Guelph woman calls for fraud training in doula programs after falling victim to province-wide doula fraud
Courtney Heywood feels she was meant to be a doula.
“I loved having a doula with my son’s birth so much that I just felt a calling to birth work,” said Heywood, who works as a doula in Guelph.
While doulas are not regulated in Canada, those like Heywood can get certified by a training organization.
She took two workshops that were each 10 hours as the foundation to begin working as a doula.
Heywood described the courses as hard core, and felt they left her with all the information she needed to start offering doula services.
“People can hire us to support them, usually during pregnancy, [to] support them during their birth, their labor and support them afterwards as well after they bring their baby home,” she said.
One of those people that Heywood says hired her for support was Kaitlyn Braun, a woman from Brantford who has since been charged with dozens of criminal charges, including harassment, fraud, and sexual assault after police say she sought the help of doulas for pregnancies and stillbirths that turned out to be fake.
Heywood said she received a message from Braun about a pregnancy from a sexual assault.
Heywood connected with her first through a phone call – a process she uses to identify potential red flags.
Heywood said it felt normal and natural.
She said she even received an ultrasound photo from Braun.
The story Braun was telling her started to unravel, and she became suspicious when the development of Braun’s pregnancy became too outrageous to believe.
Heywood took to Facebook to share part of her experience, where she was met with comments from other doulas telling her she had been tricked.
“It’s horrible. It’s a terrible feeling. It’s a weight on my shoulder,” said Heywood. “It’s on my mind from the time I wake up and when I go to bed.”
Brantford police say there are at least ten alleged victims across Ontario, and they expect there will be more.
Heywood said she would like to see more emphasis on doula protection from fraud during training.
“It’s important as a way of healing for us and sharing our story with other doulas so we can hopefully stop it from happening again,” Heywood said.
Stefanie Antunes, a birth doula trainer at Dona International, has taught in the field for two decades and says Braun’s situation is so unique it’s difficult to implement training that could help other doulas, but it's brought a lot of awareness about being cautious.
“One of the really important aspects of doula training is learning about how to do a consultation with a client,” said Antunes.
Adding: “Even people who are going through all the steps of looking out for things that’s not a good fit for them, this situation passed a lot of tests for a lot of people and were still impacted.”
As for Braun, she is facing over two dozen charges in connection to the investigation.
She will be appearing in a Brantford court for a bail hearing on Friday.
Correction
An earlier version of this article said the doula wanted industry regulations. In fact, she was calling for more learning of fraud in doula training programs. This has been corrected.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
RCMP not investigating possible foreign interference cases related to Chiu, Dong: Duheme
Canada's federal police force is not investigating any possible instances of foreign interference in the cases of former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu and Liberal-turned-Independent MP Han Dong, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca