Is competition really an issue in the doula world? It seems that the answer depends on who you ask.   There do seem to be some communities where competition, at least as it might be experienced in a negative way, simply doesn’t come into play.  Perhaps your birth community is extraordinarily supportive with shared referrals, community events, and plenty of support for new doulas and childbirth educators.  Or maybe you live in a small community with only a few of you, and you’ve found creative ways to work together.  If so, consider yourself blessed and keep on spreading that birth love around!

The fact is there is a lot of lovely support that happens within the birth community.  From backup doula partners to birth collectives and community workshops there are countless ways I see birth professionals working creatively together.  We all share a common goal & commitment to changing our birth culture, and this creates an important bond.  As well, the intensity of birth work tends to create strong friendships between birth professionals, offering the personal support we need when we have a challenging client or birth.

Is a sense of competition impacting your doula business?

Way back in 2013 I presented at the DONA International Conference on the topic: Beyond Competition: Birthing your Unique Doula Practice. We explored the impact of competition on doulas, with a focus on how to shift attention away from comparison and instead focus on growing your unique practice. 

The nature of competition in the doula profession is still there today in 2024 – in fact, it’s likely worse. There are simply far more doulas in any given geographic area, and especially in metro areas the density of doulas available to families can make it feel very competitive.

I see the impact of competition between doulas all the time. When doulas contact me to inquire about a new website, often they are concerned about:

• Younger doulas who are more savvy with social media
• Another doula company who consistently shows up in search and somehow their own site is stuck on page 3 of search results.
• The newer doulas who are showing up above them in search results – even though they have been in practice for years and years.
• Confusion with why their own doula referrals have dried up while others seem to be thriving.
• Frustration that clients often go with hiring another doula company instead of their own.

Do you feel a sense of competition with other doulas?

Ok, not all of you reading this may feel the impact of competition on your doula practice. In fact, some of you will outright deny that this is even an issue – I mean, we’re sisters with a shared goal & passion, right??? Still, I encourage you to ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you find yourself being possessive with your referral contacts?
• Are you threatened by their new website or social media presence or worried that yours won’t measure up?
• Do you make comparisons – and feeling either inadequate or a tad superior depending on what you see…?  Which one of you goes dancing with the midwives every Saturday night?
• Have you felt your heart sink when you learn a client is interviewing both of you – or – glee when they choose you over her?
• Do you find yourself randomly thinking about her practice when you should be working on yours?
• How do you feel when you see her facebook or instagram posts get loads of comments and shares?
• Are you holding back because you’re not sure if you can “catch up” with another doula’s business?

Do you feel like you “shouldn’t” feel a sense of competition with other doulas?

I hear about struggles with competition in the birth community all the time.  I hear from new doulas struggling to find their place and feeling excluded.  I hear from seasoned doulas with 20+ years of experience who are suddenly finding it difficult to get clients with so many new younger doulas in town.  I hear from childbirth educators who have experienced other childbirth educators in town actively putting down their classes.  I hear concerns about fees and how to compete when there are so many new doulas doing births for free or low cost.  I hear worries that doula A offers nutrition consulting and placenta encapsulation and birth photography while doula B “only” does birth and postpartum doula care and wonders how she can compete.

All of this is shared mostly in private, however, as it is difficult to share business struggles with your friends who also happen to be your competitors!   So why don’t we talk about it?  I think at the core we feel that there isn’t Supposed to be competition in birth work.  I see a few core personal agreements shaping this dynamic of hidden competition (Note: these are variations on assumptions I’ve heard over and over again based on years of working within the birth community).

1.  Because this work is our calling we should be more committed to supporting birthing families than growing our business.

2.  Competition is a very “male” energy.  As women business owners we should be able to do things differently.

3.  Feeling competitive with other birth professionals is simply not acceptable, we should all be supporting one another.

Should there be competition in birth work?  That depends on how you view competition. It can certainly be a positive force, encouraging innovative marketing, creative partnerships, and devotion to your unique practice.  When experienced in a negative way, however, it can also cause a lot of internal strife and even external conflict within the community.

Do you have a doula enemy?

A less subtle form of doula competition is when you have a doula “frenemy”. You have to get a long because you’re in the same tight community of doulas, but you’d really rather they retire from doula services or move across the country.

Sigh… perhaps you were once doula business partners and had a nasty break up and now are trying to reach the same audience under different business names. Or you had some public disagreement or a vastly different perspective on something really important to you. Or you don’t like the way they promote themselves and find them to be unethical. This person may or may not even KNOW that you have these feelings about them and their doula business, or you both may actively engage in negativity towards you.

If this is the case, you’ll definitely want to use the tips below to help you move beyond the enemy energy and redefine your relationship.

Tips to help shift the doula competition dynamic. 

Take a Break.  If you answered yes to even one of these, I encourage you to notice the ways that your energy is invested in this other individual.  Do you cruise their social media posts (also known as social media stalking!)?  Subscribe to their newsletter? Just stop.  Their business activity has nothing to do with yours. Removing their activities from your daily awareness makes a big difference.

Focus.  I know you have a To Do List of fabulous ideas for your business.  Pick the top three ideas that deserve your attention and do them!  Positive forward movement within your own birth business can make all the difference.

Invest in Your Doula Business. What is one small thing you can do to move the needle forward on your doula business? A new website? Search engine optimization? Blog strategy? Networking? Update your branding colors? Sometimes we put so much energy into what others are doing that it holds us back from investing in our own growth.

Be Unique.  Focus on birthing your unique doula business, not trying to catch up with another doula in the community. What makes you unique? When people visit your website can they tell you apart from other doulas? Make sure your approach shines through in your website copy, design & images.

Connect and…Collaborate with other doulas.  Why not reach out to the doula you feel competition with and sit down for a cup of tea together?  Ask them about her experience of owning a doula business.  Look for creative ways you might collaborate to help build both of your practices and the profile of doula care in your community. This may not always feel like the comfortable option, but what if….?

Let’s begin the conversation.

Ultimately I would love to see our community talk openly about competition.  I’d like to see us sit down and talk openly about competition and jealousy and insecurity and how these can negatively impact our work.  I long to see us feel fully comfortable sharing in our process as business owners – talking about the internal & external challenges we face in building our practices.  I long for more creative dialogue about our shared vision and the potential for collaboration.  It would be amazing to see more support for new doulas and childbirth educators just starting out.

I get to talk with birth professionals from all over the world and hear about the amazing work that you all do. Yes, I hear about the challenges, but at the heart is the longing that each of you share for More:  More community, More support, More collaboration, More care for families in your community.  This is our challenge, y’all.  Let’s talk.