Are you ready to embark on a transformative journey towards becoming a Certified DONA Birth Doula?

Debra Pascali-Bonaro is one of the most experienced doula trainers in the world.

Join us for a DONA Approved Birth Doula Hybrid Retreat, which includes two virtual days on Wednesday, August 23rd and Thursday, August 24th, as well as three in-person days Sept 6, 7 and 8 with two nights accommodation and meals at a beautiful retreat center in Ocean Grove, NJ - just one block from the beach.

September is the perfect time of year at the NJ shore, (weather permitting) we will be having a session on the beach with time for swimming and relaxing.

August/September 2023 Training

Part 1 - VIRTUAL 

  • August 16, 5:00 - 7:00 PM ET | Welcome Session and Anti-racism + Birth Equity

  • August 23, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM ET | VIRTUAL Introduction to Childbirth Part I

  • August 24, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM ET | Introduction to Childbirth Part II & DONA Birth Doula Part I

Part 2 - IN PERSON RETREAT

  • September 6, 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM ET | Arrival + Check-in 
  • September 6, 10:00 AM - 5:30 PM ET | DONA Birth Doula Part I 

  • September 7, 8:30 - 9:30 AM ET | OPTIONAL Beach Yoga

  • September 7, 10:00 AM - 5:30 PM ET | DONA Birth Doula Part III 

  • September 8, 9:00 - 11:00 AM ET | DONA Birth Doula Part IV & How to Support Pleasure and Love in Childbirth

  • September 8, 11:30 AM ET | Check-out


BONUS

  • September 13th, 4:00-5:30 PM ET | DONA Certification and Birth Biz Q & A 

Mini-Retreat

This unique and comprehensive retreat provides the perfect blend of virtual and in-person learning, with opportunities to connect with like-minded individuals and immerse yourself in a supportive and nurturing environment. Start your days with energizing morning yoga, take relaxing beach walks, book an evening massage, and unwind with other doulas, or venture out to trendy Asbury Park, NJ for music and dancing.

By attending this retreat, you'll gain valuable knowledge and skills to become a confident and compassionate birth doula, with the added bonus of nurturing yourself in the process. 

So why wait? 

Take the first step towards this transformative journey and register for the Orgasmic Birth DONA Birth Doula Hybrid Retreat today.

Secure your spot today!

Discover the transformative power of our workshop!

Hear directly from our inspiring doulas

Pricing options

Pay in full or 2 easy installments

Debra Pascali-Bonaro’s DONA Approved Birth Doula Training will provide you with sessions covering the Introduction to Childbirth and DONA Birth Doula Workshop, two of the requirements to begin your DONA Birth Doula Certification and support you in beginning your doula practice.

The sessions will also include special guest speakers and provide the space and time for more engagement, learning and community .

You will receive an extra bonus session on doula business, a Q & A and extra support in preparing for DONA certification, you’ll feel prepared and empowered to begin supporting your clients as they prepare to give birth.

  • BONUS

    Plus, you’ll receive free access to:

    ~ Starting Your Doula Business Session

    ~ DONA Birth Certification Q+A

    ~ The wisdom of the rebozo session with Mexican Midwife, Alejandra Lozano, LCCE

    ~ Anti-Racism and Birth Equity with Sokhna Heathyre Mabin, CLC, Advanced Doula, 2023 candidate for IBCLE.

    ~ Community Doulas with Amadoma Bediako, MS, CCCE, CLC, CD/BDT(DONA) FDC, P.A.I.L. A value of over $250

“Debra did a wonderful job fostering connection and intimacy in this training. Although I was in a virtual learning environment, I could feel Debra’s deep compassion, honor, and respect for birth and birthing people. I love how she brought racial and social justice issues to the forefront and provided guidance on how to address some of those issues as a birth worker. I am inspired to work with people in my community in the same nurturing and honorable way. I’d recommend this class to anyone who wants well-rounded, culturally diverse and grounding training.”
-Zuri Davidson


“The workshop covered all the practical, ethical and resources needed to do the job. I feel empowered as a Doula to support the birthing person, their partner and community agencies. I appreciate the virtual and in-person sessions and Debra’s wealth of knowledge, she is a fantastic storyteller and delivered the training humbly with grace. I would recommend her Birth Doula workshop to everyone and would be interested in taking other workshops under her guidance.”
-Railyn P.

During this workshop:

  • Connect to a community of like-minded people

  • Discover the role, traditions and research of doulas

  • Discuss the impact of racism and a doula’s role in advocacy, reducing disparities, and creating equity globally

  • Learn the importance of respectful care and how a doula supports informed decision making

  • Explore current practices vs. evidenced-based care

  • Deepen your passion for providing a doula’s nurturing care and touch to women/birthing people in childbirth

  • Learn 10 tips for doulas to support the hormonal physiology and close gaps when they arise, making birth safer and easier

  • Develop a toolkit of comfort measure

  • Create a language for gentle birth and enhance your communication skills

  • Learn birth traditions: dance, songs and comfort

"I would tell literally anyone who wants to birth, who has a partner who will birth, or who wants to learn about their inner power - “you must attend this course to heal yourself and the rest of our society.”
-Melissa Rose Hirsch

