Holistic Doula Program
At The Matrona, we believe that childbirth is a transformative event and pregnant women have access to altered states of consciousness that allow them to have an expanded perspective of life and of themselves.
This culminates in the birthing process.
We realize that many women desire to be witnessed, rather than managed, in this extraordinary experience. In our Matrona Doula Program we put a different spin on what it really means to support and witness a woman and we explore what it means to nurture a mom during her childbearing cycle.
The Matrona Holistic Birth Doula program is comprehensive in it’s scope.
We teach a practical and well rounded body of information about childbirth…
all the basics…yet the material is presented holistically and with a balance of the intuitive and the clinical.
We offer a family-centered perspective on birth and we expand the mainstream information found in many of the available books on childbirth.
We also explore some mind-blowing facts such as –
Our entire class is dedicated to the exploration of the experience of childbirth and it’s ramifications on the soul and spirit as well as on the body.
• Why and how women are the ancestral sex and exactly how fertilization takes places as a team event.
• The brain wave states and patterns of altered states of consciousness that are part of every childbirth experience.
• The journey of birth in a new language that represents childbirth as the mystical and transformative journey that it is.
Dar a Luz ~ To give Light
Upcoming Events
- Sat, Nov 23Via ZoomNov 23, 2024, 11:00 AM EST – Nov 24, 2024, 4:00 PM ESTVia ZoomTake the next step on your birth-worker journey! This program is designed to address two critical areas that often evoke heightened adrenaline in the birthing process: the anxieties surrounding a baby's breathing and the uncertainties related to placental delivery.
- Thu, Dec 05Via ZoomDec 05, 2024, 11:00 AM EST – Dec 08, 2024, 5:00 PM ESTVia ZoomAre you ready to embark on the journey of becoming a Holistic Doula? Dive deep into the world of Holistic Birth and join our expanding international community of Holistic Doulas.
You will learn –
• Feminine A&P, the pelvis, the hormones of the reproductive system and the female cycles.
• How to compute the correct date of birth.
• How to understand birth as an organic process and how to support a mother’s choices in
various places… home, hospital, birthing center.
• How to articulate and navigate through the cultural perspectives concerning birth.
• How to nurture a pregnant woman.
• How the baby navigates the pelvis during the process of labor
• How labor unfolds without interference and how to facilitate women in that process.
• Options in childbirth…choosing caregivers, waterbirth, positions for delivery
• Understanding the cervix…dilation and effacement, cervical lips, ruffling the membranes,
Bishop’s score for induction.
• How to understand some of the controversial topics in childbirth…ultrasound, induction of labor, rupture of membranes, Group Beta strep, cord clamping, neonatal jaundice…
• How to employ healing modalities that facilitate self-direction in mothers and families.
• How to tend placentas and offer Placenta Readings.
• How to create win/win and collaborative solutions when things do not go as planned.
• How to present yourself as a doula in the community and how to integrate your practice of woman care with the knowledge of birth.
The cost of the 4-day program is $700.
Certification requirement are easy and simple and involve no other costs than the $700 for the 4-day program.
We offer immediate certification to anyone who attends the 4 days, does the requisite reading and who has either birthed a child or attended births.
If you have not attended birth in any capacity, we ask that you take steps in your community to shadow a doula or attend a few births for certification.
See below for our complete Holistic Doula Reading List.
