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Episode 186: Doula Skills – When Your Support Isn’t Effective
Every doula has left a birth or ended a postpartum shift questioning whether their doula skills were actually effective. Nothing went wrong. The client was okay. But something wasn’t received the way you intended and you couldn’t stop thinking about it on the drive home. Most doulas push that feeling down and move on to the next client. Some spiral into self-criticism. Neither option builds skill or makes you more effective at this work. That feeling is a signal. What you do with it matters. Our nervous system shapes our support in ways we do not always recognize in real time. So does what we are carrying from the clients…
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Episode 185: Why New Doulas Struggle to Get Clients
Knowing how to get doula clients is one of the first real questions after training ends. And most new doulas are getting the same answer. Network with other doulas. Reach out to providers. Wait. That advice is well-intentioned. Most doula training does not effectively prepare you for what comes after it. How do the families who need you actually find you? Becoming a doula and building a doula business are not the same thing. That distinction does not get enough honest airtime. This conversation gives it some. It is also a conversation about visibility, money, and the parts of building a doula business that feel uncomfortable but cannot be avoided.…
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Episode 184: When Bias Changes Support
The cascade of interventions is often taught like interventions are a row of dominoes. Pitocin leads to epidural. Epidural leads to cesarean. Once the first one is tipped, the rest will inevitably follow. That might sound logical at first. But it can also quietly teach fear and shape bias in the way doulas support clients. This conversation takes a hard look at this belief, the message it sends, and the biases underneath it. The reality isn’t a cascade, but care bundles, clinical pathways, hospital culture, and decision points that are part of the process. Clients need more than fear dressed up as preparation. They need language they can use, questions…
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Episode 183: Supporting Induction
Supporting induction means knowing how to support what is actually happening. Many clients are scheduled without clear information about why, how induction begins, what options remain, or how long it may take. Then ripening takes a day or two, the plan changes, and disappointment builds because the expectation was unrealistic. This conversation puts induction back where it belongs: informed consent, realistic expectations, and support that adjusts without losing advocacy. Bishop score, cervical ripening, provider language, and accurate information shape how prepared a client is before induction begins. As doulas, we need to understand what these mean, how they shape expectations, and why support matters more when plans shift. Join us…
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Episode 182: Doula Tools
Doula tools can help, but they don’t keep you grounded. A big birth bag can turn into a crutch when labor gets loud, space gets tight, and you feel pressure to find an immediate solution. Some doulas over-offer, over-talk, and reach for tools too fast. Then a client shushes them, moves their hands away, or rejects a comfort measure, and it feels personal. It isn’t. It’s feedback. Good support adjusts without getting rattled. This conversation puts the tools question back where it belongs: with the client’s preferences. The best comfort items are often the ones they already use during cramps, illness, and overwhelm. Familiar works. Random tools introduced in labor…
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Episode 181: Core Doula Skills
Core doula skills shape the whole room, not your bag of tricks. You do not build strong support by collecting more tools. You build it through presence, attunement, communication, and timing, in real time, with real clients. These skills show up when things feel tense. When plans change. When your client looks at you for answers you cannot give. When the room speeds up and you feel your own nervous system kick up. They grow through experience, reflection, and repetition. You notice what you do when you feel unsure. You practice staying grounded. You say less, listen more, and choose your moments. Over time, you stop scrambling and start leading…
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Episode 180: Professional Identity
Professional identity shapes how clients experience you, especially when things get hard. It shows up under pressure. In the room. In the moments you do not get to rehearse. This conversation is not about branding or personality. It is about how you practice. In this episode, we talk through: Why skill alone does not create trust How stress reveals your default way of working Four common practice anchors doulas lean into What happens when strengths over-express How unprocessed birth or postpartum medical trauma can quietly shape your work Why regulation and boundaries matter for both you and your clients Along the way, you will be invited to reflect on: What…
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Episode 179: Confidence
Confidence grows through action, not intention. Did you know that building it is a process? You do not wake up with it. You build it by doing the work, taking a step of faith, and sometimes missing the mark. Confidence forms through experience, reflection, and repetition. It develops when you act, before you feel certain. Mistakes strengthen your judgment, and real growth happens when you keep showing up even after things do not go as planned. Waiting to feel confident keeps you stuck. Moving forward creates the confidence you are looking for. This conversation is for doulas who want to trust themselves more, take meaningful action, and grow into their work…
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Episode 178: Ready, Set, Go!
In this episode, we talk about readiness and why waiting to feel ready keeps so many doulas stuck. Here’s something you may not know: feeling ready is not a feeling. It is an action. Confidence is built by doing the work, and fear does not mean you are unprepared. You’ll hear why mentorship alone does not create confidence, how real growth happens through doing, and what readiness actually looks like in birth, postpartum, education, and lactation support. If you have ever thought, “I’ll jump in when I feel ready,” this episode is for you.
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Episode 177: Season 7 Wrap-Up
Doulas of the Roundtable wraps up season seven with a look back and a clear look ahead. In this episode, you hear our top 10 most listened-to episodes of all time and why these conversations continue to matter to doulas at every stage of practice. We also share an important update about the podcast. Eva will be stepping away from the show. We want to take a moment and honor Eva’s voice, insight, and role in shaping the podcast into what it is today! Moving forward, Angela will continue as the solo host of Doulas of the Roundtable. The focus remains the same. Honest conversations. Evidence-based discussion. Real talk about…