Meet Debra

Debra has trained thousands of doulas, birth keepers, and parents around the world in the practices of gentle birth support. She is the Founder & President of Pain to Power Childbirth Experience, Director of the award-winning documentary Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret, author and inspirational international speaker, and chair of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Organization. Debra’s passion comes from her years as a Lamaze International childbirth educator, and birth and postpartum doula trainer with DONA International where she has worked with women, men, midwives, doulas, nurses, and physicians in over 40 countries bringing comfort, love, and pleasure to birth and life!
  • Sokhna Heathyre Mabin
  • Alejandra Lozano

  • Sokhna Heathyre Mabin, Advanced Doula

    Sokhna Heathyre Mabin is a mother of 2 beautiful beings ~ one born via her belly and the other naturally at home. She has been a student and teacher of Yoga for 35 years and is also an herbalist, sound therapist, lactation counselor, Care Coordinator with Healthy Start US Presidential Initiative for maternal health. Sokhna is an advanced doula who has trained with DONA, Ancient Song Doulas, and The Traditional Postpartum Healing Lodge. She is the creator of MamaSutra Loving Arts which canopies her herbal medicine practices in The Tantric Tavern. She has led 2 community doula trainings and is currently overseeing the development of a hospital doula program for women of color in Kalamazoo, MI.

    Sokhna is the creator of “The 13 Moonth Svadhyaya”, a year-long self-study through the Art of Yoga, and co-creator of “Embodied Anatomy: Kundalini Yoga and Women’s Anatomy” and the phenomenal online “10 Day Womb Cleanse Revival.” She is a Sacred Woman, A Wild Woman Facilitator, and a Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator. Her artistries as vocalist & dancer have taken her around the world, as has her passion for seeing birth and mothering made sacred again through the connected matrix of the Womb Wide Web.
    www.MamaSutraLove.com

  • Alejandra Lozano, LCCE, Midwife

    Since the birth of her son Mariano, she became passionate about birth, and began her preparation to become a professional and traditional midwife, with the intention that more women have the opportunity to live a respected, pleasurable, transcendental birth experience, with company, trust and love. Combining ancestral knowledge from the ancient and traditional midwives of México and Latin America with the most up-to-date scientific evidence to find a balance in the needs of today’s women and to keep the traditional medicine alive.
    Her personal interest is to offer quality midwifery services at low costs so every woman can have the same opportunities, always working as a team with other Midwives and health providers.

  • Amadoma Bediako, MS, CCCE, CLC, CD/BDT(DONA) FDC, P.A.I.L.

    Amadoma Bediako has been a birth worker since the late 70's when she worked with a cadre of women who were all part of an African centered religious and cultural organization, based in New York City. In January, 1979 she attended her first birth. She has since attended births in a variety of settings, including clients’ homes, hospitals and birthing centers. Amadoma has a bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences and a master’s degree in Education. A founding member and vice president of “Sistahs for Better Birthing”, Amadoma worked with this group to sponsor the ICTC Black Midwives and Healers Conference in Harlem in 2008. She is also a longtime supporter of The Harlem Birth Action Committee. Amadoma is a childbirth educator, certified by CAPPA (Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association). She is a certified birth doula with DONA International as well as a DONA Approved Birth Doula Trainer. She teaches weekly childbirth classes and is a labor doula with the By My Side Birth Support Program, through Healthy Start Brooklyn. She has taught “Dancing thru Pregnancy” classes for this program as well. Amadoma is a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) and worked for many years as a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor with the Catholic Charities Neighborhood Services WIC program.

  • Jada Shapiro

    Jada Shapiro is a longtime childbirth educator, certified lactation counselor, birth and postpartum doula, birth photographer, mother and stepmother. An expert in maternal health, she frequently moderates and appears on panels at top parenting conventions and provides birth and breastfeeding consultation, Jada has assisted hundreds of births for first-time parents, A-list celebrities, and everyone in between. She advises leading actors about childbirth and breastfeeding for major films and is a sought-out media expert on pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, lactation, and newborn parenting. She is also the founder of boober, the destination for expectant and new parents to find comprehensive classes and on-demand care providers from pregnancy to postpartum (like lactation consultants, doulas, mental health therapists, sleep consultants, nutritionists and more).

Scholarships

In childbirth, systemic racism is the root cause of disparities leading to higher maternal mortality rates for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).

We believe doulas help to create a more equitable, respectful, maternity care system.

We want to support and amplify BIPOC voices and support every person to have a safe, satisfying, and pleasurable birth and ensuring there is a doula for every person who wants one is an essential step.

We are offering a number of BIPOC Scholarships to promised doulas at 50% rate.

If you are an individual who identifies as a BIPOC and has a financial barrier to taking our course, we welcome you to apply for our scholarship.

Please submit a 1 minute video or letter addressing the questions below:

Why would you like to become a doula?
How will you use this opportunity to support your community?
Do you identify as BIPOC?


Submit your entry and/or questions to: [email protected]

Our scholarships are reserved for BIPOC individuals with financial need. If you are not a BIPOC, we have payment plans available.



Refund Policy


Our Workshop is non-refundable, and the date enrolled is non-transferable. You must attend ALL sessions live (with the exception of the bonus sessions), no recordings will be provided and you must have your camera on at all times. Our workshop is highly interactive. If you cannot make it for any reason, spaces are transferable so you may sell or gift your space.

Become a doula!

Download my free guide 9 Steps to become a working doula [in less than 1 month]

Plus, you’ll receive information on upcoming workshops and the certification process