Toni Curtis, CD(DONA), LCCE, CLC, CHW, SpBCPE, SpBAP

I attribute my success entirely to the families I serve. I'm looking at a shelf full of awards right now, and I'm going to tell you that the only reason they exist is because of the families. The reason why my testimony reads like a dossier is because of the work that I do - I show up, I show up fully. Every recognition I have received, whether it's becoming a UN representative, sitting on the Global Advisory Board for Fortuna, or serving as Director of Advocacy for DONA International, it only happened because of the people that I take care of. They trust me. They believed me. Just last night, we had a client who was showing signs of preeclampsia. I told her something was wrong, her body was changing and going the wrong way. The hospital ignored her the first time and told her she was completely out of her mind. I've been doing this for 30 years, and the reason I never lost a mom is because we kept sending her back. It took 3 weeks to get that recognized, and she went home this morning with a baby. If preeclampsia goes untreated, it can kill her. This is not a one-off - I have had 10 cases like this in the last month and a half. My success comes from showing up fully trained and willing to give my all, because that's what's most important. I need anyone who goes into this profession to really understand what a well-trained doula can do. The stories of the families are what matter most, and those stories are the foundation of everything I've built.

9 out of 10 businesses fail so start 10 businesses.

Really understand the profession, show up fully trained, and show up willing to give your all, because that's what's most important. You need to go through the proper course of study and certification process in order to actually be successful in this field, so that you are doing the work that's reflective of what you've been taught. Don't just get trained and then hope you can figure it out - that's like graduating from college and being told you did a good job but you never worked, and nobody really mentors you. I run a mentorship program for DONA for almost 5 years where we actually bring people in and teach them the skills of the business, helping them hone their skills so they're not just thrown out there without support. You have to understand that this work requires you to show up fully for families, and when you do that with the right training and commitment, you can truly understand what a well-trained doula can do and make a real difference in outcomes.

One of the biggest challenges facing the doula profession right now is that hospitals are training their own doulas instead of working with seasoned, certified professionals. Now that there's more funding available and insurance companies are involved, hospitals are creating their own programs that circumvent the proper course of study and certification. They're not taking seasoned doulas to help train these new doulas, and as a result, I'm going into hospitals and hearing nurses and doctors complain about doulas who aren't properly prepared - and when we investigate, we find out the hospital trained them. This is creating a serious issue with the growth and credibility of the profession, because hospitals are targeting the money. If they create their own team of doulas and handle the billing themselves, they know how to do that well, but they're interfering with the overall efficacy and results of what doulas can actually do. On top of that, they're shutting experienced doulas out of hospitals. Even though I've gone through all the verification processes, I'm being heavily screened and asked if I'm one of their doulas. I'm a 30-year seasoned professional with advanced doula essentials in women's health, and I am literally being targeted every time I go to work, being asked if I work there, as if my skill set doesn't matter. This is a double-edged sword, because while we finally have funding and recognition, it's being used to circumvent the professionals who have proven track records and to create systems that don't serve families as well as they should.

My mission is and will always be the sustainability of women. I want to make sure that women know the work that is being done and understand that the maternal health crisis does not have to exist - it is a fact, not subjective. I have proven over and over again that when you take care of the entire person, not just one aspect, you get real results. You can't just take someone to counseling without addressing their nutrition, or without bodywork to release tension and pain from their body - all of these things have to be paired together. I'm looking to grow to the point that it is irrefutable that we have these avenues available no matter where we are in the world, so that women have access to true wellness. Right now it's so unaffordable because we don't have access, we don't have the funding, we don't have the investment. Our researchers are being silenced and having funding pulled, and I'm watching it happen over and over again no matter where you are in the world. My goal is to create sustainable systems where women have access to true wellness, where they understand how their health is being directly influenced by things no one is telling them about - things that make them sick, determine their career trajectory, and stop them from being who they're meant to be. Whether I'm supporting a family during childbirth, mentoring emerging professionals, or contributing to international discussions on healthcare policy, my goal remains the same: to create systems that center dignity, compassion, informed choice, and the sustainability of women.