Los Angeles Birth Partners
Compassionate, Collaborative Care
for New Parents and Parents-to-Be
Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
Los Angeles Birth Partners (LABP) – is one of Los Angeles’ longest standing doula practices, educator collaboratives and new parent resources hub. LABP is comprised of a team of several deeply dedicated and diverse perinatal support professionals and educators who work together to provide expert prenatal, birth and postpartum support to birthing people and families throughout Los Angeles County.
What is the LABP Doula Difference?
LABP is committed to providing expert care and support to help families make informed decisions to achieve their best birth and parenting experience. Our doulas and birth professionals support personal choices are dedicated to helping each family have a healthy and positive pregnancy, birth and 4th trimester.
The purpose of this code of ethics is to define what unifies our multidisciplinary team and what shared beliefs may be informally recognized within the organization in achieving the stated goals, with the best possible outcomes for all parties involved.
It is with the best of intentions that Los Angeles Birth Partners’s perinatal support professionals, who are independent contractors (IC’s), and staff are committed to honoring and upholding the following code of ethics and professional conduct:
LOS ANGELES BIRTH PARTNERS
I. Principles of Conduct
Personal conduct - Los Angeles Birth Partners’s perinatal support professionals and staff should maintain high standards of personal conduct in the capacity or identity as a Los Angeles Birth Partners perinatal support professional or staff member. We will strive to be kind, considerate and respectful so that we may produce the best work we can as an organization. A perinatal support professional and staff member’s decisions will affect clients and colleagues, and we should take those consequences fully into account when making decisions.
Competency - Los Angeles Birth Partners perinatal support professional or staff member should strive to become and remain proficient in their professional practice and their performance of professional functions. We should also strive to embody the highest standards of cultural competency, sensitivity and humility which includes upholding the intersectional needs of all birthing people.
Honor our values on Social Media- Los Angeles Birth Partners perinatal support professionals or staff members should extend respect, courtesy, fairness and good faith towards all birth workers on behalf of our collective. When engaging on social media platforms, they agree to clarify that any opinions are their own, show mutual respect and dignity within communications, and be aware that social media content is public record and may reflect poorly on Los Angeles Birth Partners, potentially all stakeholders and the quality of birthwork that the perinatal professionals and staff are perceived to represent.
Integrity- Los Angeles Birth Partners perinatal support professional or staff member should act in accordance with the highest standards of professional integrity.
Mutual well being- Our behaviors, professional presentation, organizational communications, and self-care practices should enhance and create positive emotional states and satisfying relationships between the community, our colleagues and ourselves.
II. Ethical Responsibility to Clients
Support a holistic birth framework -including shared decision making, informed consent, autonomy and trauma informed care.
Endeavor to achieve human rights in childbirth - To foster self-determination, self-advocacy, and the fundamental right to health in our clients and their family.
Confidentiality and privacy- Perinatal professions and staff should uphold the privacy of clients and hold in confidence all information obtained in the course of providing professional services.
Community care and centering- Perinatal support professional or staff member should assist each client seeking community care and support either by providing access to local information, services, education and/or appropriate referrals as needed.
Reliability- As a perinatal support professional or staff member, our clients rely on the support we provide and count on us to be dependable and honor all professional commitments.
III. Ethical Responsibility to Colleagues
Uplifting, Caring, Respectful- Los Angeles Birth Partners perinatal support professionals or staff members should treat colleagues with dignity, respect, kindness and compassion. Los Angeles Birth Partners is committed to uphold in all services and among all partners anti-discrimination tenents on the basis of age, sex, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, disability, or marital status or any other legally recognized protected group and will uphold federal, state, and local laws, regulations or ordinances.
Relating to other Los Angeles Birth Partners Clients- Perinatal support professionals or staff members have the responsibility to relate to the clients of colleagues with the same consideration and respect as their own. Continuity of care is essential to ensure a positive and supportive experience for clients. After ensuring that there is informed consent, it is important to convey information about any services provided or client needs that arose, if working collaboratively with another doula’s client.
IV. Ethical Responsibility to the Community Doula Profession
Maintain Integrity of the Doula Profession- Perinatal support professionals or staff members should uphold and advance the values, ethics, knowledge and mission of the doula / birth keeper / birth worker profession.
Commitment to Community- Provide appropriate education and referrals to clients and accessible resources that will best meet clients’ specific needs. Warm hand-offs to referrals fosters community relationships and increases the likelihood of a successful referral process for the client, so doulas and staff should provide a warm hand-off, whenever possible.
V. Ethical Responsibility to Community
Promoting Perinatal, Postpartum and Child Welfare- Doulas and staff should promote the general health and wellbeing of birthing people and their babies, and whenever possible, that of their family, friends and community.
VI. Standards of Practice
Observe established standards- Doulas and staff shall observe the Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics as agreed to by the doula/perinatal support professional’s training organization.
~We, Los Angeles Birth Partners’ Perinatal Support Professionals, endeavor to honor and uphold the above stated code of ethics and professional conduct.~