DONA Birth Doula Reading List

DONA International as an organization has been training birth doulas since their inception in 1992. The philosophy of “a doula for everyone who wants one” resonates with so many people starting their journey. You can read more about the history of the organization here, and more about what makes DONA special here. DONA is the reason that I first met Robin, who has been training new birth doulas for a long time, and I personally connected with not just the mission of DONA, but also the approach to professional birth work and the focus on learning the evidence-based way to help birthing families. If you would like to read more about the process of becoming a certified birth doula through DONA International, here is a link to a PDF of their overview of it. I will say that while it may seem like a whole bunch of steps, breaking it down into bite size chunks is helpful. Robin even created a Trello board for anyone working on the process to use, so check that out if you think that might help you. Being a certified birth doula is more than just paying your dues to keep the organization going. Maintaining certification shows your clients and the other professionals you work with that you are serious about being a birth professional and that you take continuing education courses to keep improving your skills and knowledge. As someone who personally could not wait to devour every single book I could get my hands on about pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, I was also really excited about the reading list. In fact, I was so excited that I finished all the required reading before I even went to my training; I might be a bit of an overachiever too. (It was completely unnecessary to have done that by the way.) While reading 7 books and 2 position papers might sound a little bit intimidating, I promise that you will absolutely learn important things from these books for your birth doula practice, and each group focuses on some aspect of doula work that will help you be better prepared and more focused in your practice and business. You also don’t have to purchase all of the books for your certification; you can check your local library to see if they are available. In her post about the DONA Postpartum Reading List, Robin covered a few strategies for picking which books to read too, so you may want to check that advice out too. So without further ado, here it is presented with some affiliate links:

Required Birth Doula Reading for DONA Certification

• DONA International’s Position Paper: The Birth Doula’s Contribution to Modern Maternity Care by DONA International (2012, or later) (FREE)
• DONA International’s Position Paper: The Postpartum Doula’s Role in Modern Maternity Care by DONA International (2008, or later) (FREE)

Group 1 – Read at least ONE of the following:

• Bearing Witness by Lisa Doran & Lisa Caron (2015 or later)
• Birth Ambassadors: Doulas and the Re-Emergence of Woman-Supported Birth in America by Christine H. Morton with Elaine G. Clift (2014, or later)
• Gentle Birth Companions: Doulas Serving Humanity by Adela Stockton (2014 or later)
• The Doula Book: How a Trained Labor Companion Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier, and Healthier Birth (A Merloyd Lawrence Book) (2013, or later)
• The Doula Guide to Birth: Secrets Every Pregnant Woman Should Know by Ananda Lowe & Rachel Zimmerman (2009 or later)

Group 2 – Read at least ONE of the following:

• Nurture: A Modern Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, Early Motherhood-and Trusting Yourself and Your Body by Erica Chidi Cohen (2017 or later)
• The Mother of All Pregnancy Books: an All-Canadian Guide to Conception, Birth and Everything in Between by Ann Douglas (2012, or later)
• The Simple Guide to Having a Baby: a Step-by-Step Illustrated Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth by Janet Whalley, Penny Simkin and Ann Keppler (2012, or later)
• The New Pregnancy & Childbirth: Choices and Challenges by Sheila Kitzinger (2011, or later)
• Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn: the Complete Guide by Penny Simkin, April Bolding, Ann Keppler, and Janelle Durham (2010, or later)
• Having Your Baby: For the Special Needs of Black Mothers-to-be, from Conception to Newborn Care 1st Edition by Dr. Hilda Hutcherson and Margaret Williams (2010 or later)

Group 3 – Read at least ONE of the following: 

• Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong–and What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster (2016 or later)
• A Good Birth: Finding the Positive and Profound in Your Childbirth Experience by Anne Lyerly, MD (2013 or later)
• Cut, Stapled and Mended: When One Woman Reclaimed Her Body and Gave Birth on Her Terms After Cesarean by Roanna Rosewood (2013 or later)
• Optimal Care in Childbirth: the Case for a Physiologic Approach by Henci Goer and Amy Romano (2012, or later)
• Natural Hospital Birth: the Best of Both Worlds by Cynthia Gabriel (2011, or later)
• Birthing Normally After a Cesarean or Two: A Guide for Pregnant Women–Exploring Reasons and Practicalities for VBAC by Helene Vadeboncoeur (2011 or later)
• An Easier Childbirth: a Mother’s Guide to Birthing Normally by Gayle Peterson (2008, or later)
• Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin (2008, or later)
• Birth After Cesarean by Jenny Lesley (2004 or later)

