Three ways for birth doulas to make their contracts more grief-informed

Your birth doula contract sets forth clear expectations for you and your clients. We at Haven Bereavement Doulas want to encourage you to make sure that you are communicating those same clear expectations when tragedy occurs.

Does your contract clearly communicate what happens in your practice and to your support if a loss occurs?

If not, consider the following:

Photo by Romain Dancre on Unsplash

- Do I clarify my scope in terms of outcomes?

Doulas cannot guarantee outcomes. We can only guarantee support.

- How can I communicate to my client that in the case of an adverse outcome, they can call me in?

Many clients don't call their expected live birth doula for a loss because they don't realize their doula may still show up to support them. But at Haven, we strongly believe that a good doula always shows up, for the good, the bad, and the tragic.

- If I am not yet on call and a family experiences a scary development, what can the family expect?

Should the family contact me? Will I do my best to become available or send a backup?

One last suggestion:

do NOT include the word "refund" in your contract pertaining to loss.

To learn why, check out this post: Word swaps to be more grief-informed 

If you want to become even more grief-informed, come take a training with us. Our one-hour virtual Basics of Bereavement Support class gives you a framework for applying your expected live birth doula skills to a bereavement birth support situation. Our three-hour recorded Caring for Clients through Loss answers your practical questions in detail: what to expect at a surgical loss birth, what not to say to a loss client, how to help families memorialize their little one, and more. Learn more about our courses here.