CAPPA

CAPPA We are the Childbirth And Postpartum Professional Association. We train and certify Labor/Postpartum Doulas,Childbirth,Lactation and New Parent Educators.

CAPPA is an international certification organization for Doulas, Childbirth Educators and Lactation Educators. Since our foundation in 1998, we have certified thousands of perinatal professionals. As one of the first and most comprehensive perinatal organizations in the world, CAPPA is respected for its longevity and its commitment to excellence in both education and unsurpassed student and member

support. Choosing an organization for your education is an important decision. CAPPA offers stability that you can be confident in as you invest in your education and career.

August trainings are open.If certification has been sitting on your list since January, this is the month to move. Fourt...
08/06/2026

August trainings are open.

If certification has been sitting on your list since January, this is the month to move. Fourteen trainings across all five pathways, virtual and in person.

🤱 CLD, Labor Doula
Aug 8-9 · Lorena Teran · In-Person, Denver CO
Aug 14-15 · Christina Drain · Live Virtual
Aug 15-16 · Cynthia Gabriel · Live Virtual
Aug 29-30 · Lorena Teran · In-Person, Español

🍼 CPD, Postpartum Doula
Aug 8-9 · Jodi Congdon · In-Person, Troy NY
Aug 14-15 · Abby Bordner · Live Virtual
Aug 15-16 · Sheila R. Davis · Live Virtual
Aug 21-23 · Sierra Brooks · Live Virtual

👶 CIFE, Infant & Family Educator
Aug 7-9 · Kaybee Beach-Leathers · Live Virtual
Aug 17-21 · Rosa Park Neves · Live Virtual

📚 CCCE, Childbirth Educator
Aug 20-21 · Christina Drain · Live Virtual
Aug 22-23 · Gwynne Knap · Live Virtual
Aug 28-29 · Debbie Hull · In-Person, Houston TX

🤍 CLE, Lactation Educator
Aug 7-9 · Heather McCullough · Live Virtual

A few of these start this week.

Register 👇 link in comments

Every family. Every baby. Everywhere.

07/31/2026

Killer talk by Jodi Congdon, doula business strategist at CAPPA Convening on developing your network and net worth through a membership community.

As perinatal professionals, we are in a perfect position to bring people together to grow, to learn, to connect.

Tune into the Virtual Conference course to learn from Jodi on what works, how to get started building your community and how to grow that money tree!!

birthboss

07/27/2026

Are you using AI in your doula business or practice?

You didn’t get into this work to spend Sunday night rewriting the same intake email for the ninth time.

Courtney Klick is showing perinatal pros where AI can take the paperwork — and where it never should.

CAPPA Convening 2026. Philly or virtual tickets.

You didn't get into this work to spend Sunday night rewriting the same intake email for the ninth time.But somewhere bet...
07/27/2026

You didn't get into this work to spend Sunday night rewriting the same intake email for the ninth time.

But somewhere between the births, the classes, the consults, and the 2 a.m. texts, you also became the marketing department, the billing department, the scheduler, the content team, and the person answering every message that opens with "quick question."

That's a lot of hats for one human.

Courtney Klick is a Business Ecosystem Consultant, and she's bringing "AI for Perinatal Professionals: Wearing Fewer Hats Without Losing What Makes You Human" to the Convening.

This session isn't about putting AI anywhere near the families you serve. That work is yours, and it always will be. It's about everything else — the paperwork, the follow-ups, the insurance letters, the posts you keep meaning to write.

Courtney will talk honestly about the parts that make people uneasy: client privacy, whose voice it sounds like, and where AI has genuinely caused harm in maternal health. Then you'll watch it work on real perinatal admin, live, and decide for yourself.

You'll leave with a map of every hat you're wearing, a clear line between the ones AI can take and the ones it never should, and one task you can hand off before you get home.

July 30 and 31 · Drexel University, Philadelphia or Virtual Ticket 🎟️

07/25/2026

Black birthing people: 40% more likely to experience a maternal mental health condition.

60% never receive support.

Doulas are often the only consistent presence.

It’s time to build bridges. Doulas are the glue. Learn how to connect with the care team.

Cocolife.black Alexia Doumbouya is teaching the collaborative care model at CAPPA Convening 2026

Only a few days left! Virtual spots available.
🔗cappa.net/convening-26

Here's a number: Black birthing people are 40% more likely to experience a maternal mental health condition. Sixty perce...
07/25/2026

Here's a number: Black birthing people are 40% more likely to experience a maternal mental health condition. Sixty percent never receive support.

Here's another: doulas are often the only consistent, trusted presence across pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Which makes them a frontline mental health resource — whether the healthcare system recognizes it or not.

