Offering practical and emotional support to pregnant mums six weeks before the birth, during labour and six weeks after the birth, through trained volunteers.

Doula is the Greek word for wise-woman. Acting as a ‘professional friend’, volunteer doulas help women to make positive choices, accompany them to appointments, provide practical support at the birth, build positive relationships with other services and offer emotional support.

The Bradford Doulas support women to make the best choices for themselves and their babies, helping them to achieve a positive birth experience and building their knowledge to enable them to make informed decisions about childbirth, nutrition and breastfeeding. Support from volunteer doulas can also connect families into network of other support services.

Families are carefully matched with volunteer doulas who are best suited to them (dependent on the woman’s needs, requests and circumstances).

Volunteer Doulas are trained to understand the limits of their work. Doulas do not give clinical or medical advice or interfere with medical or clinical aspects of labour and are not trained as interpreters.

If you are pregnant and live in Bradford City (postcodes BD1,2,3,7,8,9) You can self refer by calling: 01274 223 232.

Want to volunteer to help? Volunteer Doula training includes 13 weeks of Training, submitting a Level 3 portfolio at the end of training, and delivering a group presentation on the role of a volunteer doula. Register here https://actionforcommunity.org.uk/contact-us/

Bradford Doulas is a service run by a charity called Action for Community Ltd which is a sister organisation to Action for Business (Bradford) Ltd, which runs Carlisle Business Centre. Both organisations share common goals to improve the lives and wellbeing of residents in Manningham, as well as the wider Bradford district.