About

During the H1N1 pandemic, hospitals restrict visitation. Only one person is allowed with the person giving birth, forcing a difficult choice between partner and doula. It is at this point that the need for an official voice to recognize the presence of doulas and to defend the rights of those giving birth is felt.

First national doula meeting in June, organized by the Regroupement Naissance Renaissance (RNR). During this event, which gathered more than 100 doulas from all over Quebec. It was clear that the majority wanted to create an association. There was no question of creating a professional order or integrating the Ministry of Health’s network, but to keep the independence essential to the practice of the doula profession.

Annie Noël de Tilly from Alternative Naissance and Milène Pigeon from RNR start the process of obtaining a grant from the Beati Foundation. Unfortunately, the grant is refused and the project remains on ice. However, the doulas continue to express their desire to regroup.

Annie-Noël de Tilly and Johanne Paulauskas choose to continue to volunteer. They contact Lorraine Fontaine, Nicole Pino and Milène Pigeon of the RNR. In September 2012, Diane Bolduc-Boutin, Annie Bouchard and Nadia Deslauriers from La source en soi join the coordinating committee of the future Association québécoise des accompagnantes à la naissance (AQAN) (Quebec Association of doulas in English).

Stéphanie St-Amant, who organized the 2010 national meeting, is hired in January as project manager for the creation of AQAN. Creation of different working committees, which allows to present a real and already committed association at the constitutive assembly.

Constitutive assembly of AQAN in Montreal on June 7th 2013. A hundred doulas are present. Coming from all regions, from all backgrounds, they are experienced doulas or beginners, francophones or anglophones, from community or private settings. AQAN wants to be inclusive, it also opens its doors to anyone interested in its mission, not only to doulas.

Launch of the AQAN-QAD website.

Creation of the Training Committee which will focus on the curriculum required to become a member as well as continuing education. This committee will be headed by Diane Boutin for 2 years.

Creation of the Merger Committee which will work for an eventual merger between AQAN and RQAN (Réseau québécois des accompagnantes à la naissance). Merger that will never take place since the members of RQAN vote no at their AGM.

At the AGA, the Training Committee presents their Training Passport which includes the curriculum necessary to become a member as a birth doula. The passport is adopted by the members. The association is asked to participate in the discussion of the creation of a birthing wing at the Notre-Dame Hospital in Montreal. We participate with other perinatal organizations in a discussion on the community and functional issues of a new, more physiological maternity ward in Montreal. Launch of the private Facebook group Communauté AQAN Community.

During the global pandemic COVID-19, AQAN is called upon to defend the presence of doulas in birthing facilities, and the rights of those who give birth, particularly with regard to the issue of wearing masks. Several tools to defend the rights of birthing parents, as well as those of doulas, were created and distributed. Many interviews are conducted by the Board team. AQAN participates in a crisis cell and in discussions with the MAMAN group and the RNR before the College of Physicians.

The first AQAN employee is hired and Alice Rivard becomes the coordinator and takes over several important files within the association.

In a desire to be inclusive of gender and the diversity of doula practices, it is voted at an extraordinary general assembly that AQAN becomes AQD, l’Association québécoise des doulas, which remains the same in English. AQD aims to be inclusive of people from the LGBTQ+ community, racialized people, people of all classes, abilities, etc. It also includes doulas from all walks of life: fertility, birth, postpartum, abortion, perinatal bereavement and end of life.

With the new name comes a new logo and a new website. The Website Committee is working from January to May to present the new product at the AGA in May 2021.