Costa Rica Training Retreat 2024

Julia Forest
(she/her)

Director Doula Canada

Julia is an international yoga teacher, birth doula, women’s health advocate, and closet artist who is passionate about health, environmentalism and empowered birth. She is co-creator of the Sacred Birth Yoga & Doula Training, is founding director of Awakened Spirit Yoga and co-founder of the Wellkind Foundation, a non-profit that focuses on community empowerment and wellbeing through the lens of permaculture. She also created the Sacred Earth Yoga Training, the first yoga teacher training program that combines yoga, mindfulness, permaculture and leadership to transform lives and communities.

Background
During the past 20 years, Julia has been practicing and studying with extraordinary teachers in North America and in India and deepened her practice in several lineages such as classical hatha yoga, mindfulness meditation, vinyasa, Scaravelli inspired, yoga therapy and kundalini. A solo journey to Spain sparked a 10 year pilgrimage to Rishikesh India, where she taught and studied yoga and meditation in ashrams and monasteries.

A self-proclaimed anatomy geek, she draws from more than 16 years of experience in body-centered therapies and physical rehabilitation and has taught individuals of many ages and abilities including teens, women who are pre- and post-natal, elders, as well as people living with MS, fibromyalgia, cancer, osteoporosis and chronic pain.

The emphasis in her classes is on alignment, yoga as a tool for transformation, the healing qualities of inner stillness, movement and breath for the cultivation of inner peace, health and wellbeing. Her approach is trauma informed and accessible. She teaches from the heart and creates an environment in which her students can explore and discover their inner wisdom and potential. She believes that we all have within us what we need to heal ourselves and is passionate about honoring source tradition while exploring the potential that yoga has to offer in everyday life.

Julia has been deeply influenced by her many teachers and mentors such as Thich Nhat Hahn, Jetsumna Tenzin Palmo, Monica Voss, and Judith Hanson Lasater. She offers retreats, yoga teacher training programs, anatomy and physiology intensives, and specialty workshops worldwide.

Stefanie Antunes
(she/her)

Director Doula Canada

Stefanie Antunes has been a Lamaze® Educator and doula since 2002, after the birth of her second son showed her just how valuable it is to be prepared for birth and to have good support around you.

Stefanie is a visionary in the childbirth field. She leads the Discover Birth organization providing a variety of services to expectant parents and training for those wishing to pursue work in the childbirth field. Stefanie is the director of public relations for the Ontario Association of Doulas, former Public Relations Director for DONA International, and sits on many local boards and coalitions to improve our communities. Stefanie is the founder of The Birth Doula Program.

Stefanie is a contributing author in the best selling Power of Women United and the book Bearing Witness: Childbirth Stories Told by Doulas. She is a regular contributing writer and blogger, and has done many interviews online and for TV/radio.

She believes that the world can be a better place if parents can have more positive childbirth experiences, allowing them to bond properly with their babies. She works tirelessly to change the world in this aspect…one family at a time.

What will you learn in the Doula Training?

PREGNANCY CHANGES

• Learn about conception and the pregnancy journey
• Learn about normal pregnancy changes and how we can help people experiencing challenges and discomforts
• Learn about the hormones of pregnancy, birth, and early postpartum

PRENATAL SUPPORT

• Get a deep dive on the BEST ways to support families prenatally
• Explore a variety of activities to use in your prenatal visits with families
• Learn the MOST effective way to do a consultation with a client to get hired
• Review communication tools and strategies to make the most of your interactions with families and care providers

LABOUR AND BIRTH

• Learn about the signs of labour and stages of labour
• Explore the role of the doula and how we support people through the journey
• Delve into the 5 elements of care: emotional, physical, informational, partner support, advocacy
• Practice hands-on skills to use in birth to help increase comfort and decrease pain

MEDICATIONS AND INTERVENTIONS

• Learn about the various medications families will have access to in labour and birth, their benefits and trade-offs
• Learn about the most common challenging situations and how to handle them as a doula
• Explore the reasons for cesareans and how to support families through these experiences

POSTPARTUM SUPPORT

• Learn about normal newborn characteristics
• Learn about newborn feeding and how to support families
• Learn about perinatal health disorders

CERTIFICATION

• Explore the option of certification
• Review all the steps to complete certification

DOULA BUSINESS

• Discuss how to get your first clients
• Learn how to get started in your practice
• Review the various options for how you can work as a doula

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

• Review the history of birth
• Learn about the history of labour support
• Explore various issues affecting under-resourced families and how you can help
• Learn about working with families from different cultures, religions, backgrounds and how you can level-up your support
• Explore your own biases and knowledge gaps

UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF THE POSTPARTUM DOULA

• How you can support new parents
• What a typical day/shift looks like

HOW PREGNANCY AND BIRTH INFLUENCE THE POSTPARTUM PERIOD

• The interconnected nature of a birth journey

RACIAL DISPARITY AND INEQUITY IN CHILDBIRTH

• The current issues that are impacting families
• How you can be a force for positive change

UNDERSTANDING NEWBORN CARE

• Key things to look for with a newborn
• How to communicate tips and tricks to your client

DIFFERENTIATING ”BABY BLUES” FROM PERINATAL MOOD AND ANXIETY DISORDERS

• The importance of mental health
• Signs to look for

SUPPORTING LOSS AND GRIEF

• How to communicate around loss and grief

INFANT FEEDING

• Key suggestions to help your clients on their feeding journey

CERTIFICATION PROCESS IN DETAIL

• How to achieve certification through Doula Training Canada

You can turn your passion into a career as a birth professional.