For questions or inquiries contact us at matronainfo@gmail.com
Holistic Doula Reading List
For Certification in our Holistic Birthing Doula Program we require that you read ‘Natural Hospital Birth’ by Cynthia Gabriel. We ask that you choose two other books from the Pregnancy and Birth section to read. Those marked with an asterisk are preferred. We also suggest that you enhance your knowledge with books from other categories such as Breastfeeding, Postpartum and Healing Modalities. Pregnancy and Birth (*books are recommended) * ‘The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth’ by Henci Goer * ‘Gentle Birth Choices’ by Barbara Harper * ‘A Good Birth, a Safe Birth’ by Diana Korte and Roberta Scaer * ‘Birth Reborn’ by Michel Odent, MD * ‘The Birth Partner’ by Penny Simkin * ‘Unassisted Childbirth’ by Laura Shanley * ‘Birthing From Within’ by Pam England * ‘Active Birth’ by Janet Balaskas * ‘Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn’ by Simkin, Whaley and Keppler ‘New Natural Pregnancy’ by Janet Balaskas ‘Women Giving Birth’ by Limberg and Smulders ‘Special Delivery’ by Rahima Baldwin ‘Waterbirth: A Midwife’s Perspective’ by Susan Napierala * ‘Back Labor No More’ by Janie King ‘The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth’ by Sheila Kitzinger ‘Mothering the Mother’ by Marshall and Phyllis Klaus ‘Nurturing Touch at Birth: A Labor Support Handbook’ by Paulina Perez ‘The Birth Book’ by Martha and William Sears * ‘The Scientification of Love’ by Michel Odent, MD *‘The Farmer and the Obstetrician’ by Michel Odent, MD Breastfeeding * ‘Nursing Your Baby’ by Karen and Gayle Pryor * ‘Breastfeeding Your Baby’ by Sheila Kitzenger * ‘The Nursing Mother’s Companion’ by Kathleen Huggins ‘The Breastfeeding Book’ by Martha and William Sears ‘Breastfeeding Naturally’ by Hannah Lothrop ‘The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding’ by La Leche League ‘Nursing Mother, Working Mother’ by Gayle Pryor Postpartum and the Newborn * ‘After the Baby’s Birth’ by Robin Lim * ‘Natural Health After Birth’ by Aviva Romm ‘Mothering the New Mother’ by Sally Placksin ‘Nurturing Your Newborn’ by Jeanne Lindsay ‘Your Amazing Newborn’ by Marshall and Phyllis Klaus Health in Pregnancy and Complementary Healing Modalities * ‘The Natural Pregnancy Book’ by Aviva Romm * ‘Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year’ by Susun Weed ‘Herbs for a Healthy Pregnancy’ by Penelope Ody ‘Prenatal Yoga and Natural Birth’ by Jeannine Parvati Baker ‘Mother Massage’ by Elaine Stillerman ‘Herbal Healing for Women’ by Rosemary Gladstar ‘Natural Healing for the Pregnant Woman’ by Elizabeth Burch ‘Healing Wise’ by Susun Weed ‘Herbal Remedies for Children’s Health’ by Rosemary Gladstar ‘The New Holistic Herbal’ by David Hoffman ‘Herbal Rituals’ by Judith Berger *’Homeopathy for Pregnancy, Birth and Baby’s First Year’ by Miranda Castro ‘The Homeopathic Childbirth Manuel’ by Betty Idarius ‘Homeopathy for Birthing’ by Jana Shiloh ‘Teach Yourself Homeopathy’ by Gillian Stokes ‘The One-Minute (or so) Healer’ by Dana Ullman Miscarriage ‘Ended Beginnings’ by Claudia Panuthos ‘Help, Comfort & Hope After Losing Your Baby in Pregnancy’ by Hannah Lothrop Midwifery ‘Bush Midwifery: Childbearing Care in the Absence of Hospitals’ by Ashwagandha https://www.bushmidwifery.com/ ‘Heart and Hands’ by Elizabeth Davis ‘Book for Midwives’ by Susan Klein ‘Polly’s Birth Book’ by Polly Block ‘Tricks of the Trade’ by Midwifery Today ‘Christian Midwifery’ by Betty Peckman Fertility and Family Planning * ‘Taking Charge of Your Fertility’ by Toni Weschler ‘Your Fertility Signals’ by Merryl Winstein ‘A Co-operative Method of Natural Birth Control’ by Margaret Nofziger Cesareans and Childbirth Advocacy ‘Silent Knife’ by Nancy Cohen ‘Immaculate Deception’ by Suzanne Arms ‘VBAC Companion’ by Diana Korte ‘Open Season’ by Nancy Cohen Parenting ‘The Path of Parenting’ by Vimala McClure ‘Hip Mama Survival Guide’ by Ariel Gore ‘10 Principles for Spiritual Parenting’ by Mimi Doe ‘Natural Family Living’ by Peggy O’Mara