NCS + Postpartum Doula Hybrid Professional Training

Who this is for

Aspiring or practicing postpartum doulas and newborn care specialists who want a clearly defined hybrid model for day, overnight, live-in, travel, and rotational family support.

What you will learn

• Clearly distinguish and integrate the NCS and postpartum doula roles without obscuring scope, client expectations, or documentation.
• Support normal postpartum recovery after vaginal, operative vaginal, and cesarean birth and recognize urgent maternal warning signs.
• Provide comprehensive newborn care during the first 16 weeks, including feeding, sleep, soothing, hygiene, development, and safety.
• Support breast/chestfeeding, pumping, bottle feeding, formula, combination feeding, and supplementation while making timely lactation or medical referrals.
• Recognize perinatal mood/anxiety disorders, birth trauma, grief, partner distress, and psychiatric emergencies and use appropriate escalation pathways.
• Support partners, siblings, extended family, adoptive/surrogacy pathways, queer/trans families, single parents, and culturally specific postpartum practices.
• Provide practical recovery support through meals, hydration, household organization, rest protection, education, and resource navigation without becoming a housekeeper or medical provider.
• Adapt care for multiples, late-preterm/NICU graduates, medically complex infants, cesarean recovery, loss, and extended postpartum needs.
• Create day, overnight, live-in, travel, and rotational workflows with safe rest, documentation, handoff, and team communication.
• Build a sustainable hybrid practice with clear contracts, rates, retainers, boundaries, backup coverage, referrals, offboarding, and self-care.

Entry & readiness

No separate NCS or postpartum course purchase is required. Complete orientation and scope agreement; infant/child CPR and first aid; approved mentor and consented placements.

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

45 supervised hours across at least three family episodes, including parent recovery support and newborn care. At least 8 hours are directly observed; other hours use mentor-approved plans and documented review. Each family plan distinguishes doula tasks from NCS tasks. Multiples, NICU, loss and crisis simulations supplement placements within instruction. If using prior assessed practice, apply the shared-credit map and retain evidence of both role competencies.

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

The hybrid professional combines newborn-care specialization with nonclinical postpartum recovery, emotional, informational, and practical family support. The professional does not diagnose, prescribe, provide psychotherapy, perform nursing care without licensure and a separate clinical agreement, or replace obstetric, pediatric, lactation, or mental-health care. Contracts and shift notes should make the role, priorities, awake/rest expectations, and exclusions explicit.

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.