example, next month I'm taking a childbirth education class at a local hospital - I know this is a requirement for DONA but I'm not able to complete it on my own schedule. So I would say which one you choose will ultimately depend on your particular situation. I also didn't have any birth work experience before, and so I think that's one reason I would've liked the in-person DONA requirements.