The Senate approved, on the afternoon of this Wednesday (16), the regulation of the profession of doula. Now, the project goes for analysis by the deputies. Doula is the professional who offers physical, informational and emotional support to women during pregnancy and puerperium (postpartum phase). A doula helps the expectant mother overcome periods of anxiety, fear and expectation that come with pregnancy and also assists her at the time of delivery.
According to the project, to be considered a doula, a person must have a high school diploma – national or foreign, as long as it is revalidated in Brazil –, or prove that they have been practicing for more than five years.
“Doulas, according to the Organization of Doulas of North America, are women trained to offer physical, emotional support and information to pregnant women, who also act as a channel of communication between the pregnant woman and the health team”, said the rapporteur. of the project, senator Eliziane Gama (Citizenship-MA).
Eliziane’s report highlights that there is still a lot of informality in the area, despite the training of doulas by institutions such as Doulas do Brasil and the National Association of Doulas.
“For this reason, we believe it is necessary to establish in the legal text a minimum hourly parameter for the training courses for doulas, in order to guarantee the necessary quality of the training process and effective training”, added the senator. According to Eliziane, debates with entities representing the category show that the minimum parameter to guarantee quality training for doulas would be a course lasting 120 hours.
