Episode 63: Spela Peternel on Doula Leadership and Knowledge

Episode Summary

When Spela completed her PhD in biomedicine, she did not expect doula work to become her career. After years in this field and following multiple specialized pathways of study, she has come to the place where she knows in her own work that doulas make a real difference, not only for individual clients but inside the communities they belong to.

We talk about her path from formal science training into doula leadership, the kinds of knowledge she has built along the way, and what she sees as the work of leading other doulas without flattening the variety in how the work actually gets done. Spela is generous with both the academic and the practical.

Useful for doulas thinking about leadership roles in their community or organization, and for anyone interested in the intersection of formal research training and birth work.

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Mentioned in This Episode

Spela Peternel, PhD, doula and biomedicine researcher

Doula leadership and community impact