Thank you for your interest in the UNM Volunteer Birth Companion Program and for completing our interest form. 

Here is how the program works

We are an on-call program, meaning that when volunteers are on shift ('working") they are available to come into the hospital and support patients but they may not be called .They are not required to be at the hospital unless called. During their shift, volunteers need to be available to answer the phone and be at the hospital within 1 hour. When at the hospital, volunteers provide support to patients who have requested a birth companion. That is usually when they are in labor but we also provide support to patients in triage and sometimes in Women's Special Care.  Generally, do not expect to be called in for every shift.

We ask that volunteers sign up for four 12-hour shifts per month.  You will be able to choose your shifts within the available shifts (days or nights, weekends or weekdays) The shifts you choose can vary from month to month keeping within the four per-month requirement. Two shifts can be scheduled back-to-back. We ask for a six-month commitment, but we would welcome your participation beyond the initial six months.

There are training requirements of which you should be aware. We want all of our volunteers to feel comfortable in their role as birth companions. All volunteers complete the following steps before they start volunteering:

• Initial training (16 hours - often a weekend in person or a hybrid of some in-person and some self-paced online) covering trauma-informed care, working with people with perinatal substance use and what a volunteer birth companion at UNMH is and does
• Required reading
• 4-hour orientation to Labor and Delivery and a 5-8 hour shift (usually the same day as the L&D orientation) where you will be mentored by an experienced Birth Companion
• 8-hour online breastfeeding course required by UNMH's Baby-Friendly certification

Because all of our volunteers are hospital volunteers there is a separate training and qualifying process to become a hospital volunteer. This involves attending a one-hour volunteer orientation and submitting paperwork including proof of a negative TB test and evidence of COVID-19 and flu vaccinations -waivers may be available on a case by case basis.

We have two to three trainings a year. Once we receive your application, we'll let you know when the next training will be.