No, there is a certification pathway for people who have no prior experience with birth or childbirth education. This workshop is a great match for people just starting out in the field. You’ll have some extra reading and independent research to do to learn the ins and outs of birth, but Lamaze International has a great recommended reading list and we share lots of resources during our workshop. 

Absolutely! Nurses and doulas know a lot about the mechanics of birth, which is wonderful. This training is focused on how to convey evidence-based information in creative, meaningful ways that will help pregnant families have great births. Teaching adults (or in some cases, teens) is a totally different skill set than attending births. We love having nurses and doulas in our seminars! Also, you might be excited to know that the training is approved for 23.75 nursing contact hours, which typically count toward doula recertification too.

Not quite. The seminar is the first step toward certification. The other steps include: 

1) Purchase the Lamaze Learning Guide and Toolkit (midwives, student midwives and experienced childbirth educators may be eligible to opt out — but we recommend it for everyone)

2) Prepare for and take the Lamaze Exam (offered twice a year, can be taken at a testing center near you) 

One of the many wonderful things about Lamaze is that it is a truly meaningful certification. Once you finish all the requirements, you’ll be so proud to call yourself a Lamaze-certified childbirth educator! 

The costs are divided over time, so you can pay as you go. To the best of our knowledge (please double-check with Lamaze International to be sure), your costs include:

Lamaze Accredited Seminar (this training): $699
Lamaze Learning Guide: $225
Exam Prep (optional): $50-150
Lamaze Exam Fee: $395

Once a year, Lamaze typically offers a scholarship opportunity for educators from under-represented groups to cover the cost of either the learning guide or the exam fee.

Your Lamaze Exam Fee includes three years of Lamaze membership and certification! If cost is a challenge for you, books on the suggested reading list can be borrowed from the library.

Payment plans are available for our earlybird training registration. You only need to start with a first payment of $200, and then make two more payments before your workshop. Everything has to be paid before the start of our first day of training.

We offer partial scholarships to a low-resource Black and Indigenous people who wants to attend our Lamaze childbirth educator seminars. These folks are most impacted by infant and maternal mortality in the United States, and offering scholarships is one way we can help address those disparities. If you are a Black or Indigenous person who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend our workshop, please email Jessica to be put on our wait list for partial scholarships to become available as workshops fill. 

For others, we are happy to work with you on a payment plan that fits your budget, as long as everything is paid in full by the time of the training.

We have a few hours of work that we’ll send to you a few weeks before the training, which you can finish on your own time before the workshop. There are no required books before the workshop, but it’s always nice if you can start tackling some books from the Lamaze Recommended Reading List. 

Definitely yes! It’s great to dive in and start teaching while you are studying and waiting to take the exam. You won’t be able to use the Lamaze name just yet, but there’s no reason you can’t get started. It’s encouraged!

The Lamaze childbirth educator credential is the best recognized certification in the world. You can teach in any state or country. Lamaze educators teach in hospitals, birth centers, community organizations and independently. You’ll have a lot of opportunities once you are certified.

If you are passionate about birth and open to learning about creative teaching, then yes! You’ve got what it takes to be a great childbirth educator. It’s really hard to find evidence-based maternity care in our medical system right now, and we need awesome childbirth educators more than ever. You can step up and make a difference for new families.