Doula job description.
A doula provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to individuals and families before, during, and after childbirth. They help clients prepare birth plans, offer comfort measures during labor, and support bonding and recovery in the postpartum period, working alongside midwives, physicians, and nursing staff without providing clinical or medical care. Doulas typically work independently, through an agency, or as part of a hospital or birth center support team.
The Doula job description · $29
The full editable .docx — role summary, 9 worked responsibilities, qualifications, and skills, formatted for your letterhead. Delivered to your inbox within 24 hours — usually instantly.
Role: Doula Reports to: Practice Owner / Birth Center Director
A doula provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to individuals and families before, during, and after childbirth. They help clients prepare birth plans, offer comfort measures during labor, and support bonding and recovery in the postpartum period, working alongside midwives, physicians, and nursing staff without providing clinical or medical care. Doulas typically work independently, through an agency, or as part of a hospital or birth center support team.
- Meet with clients prenatally to discuss preferences, concerns, and birth planning
- Provide continuous emotional and physical support during labor and delivery
- Offer comfort measures such as positioning, breathing techniques, and massage
What's inside the document.
One-paragraph plain-English explanation of the role's outcome and scope.
9 responsibilities phrased the way the work is actually done.
5 qualifications a candidate must have to perform on day 30.
3 qualifications that would make a candidate excellent in year two.
6 skill chips you can copy directly into your ATS.
Practice Owner / Birth Center Director
A complete document set.
- Word document (.docx) — fully editable
- PDF — signature-ready
- Google Docs — one-click copy to your Drive
- 12 months of updates to this document
- Commercial-use licence for internal and client work
The work, not the title.
- Meet with clients prenatally to discuss preferences, concerns, and birth planning
- Provide continuous emotional and physical support during labor and delivery
- Offer comfort measures such as positioning, breathing techniques, and massage
- Serve as a liaison between clients and medical staff to support informed decision-making
- Support postpartum recovery, bonding, and early feeding adjustment
- Maintain clear communication and scope-of-practice boundaries with the clinical care team
- Keep accurate records of client sessions, preferences, and birth outcomes
- Provide referrals to lactation consultants, pediatricians, or mental health resources as needed
- Build and maintain a client caseload through outreach or agency placement
Required — and what would make a candidate excellent.
- Doula certification from a recognized training organization
- Strong understanding of labor, birth, and postpartum processes
- Excellent interpersonal, communication, and active-listening skills
- Ability to remain calm and supportive in high-stress situations
- Flexibility to be on call for births at varying hours
- Additional certification in lactation support or postpartum doula work
- Experience supporting diverse birth settings (home, hospital, birth center)
- CPR/First Aid certification
Eight steps from download to publish.
- 01Open the Doula job description in Word or your one-click Google Docs copy.
- 02Replace placeholders for company name, reporting line, and location with your specifics.
- 03Tighten the summary to one paragraph that names the team's outcome, not just the role.
- 04Edit the responsibilities to match the actual scope of the seat — aim for 6 to 8 items, not 12.
- 05Separate required qualifications from preferred. Required is what a candidate must have to do the work on day 30; preferred is what would make them excellent in year two.
- 06Add salary range guidance using BLS, Payscale, or your own band data — do not copy generic figures.
- 07Have the hiring manager and one peer read it. Cut anything that wouldn't survive a candidate question.
- 08Publish to your ATS, intranet, and external careers page.
The right document at the right moment.
Use this Doula job description any time you are opening or reopening a seat at this level. The mid band sets the calibration — copy the document, tighten it to your specific scope, and circulate to the hiring panel before the first interview.
The reporting line (Practice Owner / Birth Center Director) and skills list are starting points. Override either if your org structure or stack differs from the norm — the template is a draft, not a contract.
Honest answers before you download.
- Is a doula a medical role?
- No, doulas provide non-clinical emotional and physical support and do not perform medical tasks like monitoring vitals or delivering babies, which remain the responsibility of midwives or physicians.
- Do doulas need to be licensed?
- Most U.S. states do not license doulas, though certification from a recognized training organization is standard and often expected by clients and hospitals.
Other documents in this neighbourhood.
Midwife
A Midwife provides prenatal, labor, delivery, and postpartum care to patients, supporting low-risk pregnancies and coordinating with physicians for complications requiring escalation.
Licensed Practical Nurse
A Licensed Practical Nurse delivers direct patient care under the supervision of registered nurses or physicians.
Registered Nurse
A Registered Nurse provides clinical care across a range of settings — hospital, aged care, community, primary care.
This Doula job description is a professionally drafted starting point for your hiring process and is not legal advice. Hiring practice varies by jurisdiction (e.g. pay-transparency laws differ across US states and AU jurisdictions). Adapt this document for your specific location and have employment counsel review any clauses you add before publishing. Salary varies by region, employer type, and experience. Reference BLS or current industry surveys for ranges. Full disclaimer.