Doula Lab

01/10/2026

🚨 Application Update 🚨
We apologize — our website was not allowing application submissions earlier. This issue has now been corrected, and applications are officially open.

You may now apply for the Perinatal Health Worker Training through the Virtuous Doula Training Academy – The Doula Lab (Spring 2026).

➡️ Click the link below to apply.

01/08/2026

📣 APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN!

The Doula Lab is now accepting applications for the Perinatal Health Worker Training (Virtuous Doula Training Academy – The Doula Lab) Spring 2026 Cohort 🌿✨

This is a college-level certification program designed to prepare culturally responsive, trauma-informed perinatal support professionals.

💜 Who should apply?
Anyone with a passion for birth work who wants to turn that passion into a career!

✅ Hybrid + Online options available
✅ Full & partial scholarships offered
✅ Limited spots available

➡️ Click the link below to apply! https://doulalab.org/home-2/


birthwork

01/03/2026

The American College of Nurse-Midwives mourns the devastating death of Dr. Janell Green Smith, CNM, who died from complications of childbirth. Dr. Smith was a respected midwife, scholar, and advocate whose life and work reflected a deep commitment to respectful, evidence-based, and equitable care.

That a Black midwife and maternal health expert died after giving birth in the United States is both heartbreaking and unacceptable. Her death underscores the persistent and well-documented reality that Black women—regardless of education, income, or professional expertise—face disproportionate risks during pregnancy and childbirth due to systemic racism and failures in care.

We grieve Dr. Smith’s loss and recognize it as a profound failure of the systems meant to protect birthing people. In her honor, ACNM commits not only to reaffirming our values, but to intensifying our actions to dismantle racial inequities in maternal health, strengthen accountability in care systems, and work alongside Black midwives, clinicians, and communities to prevent future tragedies.

We extend our deepest condolences to Dr. Smith’s family, loved ones, and the midwifery community. We carry her legacy forward with urgency, humility, and resolve.

12/31/2025

The “super flu” is a variant of influenza A H3N2 called subclade K. Historically, similar variants have caused more severe disease and taken longer to recover from.

12/16/2025

✨ Last night was HISTORY in the making. ✨

We welcomed 45+ Black men, ages 12 to 60, into a room filled with honesty, courage, and real conversation at Chairs & Conversations: Peace Over Pressure – Holiday Talks for Black Men.
This was a huge milestone for us — Black men of all generations showing up, being open, and holding space for one another in a safe and affirming environment.

A heartfelt thank you to Vision Point Grooming & Styles owner Isaac Harris Jr., who co-hosted alongside our Men’s Health & Wellness Director, Brad Edwards, for once again collaborating with The Doula Lab to uplift our community.

We are deeply grateful to Aetna Better Health Illinois and the American Heart Association for providing health literacy resources and blood pressure cuffs, and to the Illinois Department of Public Health, through the Birth Equity Grant, for supporting this much-needed and crucial conversation.

Special thanks to our powerful guest speakers:
🗣 Ronda Smith Branch, Certified Well-Being Life Coach
🗣 Tony Gillion, Licensed Professional Counselor, MEd, LPC, RPT

We also thank Senator Christopher Belt for not only supporting this event, but for actively participating in the conversation; your presence mattered.

To every Black man in that space last night: we see you, we hear you, we honor you, and we thank you for your time, truth, and vulnerability.

🖤 Let’s continue to humanize Black men’s mental health and wellness, together.




Photos by the one and only Tim McNeese 📸📸

12/07/2025