That only works if the doula is actually connected to the care team.

Alexia Doumbouya is the Founder and President of CocoLife.black, a certified doula and Certified Mental Health Advocate with 20+ years in Healthcare Administration and Public Health. Her work has been recognized by the CDC, March of Dimes, CVS Health, and the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Her Convening workshop, "Bridging Gaps: How Doulas Build the Relationships That Change Outcomes," is a hands-on session on how to build collaborative care relationships with OB/GYNs, hospital staff, mental health providers, community organizations, even when there's no existing pathway to do so.

It's all about creating new habits and opening new doors.

Attendees leave with a personalized outreach plan and language they can use the day after they get home from the conference.

July 30 and 31 · Drexel University, Philadelphia or Virtual Tickets 🎟️

The postpartum period is more than recovery. The first three months are a critical neurological window of attachment, bo...
07/24/2026

The postpartum period is more than recovery. The first three months are a critical neurological window of attachment, bonding, emotional regulation, the foundation of lifelong learning and resilience. What happens in those weeks shapes the rest of a child's life.

Abby Bordner has spent 25+ years preparing birth professionals to support exactly this. She's a CAPPA Advisor and trainer, has trained thousands of pros, and is known for her engaging, practical, evidence-based teaching style.

Her Convening session, "The First Three Months: Attachment, Bonding, and Early Brain Development," equips postpartum doulas, infant and family educators, lactation specialists, and clinicians with practical tools for supporting families through this irreplaceable window.

Abby is presenting on Thursday July 30. Her session is also included in Everywhere Access (virtual ticket).

July 30 and 31 · Everywhere Access opens August 1

"You can be the very best doula, educator or professional, but you still were not meant to do it alone."That's Nicole Ha...
07/21/2026

"You can be the very best doula, educator or professional, but you still were not meant to do it alone."

That's Nicole Harlot, and she's spent years proving it at scale.

Nicole is the Founder and President of the Perinatal Resource Collaborative, which now connects more than 1,800 perinatal providers across all 50 states and 26+ countries. She built it algorithm-free on purpose, so professionals aren't depending on a platform to find each other.

Her Convening '26 session, The Importance of Collaboration in Perinatal Care, treats collaboration as a system rather than a sentiment. She covers how to build referral pathways that are reliable and reciprocal, how coordinated care closes the gaps families fall through between pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, and how working together reduces the isolation and burnout that push good practitioners out of this field.

Nicole is also the founder of Womb Light® and author of Mama Bare: The Grizzly Truth of Motherhood.

July 30 and 31 · Drexel University, Philadelphia or Virtual Access

"Sleep is not a luxury. And NOT sleeping should not be seen as a parenting badge of honor."That's Liza Kaplan Montanino,...
07/20/2026

"Sleep is not a luxury. And NOT sleeping should not be seen as a parenting badge of honor."

That's Liza Kaplan Montanino, and she's bringing one of the most-requested and most-debated topics in our field to the Convening stage.

Here's what makes her session different. Liza is a double-certified pediatric and special needs sleep consultant, a certified autism and anxiety sleep specialist, and a lactation educator.

She is not asking anyone to trade breastfeeding for sleep. Her whole argument is that you can protect the breastfeeding relationship and teach independent sleep skills, and that treating them as opposing goals is failing families.

Her session, The Truth About Sleep Training, covers what sleep training actually is and isn't, how to read a baby's hunger and tired cues through a sleep lens, and the two-way relationship between sleep and maternal mental health.

If you've ever had a client ask about sleep and felt unsure what to say, this is your session.





Link in comments.
July 30 and 31 · Drexel University, Philadelphia

"Breast is best" has been used as a weapon against tired parents for decades. Dr. Ashley Robinson wants to change the co...
07/15/2026

"Breast is best" has been used as a weapon against tired parents for decades. Dr. Ashley Robinson wants to change the conversation, and she is bringing the science to do it.

Ashley is a Doctor of Public Health and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant with seven years in private lactation practice. She hosts The B**b Doctor and Public Health in 5 podcast and wrote The Supportive Partner, a guide for dads supporting breastfeeding.

Her Convening session, Breastfeeding and Epigenetics, covers what most lactation training skips: how human milk actively shapes a baby's gene expression through microRNAs, exosomes, DNA methylation, and the gut microbiome. Not just that breastfeeding matters. Why it matters, at the cellular level.

You will leave with a stronger evidence base and the words to go with it.

July 30 and 31 · Drexel University, Philadelphia or Virtual Only

Address

Atlanta, GA

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm

Telephone

+17709659777

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