Indianapolis · Friday, November 20, 2026
Beyond
the Basics
Continuing Education for Doulas
A day of continuing education in the Indianapolis area. Six hours, three trainers, and a small room. Built for doulas who finished certification a while ago and have been looking for the next thing.
- Date
- Nov 20, 2026
- Where
- Indianapolis, IN
- Contact hours
- 6 DONA
- Opening rate
- $99
- Seats
- Limited
Who it is for
You have been doing this a while
You are certified, or close to it, and you have been working. You have attended enough births to know what your training did not cover. You want a day with people further along than the introductory workshop, and you would like the hours to count toward recertification.
You do not need a certain number of years or births to attend. If the session list below sounds like a day well spent, you are in the right room.
The day
Six sessions
Each one runs a full hour, with time for questions. No repeats and no breakout tracks, so you never have to choose between two things you want.
Robin Elise Weiss
Third-Party Reimbursement: Is It Worth It?
Insurance, Medicaid, HSA and FSA cards, and employer benefit programs. What each one actually requires from you, how long the paperwork really takes, and how the money compares to what you charge families directly. An honest look, including the cases where the answer is no.
You leave with a way to decide whether this fits your practice, and the first three steps if it does.
Robin Elise Weiss
Perinatal Mental Health Screening
What the common screening tools measure, where a doula's role starts and stops, and how to notice what you are already seeing. Includes what to say when something concerns you, and how to build a referral list before you need it.
You leave with language you can use in a prenatal visit without stepping outside your scope.
TaKiesha Smith
Holding Space, Not Taking Space: Five Lactation Boundaries Every Doula Should Honor
Where doula support ends and lactation care begins. Five specific boundaries, why each one protects both you and the family, and how to hand off to an IBCLC in a way that does not leave the family feeling dropped.
You leave with five boundaries you can name out loud, and the words for the handoff.
TaKiesha Smith
Inclusive by Design: Practical Ways to Make Your Doula Work Neurodivergent-Affirming
Sensory environment, communication style, intake paperwork, and the assumptions baked into standard birth preparation. Practical changes rather than theory, and what to ask instead of what to assume.
You leave with changes you can make to your intake and your birth bag this week.
Erica Lane
Social Media Without the Burnout
What to post when you have no time, what actually reaches expectant families in your own area, and what to stop doing because it never worked. Taught by someone who has built an audience of more than 18,000 while running a practice and a nonprofit, for doulas who would rather be at a birth than making content.
You leave with a posting rhythm you can hold during a busy month.
Erica Lane
Starting a 501(c)(3): What It Takes and Whether You Want One
The filing itself, what a board actually does, the reporting that never stops, and the honest question of whether nonprofit status fits what you are trying to build. Erica founded Birth and Beyond, so this is the walkthrough from someone who has been through it rather than read about it.
You leave with a clear yes or no, and a filing checklist if it is a yes.
Lunch panel · all three presenters
Post-Birth Rituals
Closing ceremonies, sealing practices, placenta traditions, and the rituals families ask for that were never mentioned in your training. What they mean, where they come from, how to offer them with respect rather than appropriation, and when to say this is not mine to offer. Questions come from the room.
Presenters
Who's teaching
Robin Elise Weiss
PhD, MPH, AdvCD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, PMH-C · Louisville, Kentucky
A DONA International approved birth doula trainer since 1996, with more than 10,000 doulas trained and over 1,500 births attended. She teaches public health at the university level and writes for both families and birth professionals.
Her doctorate is in healthcare management and systems science, which is why the reimbursement session is hers. She spends a good deal of her time translating insurance and billing for doulas who would rather be helping families than reading a payer manual.
TaKiesha Smith
CD(DONA), CBS, CLC, CCHW · Fishers, Indiana
Owner and founder of A Caring Doula. A DONA certified doula, certified lactation counselor and birth educator with a background in education and more than 25 years alongside families.
She is the Indiana state ambassador for Count the Kicks, the stillbirth prevention campaign, and she runs Neuro Spicy Birth, training doulas and birth professionals to support neurodivergent families rather than asking them to mask or adapt.
Erica Lane
CD/PCD(DONA), CBE · Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Founder of A Labor of Love and founder of Birth and Beyond, an Ohio nonprofit that connects families with doulas, childbirth educators and lactation support. A certified birth and postpartum doula with DONA International, childbirth educator, bereavement doula, doula trainer and ultrasound tech.
She has also built an audience of more than 18,000 on TikTok as Erica_TheDoula, which is where her social media session comes from.
Schedule
The day at a glance
Coffee from the moment doors open. Two breaks in the morning, two in the afternoon, and an evening social hour for anyone who can stay.
Contact hours
Six DONA International contact hours
Awarded directly by Robin Elise Weiss, a DONA International approved birth doula trainer. There is no outside approval to wait on and no separate fee, and your certificate is handed to you at closing rather than emailed weeks later.
Attend the full day and sign in. That is the whole requirement. Many other certifying bodies accept DONA contact hours toward recertification, so check with yours if you certify elsewhere.
Logistics
Getting there, and what is included
Lunch and coffee
Lunch during the panel, plus coffee through the day.
Six DONA contact hours
Certificate handed to you at closing.
Handouts from all six sessions
Yours to keep and use in your practice.
Free parking
On site, with plenty of spaces.
Evening social hour
Optional, included, and worth staying for.
A small room
Seats are limited on purpose, so you can actually ask your question.
We are meeting at the Fairfield Inn Indianapolis-Fishers, about 20 minutes northeast of downtown Indianapolis and ten minutes off I-69.
Indianapolis is one of the easiest drives in the Midwest. Roughly two hours from Louisville, Cincinnati, Fort Wayne and Dayton. Around three from Columbus, Chicago, Lexington and St. Louis. If you can make a day trip of it, you can be home that night.
Registration
Save your seat
Beyond the Basics · Nov 20, 2026
$119 through October 21
$149 after
Includes all six sessions, the lunch panel, lunch, handouts, six DONA contact hours and the evening social hour.
Seats are limited. When the room is full, it is full.
Before you register
Refunds and transfers
Refunds
Email us on or before October 21, 2026 and we will refund your registration less a 25 percent administrative fee. After October 21 we are not able to offer refunds, including for no shows.
Transfers
Cannot come but hate to waste the seat? Send someone else. Transfers are free through November 13, 2026. Find your own replacement, settle the payment between the two of you, then email us with your name, the new attendee's name and their email address. We will move the registration and send them a confirmation.
Questions
Questions people ask
I certified recently. Am I too new for this?
No. Nothing here assumes a number of years or births. The sessions go past what an introductory training covers, which is a statement about the material rather than about you.
Do I have to attend all six sessions?
You are welcome to come and go, but the six DONA contact hours require full-day attendance and a signed sign-in sheet, so plan on the whole day if the hours are why you are coming.
Will it be recorded?
No. This is an in-person day, and part of what people are paying for is being able to ask the question they would not type into a chat box.
I have a dietary restriction or an access need.
Tell us when you register and we will handle it. There is a field on the form for exactly this, and it reaches all three of us.
Can my agency send someone in my place?
Yes. See the transfer policy above. Transfers are free through November 13 and you arrange the replacement yourself.
Where should I stay?
The Fairfield Inn Indianapolis-Fishers has rooms on site, and there are several other hotels within a few minutes. Book directly with whichever you prefer. If you are driving in the morning, plan for about twenty minutes from downtown Indianapolis.