Doula
🤰Supports a woman through pregnancy and birth: prepares her, helps with massage and breathing during labour and assists in the first weeks with the baby. Not a medic, but a support.
Prospects & pay
What the work is like
💼 Job market
🇺🇸 $43.5k a year on average · +5.9% jobs by 2035 · 14,400 openings a year
Personal care & service workers, all other — US: Census ACS 2020–24 (full-time), BLS projections 2025–35
🇬🇧 £29.6k median a year
Health associate professionals n.e.c. — UK: ONS ASHE 2025 (full-time)
🤖 AI & automation
Apps track pregnancy and contractions, but emotional and physical support during labour is about a person being there.
Who it suits
Interests: 🤝 Helping and caring, 🧠 Psychology, 🩺 Medicine and health.
Key strengths: understanding people.
Where to study
- Course Doula training (Doula UK–recognised course; DONA certification, US)
- Bachelor's BSc Midwifery — if you want a medical role
Key school subjects (A-level / IB / AP): Biology, Psychology.
🧗 Not a regulated profession: a doula training course (Doula UK-recognised; DONA in the US) and practice. To deliver babies you need a 3-year midwifery degree.
Things to know
🌙 Night shifts and on-call🕯️ Grief, death, hard life stories
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