Doula Resources

NAPS Doulas Membership

Thank you for your interest in NAPS Doulas Membership! Membership is open to anyone working or intending to work as a doula in the Puget Sound Area.

NAPS Member

Membership is open to anyone working or intending to work as a doula in the Puget Sound Area.

New $79/yr
Renewal $120/yr

Sponsor $40/yr

Join/Renew Now

Membership Benefits

• Member-exclusive classes, networking, and social events •

• Access to our private Facebook community •

• Discounts for continuing education classes and other events •

• Opportunity to become a NAPS Certified Doula •

• Professional support from the board, mentors, and other postpartum doulas (online and in-person!) •

• Access to an email list to serve reduced rate clients •

• Opportunity to receive referrals through NAPS Referral Line •

• Voting privileges for organization votes and eligibility to serve on the Board of Directors •

• A great way to support the local doula community! •

Join NAPS Reduced Rate/ Pro-Bono Mailing List

BIPOC Member

Black, Indigenous, People of Color Membership is open to anyone working or intending to work as a doula in the Puget Sound Area.

New $49/yr
Renewal $80/yr

Join/Renew Now

Membership Information

  • Member Responsibilities

  • Member Financial Aid

    We hope that making the first year’s dues more accessible will result in more doulas being able to join our organization immediately after training! If you are suffering from financial insecurity and need help paying for your membership dues, please fill out the Financial Hardship Form.


    If you are interested in applying for our person of color scholarship, please apply here.  Please note that this scholarship is awarded once annually.

  • Community Sponsor

    If you are not a doula and would like to support NAPS, you may choose to become a Community Sponsor for $40 annually. Click the button above. Community sponsors will receive the following benefits:

    • Membership rates for continuing education
    • Invitation to join our NAPS monthly board meetings

  • Refund Policy

    A refund of the full amount of membership will be issued if cancellation, in writing, is received within 30 days. No refund will be issued beyond that point or if membership is revoked.

  • Current Members

    If you are a current NAPS member, you can use our members only website to update your information, read Board meeting minutes and other documents, request a certification packet, or renew your membership.

If you have any questions that are not answered here, please contact our Membership Lead.

Mentorship

NAPS Doulas is excited to announce our new, updated Mentorship program!

After completing your doula training, navigating the next steps in your doula career can be an overwhelming process. A mentor serves as a valuable resource and listening ear during the process of interviewing and working with a family. Mentors are current members of NAPS, trained and experienced doulas, and have attended a NAPS Doulas Mentor Training. Contact the Mentorship Lead to request your mentor.

The goal of the NAPS Mentorship Relationship is to foster community, peer accountability, access to resources, and a mindset of continual learning and growth at every level of the NAPS organization. Putting into practice the expertise learned through training is a form of apprenticeship—working with someone more experienced to learn, skill by skill. It’s an ancestral pathway, which has Black and Indigenous roots. As part of our community goals of working towards equity and dismantling colonization practices, the NAPS Mentorship Relationship will honor and acknowledge the appropriation of these ancestral practices, recognize their own areas of privilege and bias, facilitate discussions about these areas of learning and growth, and guide one another to resources for continued learning when appropriate. With that acknowledgment, our goals are for every member to feel supported through their continued learning, client experiences, and the launch or expansion of their doula practices.


We are currently training mentors for this program. If you are an experienced NAPS doula interested in becoming a mentor, please fill out our Mentor Application.

Mentor Application

If you have any other questions, please contact the Mentorship Lead

Professional Referrals

NAPS Referral Line

NAPS Doulas assists parents and parenting communities by providing professional doula referrals at no cost. The NAPS Referral Line ensures that only qualified and committed members are connected to clients seeking birth and postpartum support, along with other perinatal services.

Learn More

If you have any other questions, please contact the Referral Coordinator

Postpartum Doula Referral Line Requirements

To join the NAPS Postpartum Referral Line, members must meet specific criteria:

  • Being a current NAPS member
  • Attending annual NAPS events
  • Participating in Core Values Conversations
  • Signing Core Values Agreements
  • Maintaining current liability insurance, infant CPR and background checks.
Learn More

Birth Doula Referral Line Requirements

To join the NAPS Birth Referral Line, members must meet specific criteria.

  • Being a current NAPS member
  • Attending annual NAPS events
  • Participating in Core Values Conversations
  • Signing Core Values Agreements
  • Maintaining current liability insurance and background checks.
Learn More

NAPS Certification

NAPS Postpartum Doula Certification is competency-based and offers two main pathways to meet the basic requirements. Both pathways have additional requirements like continuing education, CPR certification and liability insurance.

Request Certification Packet

Two pathways to meet basic requirements of NAPS Certification:

The Eight Competency Areas

All NAPS certified doulas must show competency in the following areas:  

  • Human Lactation and Infant Feeding 
  • Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders 
  • Listening and Emotional Support 
  • Postpartum Recovery 
  • Family and Partner Support 
  • Racism/Privilege/Bias 
  • Infant Care 
  • LGBTQIA+ Topics 

Certification Information

  • Certification Requirements

    1. Upload your Approved Training Organization Certificate OR
    2. Use the Update Competencies/Training Records Form to fill in the Competency blanks for the Experienced Pathway.

    Consult the NAPS Doulas Certification Packet for more details.


