Herbs for Doulas: Botanical Literacy, Safety, and Referral

Who this is for

Birth and postpartum doulas, newborn care specialists, childbirth/new parent educators, and birth workers who are frequently asked about herbs, teas, supplements, topical products, and traditional remedies.

What you will learn

• Explain the doula’s botanical scope and distinguish general education from clinical herbalism, prescribing, diagnosis, treatment, or emergency care.
• Use botanical nomenclature, plant part, preparation, dose/form context, actions, energetics, indications, contraindications, interactions, and evidence quality as a safety framework.
• Describe major preparation types and product-quality concerns without formulating individualized treatment.
• Identify pregnancy, labor, postpartum, lactation, infant, medication, surgery, allergy, cardiovascular, endocrine, hepatic, renal, and psychiatric safety flags.
• Discuss the course’s 63-plant materia medica using the terminology in the uploaded source while flagging source variants and unresolved claims.
• Differentiate relatively nutritive/gentle traditional uses from higher-risk reproductive, uterotonic, emmenagogue, hemostatic, sedating, stimulating, hepatically active, or medication-interacting botanicals.
• Recognize adverse reactions, poisoning, allergic response, worsening symptoms, bleeding, hypertension, labor concerns, infection, and other situations requiring urgent referral.
• Evaluate labels, sourcing, adulteration, contamination, extraction, essential-oil concentration, and supplement-marketing claims.
• Communicate respectfully about cultural and traditional practices without appropriating, dismissing, or falsely validating unsafe use.
• Create a safety-centered materia medica portfolio and referral protocol for doula practice.

Entry & readiness

Perinatal scope foundations recommended; agreement that this course does not authorize prescribing, induction, treatment or dispensing.

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

No client-treatment practicum. All demonstrations use labels, plant specimens or simulated cases. Do not administer products to pregnant people, infants or lactating clients as a training exercise. Botanical competence is assessed through evidence portfolios and referral decisions.

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

Doulas may discuss general historical/traditional uses, help clients formulate questions, identify product labels, and refer to qualified clinicians. They do not diagnose, prescribe herbs or supplements, recommend dosage, combine herbs for treatment, prepare remedies for clients as healthcare interventions, use botanicals to induce or augment labor, treat hemorrhage or hypertension, suppress infection, or replace emergency/medical care. Every pregnancy, lactation, infant, medication, surgery, allergy, and chronic-disease question requires heightened caution.

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.