About Doula UK
Doula UK was founded in 2001 to promote life-changing support from skilled doulas for families in the childbearing year regardless of circumstance, while advocating for better support for UK families.
We are a non profit community interest company, led by and for our members, with over twenty years of experience supporting hundreds of doulas all over the UK.
We have over 700 doula members working in all parts of the United Kingdom. Each member must complete Doula UK approved training, go through a rigorous mentoring and recognition process and comply with Doula UK Code of Conduct, Philosophy, Guidelines and Policies.
We nurture our membership, so they can unconditionally support the needs of everyone involved in pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period.
We are committed to continued learning amongst all Doula UK parties to ensure equality, diversity, inclusivity and belonging among our members, volunteers, employees, course providers and to those families served.
Our Aims
Promote life-changing support for women and birthing people in the childbearing year, regardless of circumstance
Nurture the doula community; protecting parents and health professionals
Advocate for better support for UK families
Our History
Doula UK was founded in April 2001, as a network of doulas, run voluntarily by doulas.
Earlier that year a group of doulas were part of Michel Odent’s first “training” for doulas in the UK. Hilary Lewin, Mags Hardwick, Ingrid Lewis, Vida Rye, Nicola Wilson, and a group of passionate and motivated people sowed the seed for what has become the only UK-wide organisation for doulas writing and implementing the training, mentoring and recognition of new doulas. Adela Stockton’s book, ‘Gentle Birth Companions’ charts those early days of the doula movement in the UK.
Since that time our network has steadily grown and Doula UK now has nearly 700 full members who are all working doulas in the UK but we are still led by a passionate group of volunteers.
Press
Doula UK and its members regularly featured in national and local press including: BBC News, BBC Radio 4, The Guardian, ITV News, Independent, Express, Daily Mail, Mirror, Indie, Glamour, Hello!, Mail on Sunday, Huffington Post and Sky News raising the profile of doulas.
Partners
We are members of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance, Baby Loss Awareness Alliance, Baby Feeding Law Group and the European Doula Network and are invited to attend national level meetings to improve maternity care with partners who share our aims including Make Birth Better, Best Beginnings, Birthrights, AIMs and RCM.
