Learn More about Birthkind Certified

Birthkind Certified is our comprehensive business support program for experienced birth professionals. We manage and support your website, SEO, client logistics, and bookkeeping and provide virtual office hours backup so you can focus on serving families. Birthkind Certified is invite-only and is built on a equitable profit-share model.

Doulas and independent perinatal professionals who have supported 20+ births. You must be committed to equity, transparency, and harm reduction in your practice, and be ready to grow a sustainable business.

We have a rigorous application process that includes multiple interviews, education review, and references from both clients and peers. We're building a community of professionals who meet the highest standards and share our core values.

We reserve the right to approve or decline applications at our discretion to maintain a community aligned with our values of inclusivity, professionalism, and collaborative care. Our review process considers factors including professional conduct history, approach to client relationships, and commitment to respectful, evidence-based practice.

Start by booking an introduction call. If you're a good fit, we'll schedule an initial interview to discuss your practice, goals, and whether Birthkind Certified is right for you.

Multiple peer interviews with our team and community, a review of your training and education, and references from clients you've supported and colleagues you've worked with. We take our time to make sure this is a mutual fit.

Typically 2 to 4 weeks from initial application to final decision, depending on reference response times and scheduling.

Yes! Providers anywhere in the United States can join Birthkind Certified and receive full backend support. Our hyper-local work and outcomes tracking are currently focused in our Seattle and St. Louis pilot areas, with expansion planned for 2026.

We operate on an equitable profit-share model. We will discuss in detail on your initial call. There are no upfront fees or monthly subscriptions.

You need to support at least 4 clients per year (one per quarter) to stay active in the Birthkind Certified network. This keeps the model accessible for everyone.

Yes. You own your website, domain, brand, and all content. We design, build, and manage it, but it belongs to you.

If you leave the program within the first 12 months, you can buy out your custom website and brand for $2,000. After one year, you receive full ownership transfer at no additional cost. Everything is yours to keep.

Absolutely. You can request updates anytime, and we will handle them for you. Your site, your voice.

We'll work together to determine if it makes more sense to refresh or build from scratch. Either way, we make sure your online presence works for you and getting you results.

If your clients need help and you're unavailable, they can reach our backup team via call, text, or chat. We provide logistical information, reassurance, and support until you're back online.

No. This is virtual support for questions, concerns, and resources. If a client needs in-person backup at a birth, that would be coordinated separately.

We use a streamlined system that handles client inquiries, contracts, onboarding, scheduling, and follow-up. Everything lives in one place. You don't need to learn a new tool because we manage it for you.

Monthly, by the 15th of every month. We build clear profit and loss statements so you always know where your business stands financially.

Monthly live education calls and coffee hours led by experts in the field. Topics range from clinical skills to business strategy to self-care. We don't offer CEUs yet, but that’s on our radar.

Birthkind Community access is $50/month and open to anyone across the US. You get access to our curated education, Slack (general channels), and DIY resource library. Birthkind Certified includes all of that plus full business support, exclusive Slack channels, and an exclusive badge and priority placement and booking in our directory and matching.

Yes! Many providers start with Community to get a feel for Birthkind, then apply for Certified when they're ready.

Yes. If you identify as LGBTQ+, disabled, or BIPGM (Black, Indigenous, Person of the Global Majority) and $50/month feels out of reach, we offer a full year of Birthkind Community access at no cost. Apply through our scholarship form.

Our Community Guidelines reflect our core values include equity, transparency, harm reduction, collaboration, and respect.

Our public directory allows families to search for providers and places by location, services, and values. Birthkind Certified providers are featured first and include our endorsement. Community members can have verified profiles but aren't featured.

No. It's free for families to search and connect with providers.

If you're Birthkind Certified, being in the directory is part of the program. If you're a Community member, listing is optional.

Starting early 2026, we'll begin collecting and sharing real birth experiences in partnership with providers, birth centers, and hospitals. Outcomes tracking is anonymous, verified, and used to improve care and hold systems accountable. Factors include satisfaction ratings, outcomes, and whether promised care was delivered. Families and providers are required to give explicit consent to opt-in and will always have the option for single click opt-out.

To inform families' care choices, provide early intervention for at-risk parents, and drive policy change. We're building transparency into a system that desperately needs it.

They are connected but different. Outcomes tracking looks at overall patterns and metrics. Red-flag reporting allows families to share their experiences of harm, racism, or mismanagement. Both are launching in beta in early 2026.