Category Archives: Full Spectrum Doula Work

It’s a brave new doula world, a place where we’re using newfangled terminology like ‘radical doula’ and ‘full spectrum doula’ somewhat interchangeably.  But what do these terms mean, and what’s the difference between the two?

Although there’s often a large overlap between these two identifying terms, I’d argue that they have distinctly different meanings and implications.

For me, being a radical doula is an identity, a way that my worldview and belief system manifest in my work.  My doula work is just one of the ways that I engage in my beliefs on a daily basis–beliefs in community participation, personal autonomy, advocacy, and critical analysis.  As a radical doula, I acknowledge that factors such as racial disparities, economic marginalization, and socio-political power dynamics can often deeply impact pregnancy experiences and outcomes.  And all too often, these and other challenges are glossed over, unseen through the narrow, mainstream lens.

In contrast, I see full spectrum doula work as a role, a skill set, a practice.  As a full spectrum doula, I’m prepared to offer my support and doula skills to anyone facing any pregnancy outcome, whether that’s birth, adoption, miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion.  And I constantly seek out trainings, materials, and experiences that equip me with an understanding of how to do so.

The overlap between the ideology of the radical doula, and the practice of the full spectrum doula, lies in one belief at the core of each of these identities: a commitment to abortion access and reproductive justice. Whether you love or hate the word ‘radical’–whether you’re involved in a doula program at an abortion clinic, or live hours away from the nearest training opportunity–whether you’re watching this movement grow from afar, or are at the front lines–what unites radical doulas and full spectrum doulas is this pro-choice commitment, at the very least.

And what better place to intersect?  Abortion, an issue that is so often divisive and polarizing, is instead bringing together the populations of radical doulas and full spectrum doulas into a community that’s growing more cohesive and connected with each day.  We’re building a movement, strengthening our voices, and solidifying a vision of true reproductive justice…all by supporting one pregnancy at a time, whatever the outcome.

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These views are based on my own opinions and on the preliminary findings from my ethnographic research of full spectrum and radical doulas.