Val Staples, CD(DONA) CLD CAPD CPD CCCE
I have been a doula for over fourteen years. I started attending deliveries before I had even heard the word doula. When I learned that women could make a career out of mothering other mothers, I knew I had found my calling.
Since my certification, I try constantly to keep up-to-date on the latest research and information regarding my specialty. I attend the yearly CAPPA childbirth conference and have attended several advanced classes to enhance my knowledge and skills in the birthing field. I have taken CAPPA's Advanced Comfort Measures class to further my knowledge of comfort measures for labor, specifically in the area of pregnancy massage.
In May of 2005, I accepted the position of director for CAPPA's Operation Special Delivery program. OSD provides volunteer labor doulas for women whose husbands are deployed at the time of their delivery. You can find out more about OSD here. As of September, 2006, my former OSD assistant, Mary Beth Nance took the reins of the OSD program so that I can concentrate more on CAPPA's Labor Doula Program.
In September, 2005, I was offered the position of CAPPA's Labor Doula Program Director. As director, I oversee all of CAPPA's labor doula trainings and the labor doula faculty. I also help to shape CAPPA's policies concerning the labor doula certification program and I work to spread the word about labor doulas and their benefit to women during their childbearing years.
In January of 2008, CAPPA expanded my director position to include the Antepartum Doula Program and the Postpartum Doula program, giving me the position of CAPPA Director of Doula Programs. I now oversee all of the doula programs, from pregnancy through postpartum.
As a CAPPA faculty member, I hold training workshops for the Labor Doula and Postpartum Doula certification programs. You can see a current list of trainings offered here. If you want to see specific trainings offered by me, go to my Training Schedule Page.
I believe my education and experience can be very valuable to a woman seeking to better her birth experience. I have helped many couples examine their options and make choices to help them achieve the birth they desire. My goal is to preserve a woman's memory of her birth as something positive and meaningful to her.