Indigenous doula training brings birth knowledge back to families and communities

Indigenous doula training is in high demand, according to one Winnipeg-based organization offering the training.

"This is our first virtual training that we've done it in quite a bit, and we got 300 applications in 12 hours," said Melissa Brown, one of the facilitators.

Brown is Anishinaabe from Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba and delivers programming at Zaagi'idiwin Indigenous Doula Training with co-founder Candace Neumann, who is Red River Métis.

She said some people have tried to get into the program two and three times. To meet the demand, they'll be offering virtual programming again.

As a result of colonization, Brown said, "we have been systematically disconnected from those teachings around pregnancy, birth and postpartum."

"Birth has been removed from our communities."

The program currently prioritizes Indigenous students. 

"This program was developed by Indigenous people for Indigenous people — this knowledge should be returned to them first," Brown said.

Zaagi'idiwin translates to "love" in Anishinaabemowin, and is one of the seven grandfather teachings.

"That's really what guides the work that we do. We know that love for our children and the children yet to come is a totally different level of love," Brown said.

The role of a doula is different from that of a midwife. A midwife is a health-care provider mainly focused on clinical care where a doula's role can be compared to a peer mentor or a support worker. There are no clinical skills involved, so the training is more accessible, said Brown.

Brown said hospital births have become so normalized, many Indigenous families are surprised to hear that they have options.

Allison Badger-John and her sister Cheryl Badger-Gadwa, from Kehewin Cree Nation in Alberta, said they took Indigenous doula training to bring the knowledge of birth work back to their families and their community.

Badger-Gadwa, who is a mother of six and a grandmother, said she wishes she had taken training a long time ago for her own deliveries.