    *NAPS tries to be accessible to all, so if any of these items presents a barrier, please contact our  Equity Consultant  who may be able to help address your concern. 


  • Additional Steps for NAPS Referrals


    *NAPS tries to be accessible to all, so if any of these items presents a barrier, please contact our Equity Consultant, who may be able to help address your concern. 




  • Certification Maintenance Requirements

    You must keep these maintenance requirements current or your certification will be considered “out of compliance.” NAPS will not  publicly list you as certified and may not provide referrals until you are back in compliance. 


    • NAPS membership, renewed every year 
    • Attend Core Values Conversations at least every 3 years 
    • Signed NAPS policy documents at least every 3 years at Core Values Conversations 
    • Upload current hands-on infant CPR Certificate, renewed every 2 years 
    • Upload current professional Liability Insurance, renewed every year 
    • Attend at least 1 NAPS event each calendar year 

  • Recertification Process

    Recertification takes place every 3 years starting from the date of original certification.  Please plan to complete the  requirements and submit payment at least one month prior to your certification expiration date to avoid interruption in certification.  

    In addition to the ongoing maintenance requirements above, recertification requires the following: 


    • 3 new Client Evaluations 
    • Total of 12 CEUs from the last 3 years. Find ideas here.  At least 3 of the 12 CEUs must be Cultural Learning Opportunities (CLOs) 
    • Updated Membership Questionnaire 
    • $35 re-certification review fee 
    • Plan to complete the  requirements and submit payment at least one month prior to your certification expiration date. 
    • If your certification expires before renewal, there will be an additional $20 late fee. 
    • If late recertification does not take place within six months of expiration, the doula must re-certify from the beginning using the Experience-Based Pathway.  
    • Consider applying for Inactive Status if you anticipate an extended break in your doula work. 

If you have any questions that are not answered here, please contact our Certification Lead.

Continuing Education
Unit Opportunities

Please consult our current list of NAPS Continuing Education Suggestions. 


If you are interested in speaking at a continuing education event, or have ideas for a continuing education event, please share your Continuing Education Ideas


If you would like to request continuing education credits for an experience or class you have had, please submit the following form:

Continuing Education Request

Volunteering with NAPS

NAPS is a volunteer-run organization dedicated to supporting parents through their perinatal journey and helping each other navigate the world & our work. Our community thrives on the active participation of members like you. No matter how big or how small, your volunteer contributions make a tremendous difference in our community. By volunteering with NAPS, you become part of a network of caring individuals committed to making a difference in the lives of families and other doulas.

Annual BIPOC Scholarship

NAPS Doulas is thrilled to offer Person of Color scholarships since 2013. As an organization, we realize the need to make our profession and local doula community more inclusive to people of color. Understanding the many barriers that may exist to becoming a doula, we support our scholarship recipients with the following:


  • Full scholarship for a NAPS approved doula skills workshop
  • Mentorship through NAPS Doulas
  • One-year membership to NAPS Doulas following completion of the workshop
  • For scholarship recipients wishing to certify with NAPS, we also provide:
  • an additional year of membership
  • certification packet review
  • an additional $300 towards certification expenses
BIPOC Scholarship Application

  • Scholarship Criteria

    • Application must be received on time and questions must be answered (either written or orally) completely.
    • The applicant must live in the Puget Sound area with the intention of practicing as a postpartum doula in this area for at least one year after completion of workshop
    • The applicant must be able to complete all requirements of certification

    Other criteria that will be taken into consideration as part of the decision making process

    • Does this applicant live/work in a community that has been underserved by this scholarship process in the past?
    • Can the applicant complete a their basic doula training within one year from date of scholarship award?

  • Further Guidelines for Applicants

    • This full scholarship is for a NAPS-approved Doula Skills Workshop in the Puget Sound area or online.
    • Scholarship applicants should consult the NAPS Approved Training List  to choose their workshop.
    • Additionally, if there is a doula training that you have been thinking of taking and you would like NAPS to evaluate it for consideration as a NAPS approved training, you may list it in your application.
    • Doulas may choose to certify through the Experience Based Pathway, if they wish to apply other training. 
    • The award funds will be given directly to the institution / organization conducting the NAPS approved workshop.
    • Applications will be considered on a rolling basis with the final deadline for each Annual Scholarship on November 18th of each year. All applications must be received by this date.
    • Awards will  be announced quarterly. 
    • The application may be completed using the form above or downloaded here.
    • If you need a hard copy mailed to you or would like to mail your application in, or if you  prefer an interview in person or over the phone, please email the NASE lead at nase@napsdoulas.com and provide us with your name and address.  
    • We will confirm receipt of your application once received.

If you have any questions that are not answered here, please contact nase@napsdoulas.com

Inactive Status

We understand that life can be full of unexpected events and surprises. We have developed an inactive status option for certified doulas who decide to step away from their work for a while. This option is only available for NAPS certified doulas.

NAPS Doula's Inactive Leave Application
  • Qualified reasons for applying: pregnancy, sabbatical (where you are taking a break from postpartum doula work), or unforeseen circumstances that prevent you from providing doula services
  • Doula will be removed from the referral list while on inactive status
  • Certification period freezes at its current status at the time membership is notified of your inactive status
  • Membership renewal fees will be reduced to $50.00 per year, no prorating
  • Continuous membership must be maintained
  • Continuing education must be maintained. Four CE credits will be needed each year. No NAPS event is necessary.