An illustration of two people. One person is sitting is pregnant and is wearing a yellow top and purple pants. The other has with curly black hair tied up, is kneeling and is wearing a green top and yellow pants, holding the other person's stomach.

DOULA IS A VERB

At Elephant Circle, we like to say “Doula Is a Verb.”

This simple sentence reflects a specific philosophy about our values and commitment to doula-work*.

Our core principles

1. Doula-work does not need to be professionalized in order to be effective

An adult woman with dark curly hair and brown skin, wearing a purple top and orange pants, stands embracing a young girl with darker curly hair and brown skin, wearing a purple dress.

2. Doula-work in the U.S. today happens in the context of the broader perinatal health care system where inequity is built-in

Illustration of a person holding a baby on their back, wrapped in a colorful patterned cloth.

3. Doula-work is connected to a long history of care-work that has been systematically deprioritized and devalued

Two people sharing a tender moment, one is holding the other's hand while they kiss their pregnant stomach.

4. Healthy communities have doulas.

A child with braids, dark hair, and a purple shirt holding a blank sign on the back of an adult with dark hair and light-colored top.

5. Pregnant and birthing people are experts in their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.

Our Approach

Doula is a Verb is how we practice doulaing, how we organize doulas, and a political-orientation to the role of doulas in caring for and supporting people across the perinatal period.

It’s a practice of principles that reorient the perinatal system so that care is a top function and priority. Care isn’t just an intention you hold in your heart, it’s a way of taking action that anyone and everyone can do. This practice is also a way of resisting and reversing built-in inequities, so that women, people of color, and gender nonconforming birthing people are healthy and free.