ABSTRACT
Through the comparison and analysis of three training paths to become a doula in Italy, this chapter gives evidence of the main aspects of the profile. Even though each doula school proposes a different kind of path, they share homogeneity in the training of relational skills, the models of relationship, and in the methodologies used to shape the professional style of the doula. However, the heterogeneity of extra trainings shows an extremely dynamic profile that rejects a crystallized definition of knowledge and skills. The system of knowledge to which the doula refers is therefore pluralistic. At first analysis, the cultural base on which the activity is anchored might appear incoherent and destined not to support the development of the doula profile. Yet at a level of deeper reflection, the coherence takes the shape of a patchwork. Starting with practices, the trainings integrate cultural elements. Doula practices give coherence to the pluralism of symbols and systems of knowledge to which the Italian doulas refer and which they incorporate. It is in the patchwork, in the ability to assimilate different and coexisting knowledge systems, that the doula fashions her own patterns of meaning. The need for continuous evolution appears an essential condition for doulas and becomes one of the essential characteristics of her professionalism.