Group 4 – Read at least ONE of the following:

• Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents by Dr. Jack Newman (2018 or later)
• Latch: A Handbook for Breastfeeding with Confidence at Every Stage by Robin Kaplan M.Ed. IBCLC & Abby Theuring (2018 or later)
• The Big Letdown by Kimberly Seals Allers (2017)
• Dr. Jack Newman’s Guide to Breastfeeding: the Canadian Expert Offers the Most Up-to-Date Advice on Every Aspect of Breastfeeding by Jack Newman and Teresa Pitman (2015, or later)
• The Nursing Mother’s Companion by Kathleen Huggins (2015, or later)
• Breastfeeding Made Simple: 7 Natural Laws for Nursing Mothers by Nancy Mohrbacher and Kathleen Kendall-Tackett (2010, or later)
• The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by Diane Wiessinger, Diana West and Teresa Pitman (2010, or later)
• Your Guide to Breastfeeding (PDF)
• The Black Woman’s Guide to Breastfeeding: The Definitive Guide to Nursing for African American Mothers by Katherine Barber (2005 or later)

Group 5 – Read at least ONE of the following:

• This Isn’t What I Expected: Overcoming Postpartum Depression by Karen Kleiman and Valerie Davis Raskin (2013, or later)
• The Hidden Feelings of Motherhood by Kathleen Kendall-Tackett (2005, or later)
• Transformed by Postpartum Depression: Women’s Stories of Trauma and Growth by Walker Karraa (2014, or later)
• Postpartum Depression and Anxiety: A Self-Help Guide by Pacific Postpartum Support (2014, or later)

Group 6 – Read at least ONE of the following:

• The Purposeful Hustle by Deanna Singh (2018 or later)
• The Doula Business Guide: Creating a Successful Mother Baby Business by Patty Brennan (2014, or later) (Note: While not a part of the required reading, they also have a companion workbook.)
• The Only Grant-Writing Book You’ll Ever Need by Ellen Karsh and Arlen Sue Fox (2014, or later)
• Winning Grants Step by Step: The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals by Tori O’Neal-McElrath (2013, or later)
• Body of Work: Finding The Thread That Binds Your Story Together by Pamela Slim (2013, or later)
• Worth Every Penny: Build a Business That Thrills Your Customers and Still Charge What You’re Worth by Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck (2012, or later)
• You, Inc.: The Art of Selling Yourself by Harry Beckwith and Christine Clifford (2011, or later)
• The Mocha Manual to Turning Your Passion Into Profit: How to Find and Grow Your Side Hustle in Any Economy by Kimberly Seals Allers (2009 or later)

Group 7–Read at least ONE of the following: 

• Birth in Eight Cultures by Robbie Davis-Floyd and Melissa Cheyney (2019 or later)
• Delivered by Midwives: African American Midwifery in the Twentieth-Century South 1st Edition by Jenny M. Luke (2018 or later)
• Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty by Dorothy Roberts (2016 or later)
• What Does It Mean To Be White, Developing White Racial Literacy (The Revised Edition) by Robin DiAngelo (2016 or later)
• Where’s the Mother? Stories from a Transgender Dad by Trevor MacDonald (2016 or later)
• Journey to Same-Sex Parenthood by Eric Rosswood (2016 or later)
• Birthing Justice by Julia Oparah and Alicia Bonaparte (2015 or later)
• Red Medicine: Traditional Indigenous Rites of Birthing and Healing (First Peoples: New Direction in Indigenous Studies) by Patrisia Gonzales (2012 or later)
• Deadly Delivery: The Maternal Healthcare Crisis in the USA by Amnesty International (2010 or later)

HAPPY READING!!!