Our History
In 2020 during the Covid Pandemic, the doulas at the BirthBliss Academy felt the overwhelming need for an organised and collaborative voice for doulas in the UK. We needed someone to campaign on behalf of doulas, so we would be able to return to in person work in a way that was safe for everyone.
We needed someone who could advocate for the birthing people in our care whose voices were not being heard. And so, on 2nd September 2020, the #ButNotMaternity Campaign was born and through our collaboration as a team of doulas, enthusiastic for supporting one another and the birthing rights of all families, the idea and the birth journey of The Doula Association began.
It felt like the right time to create a cuddle of doulas to act as a supportive community for each other, to collaborate our ideas and skills and passion for supporting families around birth and beyond and to become a passionate and organised voice for doulas in the UK and beyond.
We started by forming a Steering Committee with a number of BirthBliss doulas who put the a framework together for the organisation. They were Kicki Hansard, Siobhan Smith, Grainne Amos, Sharon Jones, Leti Tufari, Louise Oliver, Shellie Poulter and Emiliana Hall.
We needed someone who could advocate for the birthing people in our care whose voices were not being heard. And so, on 2nd September 2020, the #ButNotMaternity Campaign was born and through our collaboration as a team of doulas, enthusiastic for supporting one another and the birthing rights of all families, the idea and the birth journey of The Doula Association began.
It felt like the right time to create a cuddle of doulas to act as a supportive community for each other, to collaborate our ideas and skills and passion for supporting families around birth and beyond and to become a passionate and organised voice for doulas in the UK and beyond.
We started by forming a Steering Committee with a number of BirthBliss doulas who put the a framework together for the organisation. They were Kicki Hansard, Siobhan Smith, Grainne Amos, Sharon Jones, Leti Tufari, Louise Oliver, Shellie Poulter and Emiliana Hall.
