This virtual learning series is designed to equip doulas with the knowledge and tools to effectively support clients navigating substance use disorders (SUDs), with a focus on opioid use disorder (OUD), during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. Participants will explore key topics including the impact of opioids and other substances on maternal and infant health, trauma-informed care practices, screening and referral tools, recovery support strategies, and approaches for caring for substance-exposed newborns. The training centers empathy, lived experience, and practical, culturally responsive support.
Session 1: June 4, 2025 – Understanding Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) in Pregnancy
This session provides doulas with an overview of substance use disorders during pregnancy, including the effects of opioids and other substances. Participants will explore how stigma, trauma, and bias influence care, and the importance of applying trauma-informed practices when supporting pregnant clients with lived experience.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Understand how SUDs impact pregnancy and maternal health
- Identify commonly used substances (e.g., opioids, stimulants, alcohol) and understand their effects on pregnancy and maternal health
- Recognize how stigma and bias affect the care of pregnant individuals with SUDs
- Learn trauma-informed care approaches and motivational interviewing techniques
- Describe the value of lived experience in the recovery process
Session 2: June 11, 2025 – Introduction to Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)
This session introduces doulas to the SBIRT framework as a practical tool for identifying substance use, initiating non-judgmental conversations, and connecting clients to appropriate care.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Understand the components of SBIRT and how to apply them in doula work
- Recognize signs of substance use and withdrawal in clients
- Practice non-judgmental, trauma-informed communication
- Know how to refer clients to appropriate treatment and recovery services
Session 3: June 18, 2025 – Supporting Women in Recovery
This session supports doulas in working with clients in recovery, including those navigating opioid use disorder. Emphasis will be placed on non-enabling support, healthy coping strategies, and addressing concerns related to child welfare and safety planning.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Recognize and respect diverse recovery journeys and return-to-use risks
- Provide compassionate support without enabling harmful behaviors
- Encourage healthy coping mechanisms and self-care for clients
- Understand the basics of legal and child welfare considerations, including safety planning
Session 4: June 25, 2025 – Working with Babies Exposed to Substances in Utero
This session prepares doulas to support both newborns and their parents following substance exposure in utero. While newborn withdrawal symptoms and medical considerations will be addressed, the session centers on the importance of maintaining and strengthening the parent–baby bond. Doulas will learn techniques such as kangaroo care and responsive soothing, explore breastfeeding and feeding considerations, and gain tools to empower and support parents as primary caregivers. The session emphasizes collaboration with healthcare providers and addresses ways to reduce stigma and foster confidence in parenting through a family-centered lens.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Understand how substance exposure in utero may affect newborns
- Promote bonding and attachment using strategies like kangaroo care, skin-to-skin contact, and calming techniques
- Support parental coping and confidence while navigating withdrawal symptoms and hospital care
- Provide guidance on breastfeeding and feeding decisions in the context of maternal substance use
- Collaborate effectively with NICU and pediatric care teams while centering the family as the unit of care
Presented by: Kasey Edwards Snider, CRM2, PSS, CADC-I, Specialized Doula
Kasey Edwards is a nationally recognized perinatal harm reduction educator, program developer, and specialized peer doula with over 13 years of experience supporting pregnant and parenting people impacted by substance use. She is a Certified Peer Support Specialist, Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, Certified Recovery Mentor II, and Birth Doula.
Kasey has supported systems-level transformation across Oregon by developing trauma-informed curricula, mentoring peer and medical providers, and co-creating the foundational model for Project Nurture, a nationally recognized program that integrates maternity care and substance use treatment. She currently serves as a Content Consultant for Comagine Health, contributes to the Academy of Perinatal Harm Reduction, and works as the In-Reach Outreach Coordinator at the Oregon State Hospital—where she supports long-term recovery planning for patients navigating mental health and justice systems, including those who are perinatal.
Her latest project, the Doula Training Series: Supporting Clients with Substance Use Disorders, offers a virtual, CEU-eligible curriculum designed to equip doulas with practical tools, trauma-informed frameworks, and culturally responsive strategies to support people through pregnancy, recovery, and postpartum care. The series centers lived experience, compassion, and cross-system collaboration, with sessions on SBIRT, recovery journeys, newborn care, and more.
Kasey is deeply passionate about expanding access to doula care and reimagining systems that often separate families. Her work is grounded in the belief that every mother deserves the chance to parent—and that our systems must be reshaped to make that possible. Through advocacy, training, and program development, she continues to challenge societal barriers and uplift community-led solutions that protect the bond between mothers and their children.
Continuing Education Units: 6 CEUs*
Each session offers 1.5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs), with a total of 6 CEUs awarded for full participation in the series.
This training is approved for continuing education by the boards listed here as well as by the Nevada Certification Board for Doulas.
Funding for this activity was made possible in whole or in part by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Director’s Office through the Fund for a Resilient Nevada, established in Nevada Revised Statutes 433.712 through 433.744. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in our courses are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Nevada Opioid Center of Excellence or its funders.