Welcome to the Doula Blog
A Reliable, Evidence-Based Hub for All Things Doula
As a foremost Doula researcher, academic, and educator, Dr. Amy Gilliland has dedicated her career to advancing the doula profession, supporting aspiring and professional doulas, and empowering medical providers to optimize and improve labor and birth practices and protocol.
Dr. Gilliland has taught university level courses in the psychology of human relationships, human sexuality, introduction to psychology, and public speaking. She has a graduate certificate in prenatal and perinatal psychology.
This blog is a direct reflection of those efforts and initiatives, offering evidence-based academic articles and thought pieces painstakingly designed to drive better outcomes for all birthing parents.
World Doula Week 2025: Our Values Are Being Attacked
This year, World Doula Week begins in a landscape unlike any other since I attended my first doula birth in January 1987. While doula work[...]
When the Doula Screws Up
Doulas are in a service business. Our success depends largely on how we manage our relationships with others. Many of us have excellent communication skills when things are going well...
Measuring Our Client’s Birth Trauma: A Valid Screening Tool for Doulas
Labor, birth, and postpartum doulas often find themselves doing assessments for depression and anxiety as a normal part of their practices. If clients have responses indicating that they need more...
Why I Left DONA After 25 Years
DONA International was my organizational home for many years. I was trained by Penny Simkin in 1996 along with my training partners, Karen Kohls, PT, and Ruth Ancheta, MA. By putting our three minds and specialties together...
We CAN All DO This! Five Ways White Doulas Can Heal Racial Inequities
One of the most important issues of our lifetime is the health difference that White, Black, and Brown women and babies have. This is true in almost any part of the world where White peoples colonized indigenous peoples...
