Childbirth International (CBI)

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Childbirth International (CBI)

Childbirth International provides comprehensive online training for today's informed birth and lactation professional CBI was born in 1998.

We wanted to provide birth and lactation professionals with the tools they needed to help clients define their own path. We wanted to provide training that was consistent, comprehensive, and culturally respectful. The first courses we launched were Birth Doula and Childbirth Educator. We began teaching these face to face in 1998 (as Parentlink, Singapore), and then started providing distance training from 1999. In 2008 we launched the Postpartum Doula and Lactation Counselor courses. In 2009 we launched the Business of Birth course. The past year has seen us seen us significantly increasing our focus on social media and launching our new website. We have been updating all of our course materials with the most recent research and responding to our student requests to include more topics. We gave the Business of Birth module a facelift and included it in all our training and certification programs. We have added the option to purchase gift cards so your loved ones can give the gift of training (in full or part) to you. We also added the Business of Birth module as a standalone course option for those who are not CBI students but would like to develop their business. Students can now choose business mentoring to guide you through the Business of Birth module, and can have private mentoring of up to four hours to guide you through challenging problems. We continue to work on our Advanced Birth Doula course which will be available later in the year. Our philosophy has remained consistent. We now provide training for birth and postpartum doulas, childbirth educators and lactation counselors. We remain true to the belief that training should be flexible, without time limits, or rules telling you who you can and cannot work with, or what you should charge.

11/11/2025

TRICARE Overseas works with US Uniformed Service members and their families, as well as National Guard/Reserve members. Childbirth International is a proud recognized training provider for TRICARE Overseas. CBI Birth Doula graduates (and soon, Lactation Counselor graduates) in key areas, such as Germany, South Korea, Puerto Rico, Italy, and the UK, can apply to become approved service providers for beneficiaries in their area.

05/11/2025

Today is National Stress Awareness Day. People in caring paraprofessions spend their days taking care of their clients, their families, their friends, and often their community, too. Caring work is hard work; it’s physically, emotionally, and mentally draining, so burnout in these professions is, understandably, high. We need to find ways to keep this work sustainable, and that means taking time for ourselves, understanding our own stress cues, and having a regular practice to destress, debrief, and take care of our mental health.

Experienced doulas, share in the comments how you create time and space to process, relax, and destress. Newer or prospective doulas, from the outside looking in, share your perspective on how to work sustainably in your community!

01/11/2025

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month!

About 1-2% of pregnant people have preexisting diabetes, and between 3-20% of pregnant individuals may develop gestational diabetes over the course of their pregnancy. It's believed that having gestational diabetes may also increase the overall risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life. As birth professionals, we want to understand the implications of diabetes on pregnancy and postpartum so we can help our clients understand more about what to expect and what self-advocacy they might have to do.

You can learn more about diabetes in pregnancy through our mini professional development course, “Diabetes in Pregnancy.” It offers a look at the evidence and best practice guidelines to support clients with Type 1 or 2 diabetes, or clients who are dealing with a diagnosis of gestational diabetes.

CBI Mini Course: https://childbirthinternational.com/shop/professional-development/diabetes/
References:
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/26/5/2320
https://www.marchofdimes.org/find-support/topics/planning-baby/preexisting-diabetes

29/10/2025

Do your clients use galactagogues? A few recent observational studies examined how effective galactagogues are and whether there is a clinically significant impact on milk supply in breast/chestfeeding parents. One study identified higher use in first-time parents who perceived their supply was below what was needed to support their infant. It has previously been found that fenugreek and fennel, as herbal supplements, can positively affect milk supply. Still, no other studies have been done on food or drink supplements that are more common and readily available today. When we’re working with clients who are worried about their supply and are turning to galactagogues, it may be a sign that there is an overall need for increased education about breast/chestfeeding and lactation physiology to help parents learn more effective and practical ways to increase and sustain their milk supply.

Galactagogue use in the US: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212267223002794

Galactagogues as primarily herbal supplements: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328908

26/10/2025

It’s pumpkin-baby-picture season! These pictures never fail to make the rounds in October, and if your clients are planning to join the, often viral, trend, here are a few tips you can share to keep everyone safe, happy, and comfortable.

1. Be honest with yourself about how steady your baby is when sitting up on their own! Are they ready to be in the pumpkin while you’re taking the picture, or do they need more hands-on support?

2. Choose a broad and sturdy pumpkin - wide is better than tall!

3. Cut the leg holes and the top holes large enough to fit your baby comfortably, so no parts get stuck!

4. Keep baby warm and cozy while you’re getting set up

5. Line the pumpkin with a warm blanket and scope out your location beforehand

6. Once you’ve found the perfect backdrop, carefully position your baby in the pumpkin. Have a friend or your partner be silly to help get the best shot and enjoy the family memory-making moment!

21/10/2025

One in six women experiences mistreatment in birth, and women of color experience the most mistreatment, according to new research released by the Birth Place Lab. Top experiences of mistreatment included physical, sexual, and verbal abuse, stigma and discrimination, and delays and refusals in care. Delays and refusals are particularly significant given that Black birthing people and their babies have the highest rate of death from pregnancy-related complications.

How do we identify and address disparities in perinatal health? The RESPCCT Study out of UBC in Canada is taking an innovative approach using Community-Based Participatory Action Research, inviting community members to participate in and co-lead research initiatives. You can learn more about their work and initial publications here: https://www.birthplacelab.org/respcct/

19/10/2025

“You did it, you’re doing it and you’ll continue to do it! You are already a great mom. Be gentle on yourself while you cultivate your parenting muscle, and make room for mistakes. No two mothers are going to move through this journey the same way, and that’s a good thing, because your baby needs that special magic only you can bring. I’m thrilled for you, and I’m so proud of you. You’ve got this.” — Erica Chidi, Ten Things I Always Tell Pregnant People

07/10/2025

“I had learned that one of the most important roles that a doula can have is to help a client learn how to communicate with their healthcare providers and to facilitate that communication in the birthing room. But new doulas were not learning how to teach communication, or to more effectively communicate themselves, and were not building any resilience skills for when they were at challenging births. This got me wondering if I could craft the training that I was doing face-to-face into a curriculum that could be done online.

