Doula support guided by the nervous system
A birthing person's sense of safety is physiological, relational, and central to how labor unfolds. This training prepares doulas to work skillfully with everything that shapes that sense of safety, even as it shifts throughout labor. You'll learn to observe and interpret coping behaviors, shifts in nervous system activation, and relational dynamics as meaningful information that guides what kind of support to offer and when.
A nervous system–informed, mind-body approach to labor support
The Nona Birth Coherence™ Doula Training prepares birth professionals to support labor and birth through nervous system literacy, grounded presence, and relational attunement. This training is designed for doulas who want to deepen their ability to recognize, respond to, and support the physiological, environmental, and emotional processes that shape birth.
Grounded in the Birth Coherence™ framework, this training integrates contemporary neuroscience, birth physiology, trauma-informed care, and embodied learning. Our emphasis is on supporting regulation, adaptability, and resilience for birthing people and their support systems.
What you will Learn
Practical & Foundational Skills
Professional Collaboration & Business
Birth Justice
Nona Original Frameworks and Models
How This Training Is Structured
- Self-paced curriculum delivered through recorded lectures and guided practices, with time for integration and reflection
- Live Q&A sessions with Nona founder Erica Kroll, drawing on her experience as a perinatal therapist and over two decades in birth work
- Professional community for ongoing peer support, shared reflection, and connection
Who This Training Is For
- Newer doulas seeking a strong foundation in nervous system-informed birth support
- Experienced doulas who want language and frameworks for what they observe in the birth room and a deeper sense of attunement with their clients during birth
What You Will Gain
- A cohesive framework for understanding labor and birth through the lens of nervous system regulation and relational safety
- Greater confidence reading coping behaviors, supporting labor progress, and adapting as circumstances change
- Refined presence, communication, and capacity to stay grounded in complex or emotionally charged situations
- Clarity on when and why to offer specific forms of support, and when less intervention is more supportive
Community, Mentorship, and Ongoing Learning
- Professional learning community for shared reflection, case discussion, and integration of the Birth Coherence™ framework
- Regular live Q&A sessions to ask questions, explore real scenarios, and deepen your practice over time
- Ongoing connection to prevent the isolation common in doula work, especially for those practicing independently
- Mentorship from Erica Kroll, who is a licensed perinatal therapist and brings more than two decades of experience as a doula, prenatal yoga teacher, and childbirth educator, making her especially equipped to guide your development.
Tuition: $1,600
Includes:
- Full access to the self-paced training curriculum
- All Nona models and frameworks
- Access to growing professional learning community membership
- Regular live Q&A sessions and mentoring with Erica
Join the Waitlist
Enrollment opens periodically. Join the waitlist to:
- Be notified when enrollment opens
- Receive details about training dates and live Q&A sessions
- Learn more about how this training may fit into your professional path
If you're drawn to a nervous system-informed, relational approach to birth support and want to explore this work further, you're welcome to add your name.
Certification and Professional Identification
Certification confirms that participants have completed the training and demonstrated competence through engagement, required readings, assignments, and assessments, along with:
- Attendance at 3 births with evaluations
- Observe a local childbirth education course
- Observe a local breastfeeding education course
What Certification Means
Upon successful completion of requirements, certified doulas may:
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Describe their training as certification of completion in the Nona Birth Coherence™ Doula Training
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Reference their education as grounded in the Birth Coherence™ framework
- Identify as a Certified Nona Birth Doula
- Certification is good for 2 years
Training includes 2 years of professional membership with ongoing community support, live Q&A, and mentoring.
Professional Membership and Use of the Nona® Name
Use of the Nona® Certified Birth Doula title and branded offerings is reserved for doulas who have passed certification assessments and hold active professional membership in good standing with Nona Birth Education.
Professional members in good standing may:
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Identify publicly as a Nona Certified Birth Doula
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Be listed on the Nona Birth Education website
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Participate in ongoing mentoring, peer support, and professional community
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Receive ongoing community support, mentoring, and continuing education
Professional membership reflects ongoing engagement, ethical alignment, and continued competency, rather than training completion alone.
*This training includes 2 years of professional membership with the option to renew with recertification.
