Birth justice is a movement led by Black women and people of color that seeks to recognize systemic inequalities and empower people in communities in the pregnancy and birthing process. In 2023, Elephant Circle conducted a landscape analysis of birth justice in the US using mixed methods. A quarter of survey respondents identified as Doulas. This presentation examines the results of the analysis related to Doulas including their demographic characteristics, experiences of discrimination, involvement in networks, services provided, extent of community organizing work and advocacy activities, sustainability, and compensation. We will present insights on how to best support Doulas to provide Birth Justice services and avoid burnout and moral injury. Finally, we will reveal our interactive tool for advocacy and education about birth justice. The presentation will shed light on how to integrate, uplift, and replicate birth justice values and practices to improve equity in the care provided by Doulas.

This session is sponsored by:

Indra Lucero, ESQ

Doulas and birth professionals often face physical, emotional, social, and mental challenges while navigating the world’s birth systems. Drawing knowledge and experience from an extraordinary physician, Dr. Eva Reich, we can learn and apply this simple and profound therapeutic tool to help us deal with traumas and challenges that we, as well as the families we support, face on a professional and personal level, throughout parenthood.

Eva Reich developed her “Butterfly Touch” while working next to her father, psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich, and during her residency in Harlem Hospital, New York in the 1950s, as well as from her teachings around the world. The Butterfly Touch Massage has helped hundreds of people of all ages and walks of life with health issues or trauma. In this presentation we will learn the science and practice of this tool, to use for self-help and for others we support.

Maria Andreoulaki, CD/BDT(DONA)

Strong Roots Parent Cafés ™ are a parent-led peer-to-peer program that creates opportunities for community-building conversations that support reflection, nurture growth, and strengthen protective factors. Strong Roots Parent Cafés promote parent and community strengths and resilience, using a well-developed format and a card deck that features reflective questions designed to encourage conversation around the Strong Roots Protective Factors: Connecting with My People, Supporting Feelings, Caring for Myself, Getting Help, and Enjoying with My Child.

Through these conversations, and the opportunity to connect with others in their community, these Cafés are intended to strengthen evidence-based protective factors and reduce social isolation and parenting stress, increase connection to community resources, and empower parents to raise their children safely and with love, in a manner that is consistent with their own cultural, traditions, and values. Strong Roots programs promote health and resilience by fostering safe, strong, and positive relationships for families with young children, from pregnancy to age 6. During this breakout session, participants will learn about the peer-delivered trauma-informed care model Strong Roots Protective Factors which are evidence-based and promote family resilience, and will have the opportunity to experience Strong Roots Parent Cafes. This parent-led program supports community-building conversations to encourage reflection, nurture growth, and strengthen protective factors. Strong Roots Parent Café co-collaborators share accounts of the impacts that Strong Roots Parent Cafés has on parents and caregivers within the community. Additionally, attendees will experience an interactive Strong Roots Parent Café.

Dr. Kate Rosenblum, PhD, ABPP, IMH-E, Co-Presenter

Stacy Morris, MSA, BS, AAS, Co-Presenter

Storykeeping for Doulas: Cultivating Radical Listening Presence is a class that uses chaplain, midwife, and doula skills to teach active listening, container building, and narrative stewardship techniques. It introduces participants to the transformative power of eliciting and caring for our clients’ personal narratives, and it teaches the deep listening and curious inquiry skills that make space for and support the sharing of fertility, pregnancy, birth, loss, and postpartum stories in client encounters.

Abby Hall Luca, MA, CPM

Birth and postpartum workers are often multi-passionate and multi-talented and while society often promotes the narrative that “you can do it all,” the reality is that it is not feasible to manage everything simultaneously without risking burnout. In this presentation, Lauren McClain, who has navigated a career transition, will share her experiences and strategies for managing multiple roles.

After this session, participants will have strategies to examine their calendars and job responsibilities and assess how much they can realistically balance without compromising their well-being. Lauren will cover how to effectively communicate and make decisions when the demands of one career begin to outweigh another.

This session aims to provide practical tools and insights for maintaining a healthy balance in professional lives.