So, CBI was born with our first students signing up in 2000. In those early days, it was just me sitting on the floor of my home office, photocopying manuals and binding each one manually, taking them to the post office, and sending them off to new students. Over time, our students became graduates, and some of them then went on to become trainers.” Nikki Macfarlane, CBI’s Founder

06/10/2025

This year, the World Health Organization’s World Mental Health Day focuses on meeting the mental and emotional needs of people in humanitarian crises. While the bulk of international and community support is focused on meeting people’s physical needs, we also need to invest in necessary mental health and psychosocial supports that will help families and communities rebuild and recover, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Mental health care at any level in any community is essential for building strong, inclusive, and accessible communities, especially where barriers to access, stigma, and discrimination are addressed and minimized.

03/10/2025

Birth doulas are pretty well known as an option for birthing parents who want more support than what their care team might be able to provide. Postpartum doulas are becoming increasingly common and popular as parents look for knowledgeable support to help them transition to parenthood and gain skills as a new parent.

What else can doulas do? What other areas of life would benefit from the care and guidance of a doula or dedicated support person? Share your ideas and how you flex your doula skills in your community in the comments!

Address

19e Blake Street, Ponsonby
Auckland
1011

Website

http://www.childbirthinternational.com/

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Our Story - A Different Way of Training Birth Professionals

CBI was born in 1998. At the time, there were few options for training as a doula, childbirth educator or breastfeeding counselor. You could choose a two-day workshop but we were seeing many birth professionals who felt unprepared and ill-equipped for the challenges of their role. We wanted to up the game. To help people feel confident in their skills, knowledgeable, and to be able to learn in a supportive environment. And we wanted to make training and certification more accessible for those who had families, jobs and lives outside their work!

But how to do this? How could we reach people who lived in areas where training wasn’t available? People in rural areas? People who worked full time or didn’t have childcare? People who wanted more than just the basics but wanted to feel prepared, confident and professional in their role? We looked at what skills and competencies were really important in working with birthing families. What really made the difference? What we discovered was that birthing families felt strong and empowered when they had knowledge. But they also needed tools to know how to use that knowledge effectively. And birth professionals needed to have time to not just absorb knowledge or practice a double-hip squeeze, but to reflect on their work, on the choices that clients make, on their own feelings about those choices. Time that just isn’t available in two days! We realized that our training would need to be different. We didn’t just change the rules. We made new ones! We made training a journey rather than a destination. A journey where the focus is on personal growth and building competency, rather than simply receiving a certificate. A journey that pairs students with a dedicated trainer to walk the path together, for as long as it takes, and access to a global peer community even after you complete your training.

Our first courses in 1998 were for Birth Doulas and Childbirth Educators. In 2008 we added Postpartum Doula and Breastfeeding Counselor courses. Over the past 20 years maternity care has changed. More technology and interventions are used and more rules exist within the health care system. Technology has also allowed clients to become aware of their options, seek out support, and communicate faster with others. The birth professional world has changed too with people wanting to learn ways to make their businesses successful and take part in lifelong learning to become even more skilled in their work. CBI has risen to these challenges by expanding our course offerings and giving our students, you, more options. Our Business for Birth Professionals course supports you in growing your business. The Trauma-Informed Professional advanced program prepares you to better meet the needs of clients who come to birth and parenting with trauma and to work towards eliminating obstetric violence. Advanced modules on a wide range of topics provide continuing education opportunities for you to develop specialist skills and build your professional portfolio. We have also seen a growing interest in health professionals - midwives, nurses, doctors - wanting to learn more about supporting families effectively and we have responded to this with the launch of professional development programs.

Through all of this growth, we have stayed true to our core values.

Inclusivity: CBI’s core values have always included the goal of offering a learning platform that is welcoming and inclusive of all individuals. We strive to develop reflection and empathy so our students can interact in their community with dignity and respect for all persons.

Diversity: We recognize the disparities in health care and outcomes for minority and marginalized groups and seek to be part of the solution to eliminating these through listening, understanding, dialogue, and education. We embrace and celebrate the diversity of humanity and continually seek out diverse perspectives.

Sustainability: We are committed to social, cultural, environmental, financial and personal sustainability and look for ways to minimize consumption of natural resources, support individuals in fostering healthy communities, and encourage a maintainable work/life integration through flexible employment and study arrangements.

In designing our training programs, we consider flexibility, affordability and an appreciation for the individual and unique needs of each student. We want to ensure that in choosing your training program, you are able to define for yourself what your business will look like and how that business will be run. That you can be successful in your training in a way that is flexible enough to adjust to your priorities and lifestyle, using online learning and adopting new technologies to make this easier for you. Training that enables you to feel supported and strengthened by your peers and trainers as you complete your learning and continue to grow for years to come.

We will always provide courses that identify best-practice, and teach skills that build competencies to support families in a way that enables them to have empowered, positive experiences through the childbearing years. We endorse the World Health Organization in their goal to “ensure that not only do women survive childbirth complications if they arise, but also that they thrive and reach their full potential for health and life” (WHO, 2018). Parents who are educated, supported and respected through this period are more likely to be strong advocates for themselves and their families. When families are healthy, communities are healthy.

You have a vital role to play in this process.