Birth Assistant Education Program

Who this is for

Birth assistants employed or supervised by qualified midwives, birth centers, or community-birth practices; experienced doulas transitioning into an assistant role; and students preparing for site-specific orientation.

What you will learn

• Differentiate the birth assistant’s role from the midwife, doula, nurse, EMT, student, and administrative staff.
• Use medical terminology, structured communication, accurate documentation, and site-specific chain of command.
• Explain normal pregnancy, labor, birth, immediate postpartum, and newborn transition and promptly escalate concerning findings.
• Demonstrate infection prevention, sterile/clean technique, room and equipment setup, inventory, and post-birth cleanup.
• Accurately obtain and document delegated maternal vital signs and other observations within policy.
• Prepare equipment and assist the lead clinician during routine birth, newborn care, emergency response, and transport.
• Recognize the assistant’s assigned role in hemorrhage, hypertensive emergency, shoulder dystocia, cord prolapse, maternal collapse, and neonatal compromise.
• Use closed-loop communication, SBAR handoff, objective charting, incident reporting, and quality-improvement practices.
• Support families with calm, trauma-informed, culturally responsive communication while preserving privacy and consent.
• Maintain professional readiness, physical safety, emotional resilience, and continuing competency.

Entry & readiness

Admission interview; current adult BLS/CPR and the service-required neonatal resuscitation course before client practice; occupational safety orientation; an approved licensed preceptor and written task authorization. No clinical task is authorized by this curriculum alone.

How learning works

Planned delivery combines sequenced instruction, guided independent study, applied assignments, case work and competency assessment, with verified practice where required. Online lessons are self-paced, with access opening on the date above. Live-session arrangements and practice requirements will be confirmed before paid enrollment opens.

Practice & application

At least 40 directly supervised hours across four approved birth-team episodes, with setup, routine assistance, recovery, records and handoff. Emergency competence is demonstrated in simulation and current external training, not by requiring a real emergency. A licensed clinical preceptor verifies each permitted task, local protocol and observation. Additional practice is required for any unachieved task.

Completion requirements

Complete all required modules, assignments and practice. Attend at least 90% of live instruction and make up missed learning; all safety and skills sessions are mandatory. Pass the final knowledge assessment at 85% with every critical item correct. Pass the separate performance assessment and portfolio at 17/20 or higher, with at least 3 in each dimension and no critical error. Final evidence must be accepted before an award is issued.

Scope & credential clarity

A birth assistant supports - but does not replace - the responsible midwife or other licensed clinician. The assistant performs only tasks authorized by law, training, employer policy, direct delegation, and demonstrated competency. This course does not independently authorize clinical practice, medication administration, diagnosis, interpretation of monitoring, or emergency management.

The Daisy Academy award reflects the Academy’s own competency requirements. It does not confer licensure or automatically establish external accreditation, insurance recognition or third-party certification.