[4][5] Klaus (1927–2017),[6] a neonatologist, and Kennell (1922–2013),[7] a pediatrician, gave credibility to doulas Phyllis Klaus, Simkin, and Kennedy[8] by supporting their work through the research of parent-child bonding in the 1960s at Case Western Reserve University.
[4][5] Kennedy (who had originally founded the Pacific Association of Labor Support in 1989 in Seattle, WA with Simkin alongside the doula training at Seattle Midwifery School) become [9] the first president of the organization.
[1] DONA International offers birth and postpartum doula training and certification.
[10] To certify as a doula, an in-person, virtual, or hybrid workshop is mandatory, along with supplementary text reading, lactation training and childbirth education, and clients experience.
[11] The workshop is taught by approved trainers who are able to the required coursework which includes emotional support, physical support or comfort measures, communication, interventions, ethics and professional behavior.