Membership Agreement

MISSION STATEMENT

“Supporting our members and maintaining a directory of professional doulas in the community.”

GOALS & VALUES

  • Doulas of Regina recognizes birth as a key life experience and believes that every woman and family deserve doula support. We strive to increase public education about the benefits of doula presence.
  • Doulas of Regina is committed to providing families with access to quality information and support by providing a public registry of professionally trained doulas who adhere to a strict code of ethics and scope of practice.
  • Doulas of Regina provides the opportunity for members to gather, connect and learn from one another. We provide continuing education opportunities which cultivates the growth of individual doulas, as well as the collective profession.
  • Doulas of Regina strives to foster a positive working relationship between doulas and other professionals in the healthcare field.

CODE OF ETHICS

  • Conduct
    1. The doula acts in accordance with the highest standard of professional and personal integrity.
    2. The doula strives to become and remain proficient through continuing educations, affiliation with related organizations, and associations with other labour/birth/postpartum support providers.
  • Ethical Responsibility to Clients
    1. The doulas primary responsibility is to her clients.
    2. The doula will respect the privacy of the clients and hold in confidence all personal information obtained during the course of professional service.
    3. The doula works with her clients reliably, without fail, for the term of the agreement, unless a formal arrangement has been made to dissolve the relationship.
    4. The doula will communicate fees clearly, including terms, services provided, and refund policy.
  • Ethical Responsibility to Colleagues
    1. The doula will treat colleagues and health professionals with respect, courtesy, fairness, and good faith.
  • Ethical Responsibility to the Profession
    1. The doula will uphold and advance the values, ethics, knowledge, and mission of the profession.
    2. The doula promotes awareness and education regarding doula support.
    3. The doula represents the profession well.

SCOPE OF PRACTICE

  • The doula will provide quality, evidence-based information and support to the client and partner (if applicable) during the prenatal, birth, and postpartum periods.
  • The doula will not perform clinical or medical tasks.
  • The doula will not speak for the client. The doula helps the client advocate for herself by encouraging her to ask questions of her care provider and express preferences and concerns.
  • The doula will not make decisions for the client. The doula will provide evidence-based information and support the client’s decisions.
  • The doula will provide continuity of care. It is up to the doula to make back-up arrangements with another doula to ensure services for the client if the doula is sick or unable to attend.
  • For needs beyond the scope of the doulas training, referrals are made to appropriate resources.

GRIEVANCE POLICY

The Doulas of Regina Grievance Policy has been created to ensure resolution can be made in the event of a grievance or incident with one of our members.

If you wish to file a grievance against a member, please email doulasofreginaboard@gmail.com and include the following information:

  • Doula name (First and last preferred)
  • Date of the incident
  • Individuals involved/witnessed and their position (ie. Client, Nurse, Doctor, etc)
  • Detailed description of the incident
  • Your name and contact information

The matter will be discussed amongst the Board and with the doula, and a plan will be made for resolution. If a resolution cannot be found, then the grievance may be passed on to the Doula’s certifying body. If the member is not certified an Ad Hoc committee may be formed.