Episode 41: Hospital Policies, Doulas & COVID-19

As hospitals begin to relax their visitor guidelines to include doulas, the requirements surrounding the standards that doulas must meet to gain access to hospitals is changing.

Hospitals that previously welcomed any doula with open arms have instituted doula policies requiring proof of training and/or certification. Some are providing PPE for doulas to utilize as they support clients. While others are requiring an extensive list of PPE that the doula must provide at their own expense. 

Some doulas believe that it is not within the hospital’s right to create doula policies surrounding doula certification and training and encourage doulas to make their own certificates of training or certification.

However, hospitals get to make the rules surrounding visitor policy. Their house, their rules. 

The medical community values standardized education, and verification of that education. As doulas, we get to choose whether we participate in that system or not.

Some doulas feel that hospitals are gatekeeping. Controlling or limiting access to doula work. For some finances or access to doula training/certification may be a barrier to meeting the requirements that hospitals impose.

How we navigate these changes as birth workers will either help us have a seat at the table for change or keep us on the fringes, looking from the outside in.

Join us as we discuss this complex topic and how to navigate it as a doula in your own community.