Ask A Nurse
Pregnancy Photos
Pregnancy Calendar
Birth Plans
Birth Stories
Bookstore
Boy or Girl
Cesareans
Chat Room
Children
Complications
Doulas
Educators
Episiotomy
FAQs
Feeding Baby
Fertility
Finding a Class
Health
Interactive
Labor
Message Board
Monitoring
Postcards
Postpartum
Pregnancy
Reviews/Awards
Search
VBAC

How to Find Clients

You may wonder how you would find clients as a new doula or childbirth educator. This handout will hopefully give you a few suggestions that we have taken from other doulas and childbirth educators.

Talk to all of the pregnant women you know, tell them that you are a doula/childbirth educator and that you would love to help them with their birth. Sometimes it's easier to start with friends and family.
Talk to the childbirth educators, doulas, midwives, doctors and other people who have contact with pregnant women. Tell them that you are a doula/childbirth educator, give them your business card and/or brochure, and ask if they would refer clients to you.
Go to Baby Fairs or local events for pregnant women and set up a doula/childbirth educator booth. Have plenty of brochures or cards to hand out. Possibly a video tape of a doula running in the background ("Introducing the Doula" would work nicely.). It is also nice to have a photo album with pictures of previous clients and notes that they send for viewing. (Make sure you have their permission first.)
Offer to do an in-service at a local hospital or birth center during a shift change to educate people in your area about doulas/childbirth educators. This also works well at the local library for the consumer.
Word of mouth. There is nothing like former clients to bring you new clients.
Have the local television or newspaper write an article about doulas/childbirth educators and the services that they provide. Or place an ad in the health section of the paper, or in the Yellow Pages. Advertise on the Internet if possible.
Write your own newsletter and distribute it wherever expectant parents might see it. Childbirth meetings, support groups, play groups, Le Leche League meetings, etc.
When you complete your training or finish your certification, send an announcement in to your local paper. Some papers will print a notice when someone has completed a training or opened a business.
Hospitals offer Continuing Education Classes, most of them are for free. This is not only a great way to network, but you might learn something beneficial in the process.
Place your brochures at the library, health food stores, prenatal exercise classes, etc.
Wear your nametag to all births/classes that you attend.
Stay active in the local and upper levels of the childbirth community. Maintain your membership with doula/childbirth related organizations and stay current in your training.