Scholarship Labor Doula Program

The Birthingway College Scholarship Labor Doula Program was created to serve the needs of mothers in the greater Portland area who do not speak English as their first/ native language and to increase career opportunities for native speakers from their cultural group.

While the support of a doula during childbirth can be extremely helpful to any woman, women who do not speak English as their first/native language often face special challenges at the hospital, including racism, language barriers, and sometimes classism. Although doula support during childbirth can and does reach across cultural lines, many of our clients speak their native language only and feel the most supported with a fellow native speaker by their sides. When a woman feels safe and gets her needs met, birth outcomes are better.

Our program offers scholarships to a limited number of bilingual (native language and English) women who show both enthusiasm for Doula work and the ability to bring this work back to their native communities. They complete Birthingway’s Labor Doula workshop (scholarship applicant must complete the workshop and pay the $20.00 materials fee) and then attend eight births of native (non-English) speaking clients.

Birthingway College is committed to improving birth outcomes and choices for all birthing women. The Scholarship Labor Doula Program reflects this commitment to serve diverse groups of women. We will continue to develop the program and look forward to training more doulas to assist underserved groups of women in our community. Please call the college if you or someone you know qualifies for this amazing training opportunity!

Please read our Scholarship Labor Doula Program FAQ for more information.

You can download the application here. (43 KB PDF)