Lauren McCLain, CD(DONA)

Perinatal mental health complications are the MOST COMMON complication of pregnancy and childbirth, impacting 1 in 5 pregnant or postpartum people, and negatively affecting 800,000 families each year in the United States, and more worldwide.  Tragically, suicide and overdose combined are the LEADING CAUSE of perinatal mortality, contributing to almost 25% of deaths (of note, the leading cause of death for women of color remains cardiac and coronary conditions).  The vast majority of individuals who experience perinatal mental health conditions do not receive adequate treatment, increasing the risk of long-term negative impact on the birthing person, baby, and family — and costing more than $14.2 billion each year in poor birth and health outcomes along with lost wages and productivity.

This presentation will provide information about perinatal mental health conditions, including facts and figures, signs and symptoms, risk factors, impact on parents and babies, and opportunities for intervention.

This session is sponsored by:

Adrienne Griffen, MPP

The majority of birthers experience pain during labor and childbirth, however not all people experience it in the same way (and some birthers report no pain at all). Is pain an inevitable part of childbirth? Generally, pain is often poorly understood and actively avoided!

However, pain scientists are starting to think differently about pain and its causes. The current evolved understanding of pain is that not only is it complex, but it is an output from the brain. In this presentation, we will discuss the basics of pain science, how we can use it to better support pregnant people, and how pregnant people can use it to better support themselves.

Pain is changeable! Let’s take principles from modern pain science and neuroscience and apply them to the context of birth.

Mandy Rempfer-Kuncio, MScPT, BSc (hons), CD(DONA)

In this session, doula and mother of eleven, Jennifer Jackson will discuss strategies to amplify the harmony between doula work and family management. While being a doula does require a level of flexibility, it does not have to upend the family routine, cause resentment in the household, or dictate how a doula operates other parts of their life.

Learn to craft a personalized “Birth-Work Plan,” amplify boundaries, time management, and self-care. This session strives to empower doulas with practical strategies to find balance, fostering stability in your doula journey.

Jennifer Jackson, CD(DONA), CPD(PCB)

Dads, Partners, and other support people play a pivotal role in creating positive, safe, and productive birthing spaces, and doulas working collaboratively with the support people bring a powerful dynamic for the client. In this session, doula Joshua Zawadi, owner of the Melanated Daddy and the signature non-birthing parenting course Dad Doula, will share important insight into how doulas can best work together with non-birthing partners to create relationships and incorporate them into the space as accomplices in the work. The session will include tactics on how doulas can help birthing partners become better advocates on behalf of the birthing person and other tips that will enhance the doulas’ understanding of the power of the partner.

Doulas have a unique ability to build relationships and amplify the role of the partner, resulting in better birth and postpartum experiences and increased comfort and safety of the client as they experience one of life’s most significant journeys.

Joshua Liston-Zawadi, Doula, CHW

As doulas, our support extends beyond the immediate needs of new parents to encompass the entire family dynamic, including the invaluable (but sometimes tricky) role of grandparents. In this session, we will delve into the unique challenges and opportunities that arise when the clients’ parents become grandparents. 

DONA Doula Trainer, Phyllis Klaus Award recipient, Lactation Consultant, and GRANDparent extraordinaire, Ann Grauer will help attendees explore practical strategies for fostering open and supportive communication between new parents and grandparents, establishing healthy boundaries, and providing up-to-date parenting information to make their GRAND entrance into their postpartum era.

Ann Grauer, AdvCD/AdvPCD(DONA), BDT/PDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, IBCLC, RLC

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. In this session, we will discuss how these factors specifically influence maternal and infant health and highlight the pivotal role doulas play in influencing these determinants. Attendees will gain an understanding of these concepts, along with practical strategies and resources to amplify their impact in supporting families to achieve optimal health outcomes. This session is essential for doulas dedicated to fostering equity and amplifying the well-being of the families they serve.

This session is sponsored by:

Mary E. Schultheis, Founder, CEO

DONA Leadership invites DONA members to our annual membership meeting!

Each year the DONA International Board of Directors holds a membership meeting during the meeting you’ll hear from leadership with a report from the prior year as well as what’s coming in the future! Join us for this fun and informative meeting and get to know your leadership and DONA happenings even better.

Attendees will receive 1 DONA Contact hour for attendance at the membership meeting.

Things to expect:

• State of DONA International
• Reports from all areas (Membership, Education, Certification, and Financial, DEI, Advocacy etc.)
• Highlights from the past year
• Highlights of current and upcoming projects
• Ways to get involved and help your voice be heard
• 2025 In-Person Conference Announcement

Join us for this annual meeting and learn about what's happening from you DONA leadership! 

This session is sponsored by: