Red Tent Doulas

A community of support around every doula

Red Tent Doulas trains people to walk alongside families through pregnancy, birth and the early days after. The courses are led by Nicola Mahdiyyah, a doula of more than 30 years who has worked with Ibu Robin Lim and other birthworkers, and by facilitators who also hold a diploma in adult education.

Their starting point is simple: there is a doula for everyone, and new doulas should not begin alone. Doulas give a great deal of energy to the families they support. Red Tent Doulas builds a community around them, so that support is returned.

How the preparation works

The core course follows the childbearing year as one journey, so it serves people supporting pregnancy, birth or the postnatal period.

• A woman-led self-study guide: reading, documentaries, and practical tasks such as meeting local midwives and doulas

• A weekend workshop of sharing, learning and storytelling with the cohort

• A one-to-one with a facilitator once the study and workshop are complete

• A final project before stepping out to support families

Courses run online and in person. Check redtentdoulas.co.uk for the next dates.

What else they offer

• An advanced workshop, Life of a Birthkeeper

• An educators course

• Traditional postpartum care

• Traditional Chinese medicine for the birthing year

• End-of-life doula training, breastfeeding workshops and further courses

• A directory of doulas who have completed their certification, across the UK

Why we work together

One of Red Tent Doulas' own aims is to help new doulas set up a practice and work ethically as part of a wider network. That is where the day-to-day begins: enquiries, contracts, invoices, appointments and care notes. DoulaOne was built to hold those details, so birthworkers can stay with the families they support.

The Red Tent Doula course with Hannah was invaluable as a means of beginning my doula journey, both professionally and personally. It was encouraging, empowering and enlightening.

Red Tent Doulas course participant

For Red Tent Doulas students

Students get an extended DoulaOne Pro trial while they start building their practice.

• A booking page that turns enquiries into clients

• Contracts and invoices you can send in minutes

• On-call windows, so you can see at a glance who is near their due date

• Care notes and client records stored securely, with GDPR in mind

Find out more

Visit Red Tent Doulas to see course dates, or to ask which preparation is the right fit.