If you’re feeling called to birth work you probably realize families need more support through this journey. You’re right about that!

Research shows that when a birth doula is present, births are shorter, less complicated, have fewer interventions and birthing people and babies are healthier and families more satisfied with their experience.

Do you have what it takes to become a doula?

For generations the norm has been to work in a 9 to 5 job. Or a set schedule where you “live for the weekends” and get your fulfillment outside of your career.

Well… things have changed.

Everyone is different and this old paradigm of work-life doesn’t work for all of us. We come across so many students who are looking for something different, where they can make a difference in their community.

Whether you are 21 or 61, birth work can become a part of your life. Supporting new parents through pregnancy, birth, and into postpartum is something that you can start at any stage of life – from any career you might have today. We’ve taught lawyers, doctors, nurses, stay at home parents, marketing professionals, receptionists, and even neuro-scientists. Yup. No joke. The key is having a kind heart and a passion for helping people. We help you with the rest.

Real Talk:

What is a doula anyway?

While the modern day doula profession can be traced back only about 35-40 years, the profession is of course as old as time. In most historical accounts people in labour were always surrounded by caring neighbours, friends, sisters and mothers. While one person would have been the midwife, the rest were there for support. By the time we were having babies of our own we would have attended many births. This experience helped us feel more confident about our experience.

It’s no surprise that people today are often nervous about their upcoming experience. They’ve seen dramatized TV shows and movies that depict birth as anything but its reality.

“If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use one”

Dr. John Kennell, co-founder of DONA International

Doulas provide 5 elements of care to support families through whatever twists and turns their journey may take. Emotional support to hold space, Physical support to provide comfort and help reduce pain, Informational support to provide the right info at the right time. Doulas are also there to support partners and other labour support members and help families advocate for themselves.

If you’re feeling called to birth work you probably realize families need more support through this journey.

**********

“Is birth work even right for me?”

Ahh, we get this question a lot!

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO WORK AS A DOULA?

Working as a doula has a lot of ups and downs, like any career. But here are some of the things you might want to consider as you’re deciding if this is the right path for you:

Questions to ask yourself:

• Do you love to support birthing people and families in their OWN choices and decisions?
• How much money do you want/need to make from being a doula?
• Can you handle working on-call? (for births)
• Do you work well with others and can you see yourself working alongside a variety of other medical professionals?
• What is your motivation for wanting to become a doula?
• What are your long-term plans in the field?

How much money can I make working as a doula?

Like anything in life, the amount of effort you put out is the amount of benefit you’ll get in return. We’ve seen doulas make anywhere from $0 (those who want only to work as volunteers) to $80,000 a year.

Following your passion

Working as a doula can be the most amazing experience and is such an honour to be a part of. If you are thinking this is the right path for you then we encourage you to come to our workshop!

If you feel passionate about helping birthing people and families then this could be your next dream job!

DOULA TRAINING CANADA
certification

Doula Training Canada is one of the world’s leaning doula certification institutions, helping birth workers around the globe discover their passion for this work. They provide opportunities for doulas and childbirth educators to professionally develop their skills and confidence as reproductive support persons.

Established in 2001, Doula Canada has a long  history of offering quality training with a personal approach. “Certification with confidence” and evidence-based approaches to resource and skill development are two mandates of their organization. These are two of the many reasons they are a leading training for modern day doulas!

Doula Canada works tirelessly every day to improve reproductive health through the development of client-directed care and a focus on community support models. Their focus is not simply on the reproductive experiences of labour, birth, and the postpartum, but on all reproductive journey’s their clients may experience.

Training and Retreat investment:  USD$1,750 + $825-2000 for accommodations

Breakdown of Fees:

Training Fee

FULL WEEK RETREAT

$1750 USD (Save $200 until December 1st when paid in full)

• Birth and Postpartum doula training (includes cost of certification)
• Special activities
• You will leave the training as a doula, and can begin working as a doula immediately
• Community support
• Guidance on additional education
• BONUS: free lactation training (required for certification but not usually included in cost)

Accommodations – SHARED OR PRIVATE

$825 to $2000 USD

• Luxury accommodations
• Shared or private options
• Choice of room (based on remaining availability)
• All meals
• Hot showers
• Hot tub
• Salt water pool
• Spa services available at an additional fee

Instalment plans are available upon request.  All training, retreat, and certification fees must be paid in full prior to attending.

Registration fee is non-refundable but transferrable to other Doula Training Canada learning opportunities a maximum of sixty (60) days prior to the retreat start date.

Space is limited.

Registrants are responsible for the additional costs of their flights to and from Liberia Airport, Costa Rica.  Any costs associated with travel to and from Costa Rica are the responsibility of the registrant.