Background:
Any person seeking to be a Virginia State-Certified Doula under 12VAC5-403 Certification of Doulas shall be a community-based doula and (i) meet the qualifications and education requirements established in 12VAC5-403 Certification of Doulas and (ii) hold a certification as a certified doula from a certifying body approved by the Virginia Board of Health. The Virginia Certification Board (VCB) is the certifying body approved by the Virginia Board of Health.
The primary goals of establishing State-Certified Doula requirements are to improve the birth outcomes of pregnant women and infants in Virginia through community-based doula services and to eliminate the maternal and infant mortality racial disparities across the Commonwealth.
What is a State-Certified Doula?
Doulas educate mothers to be healthy and have healthy babies, and empower them to confidently make some of the most important decisions of their lives. A State-Certified Doula is a trained, community-based nonmedical professional who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to a pregnant woman. They will support throughout pregnancy, at labor and delivery and continue support after pregnancy period or during the period up to one year after pregnancy. A Virginia State-Certified Doula must be approved by the Virginia Certification Board (VCB) .
Pathway to State-Certification:
Individuals interested in becoming a state-certified doula must receive training from an approved training entity. After completing the training and obtaining a certificate of completion, they can apply for state certification by submitting an application to the Virginia Certification Board. If a training entity is not on the approved list, please encourage them to apply or reach out to Consuelo Staton, State Doula Certification Program Coordinator, at consuelo.staton@vdh.virginia.gov.
Approved State-Certified Doula Training Entities:
- Anew Doula
- BEST Doula Training
- Birth Arts International
- Birth In Color RVA
- Childbirth International
- Childbirth Professionals International (Partial)
- Commonsense Childbirth Training Institute
- DONA International
- Doulaing the Doula
- Doula Trainings International, LLC (Partial)
- Germanna Community College
- Madriella Doula Network
- Mother of Civilization Birth Services: This is your Birth (Email: mocbirthservices@gmail.com)
- New Beginnings Doula Training
- Sisters in Loss
- SMC Full Circle Doula Birth Companion Training
- The Diverse Birth
- Urban Baby Beginnings
- Virginia Community Health Worker Association (DOULA)
The most current list of approved training entities is on the Virginia Certification Board website. Trainers interested in becoming an approved training entity must submit an application to the Virginia Certification Board.
Recertification
State-certified doulas are required to recertify every two years in order to maintain the state-certified doula credential. The Virginia Certification Board (VCB) oversees this process in partnership with the Virginia State Doula Taskforce and the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).
Doulas are required to complete 15 hours of continuing education (CE) from approved training entities. CEs must cover at least two education topics listed in 12VAC5-403-50. Doulas seeking recertification are responsible for obtaining trainings from certified training entities, which are listed on the VCB website. Doulas must submit the training certificates with their recertification application. The certificate must include the date of the training, number of CE hours, training title, and training entity. The recertification fee is $75. For more details about this process, visit the VCB Webpage.
Doulas whose certifications are expiring in April, May, and June 2025 also have the option of completing CEs about at least two education topics listed in the regulations from ANY training entity. In these cases, applicants must still submit the training certificates with their recertification application and the $75 recertification fee.
Doulas who are Medicaid providers are responsible for submitting their recertification certificate to DMAS in order to renew their Medicaid provider status. Failure to do this in a timely manner could result in a lapse in Medicaid provider status.
Apply to Become a Medicaid Provider:
After earning state certification, doulas may apply to become a Medicaid provider. Learn more about this process on the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) Community Doula Program website.
The State-Certified Doula Registry is updated periodically to reflect Medicaid providers. Contact Consuelo Staton, State Doula Certification Program Coordinator, at consuelo.staton@vdh.virginia.gov with any questions about this process.
How to Get Involved:
If you are a doula, community advocate, legislator, neighbor, faith leader, colleague, health care provider, public health professional, partner, friend of a pregnant woman, a woman who is planning to be pregnant, or any other interested person, find out more information by contacting Consuelo Staton, Virginia Department of Health, consuelo.staton@vdh.virginia.gov, (804) 864-7673. Check out Virginia is for Doulas to learn more.