My Journey as a Doula and Coach: Committed to Nurturing and Ensuring Your Empowered Birth and Healthy Start
How my evolving practice helps ensure every birth is met with care, connection and unwavering presence.
When I tell people I’m a birth doula, I often hear, “Oh, you mean like a midwife?” That gives me the opportunity to clarify: unlike midwives, doulas don’t provide medical care. Instead, we offer continuous emotional, physical, and informational support before, during, and after birth.
Where It All Began
In 2009, I trained with DONA International and began my work as a birth doula. At that time, many people were unfamiliar with the role.
The standard approach included one or two prenatal home visits, support throughout active labor (usually beginning around 4 cm dilation) and one postpartum follow-up visit.
Many of my clients came from my Pregnancy Yoga classes. A mama would join around 16 weeks—excited and focused on her pregnancy, but not yet thinking much about labor and birth.
As she continued to attend weekly classes, she naturally absorbed information about childbirth through movement, breath work, and childbirth education woven into each session.
“Did you know studies show that having a doula present at your birth reduces your likelihood of C-section by nearly 30-55%? ”
By the time she was ready to think seriously about birth, often around 27 or 28 weeks, she already had a strong foundation.
When she chose to hire me as her doula, we were already aligned in philosophy and trust. Our at-home prenatal visits focused on clarifying her birth preferences, addressing any fears and including her partner in meaningful preparation.
By the time labor began—even if it was at 2 a.m.—she was ready and fearless.
“How are you and your partner preparing for labor and birth?”
Shifting with the World
Then the pandemic changed everything.
In-person yoga came to a halt. Fear and uncertainty rose. Many women labored masked and alone. It was a profoundly difficult time for mamas —and for doulas, too.
In response, I expanded my practice and became certified as both an Intuitive Life Coach and a Postpartum Doula. These certifications added depth to my work, allowing me to support clients emotionally and energetically through every phase of pregnancy and early motherhood.
I noticed a troubling trend. Rates of perinatal mood disorders were climbing. Today, 1 in 5 mothers experience postpartum anxiety or depression. Many turn to the internet for information, often encountering fragmented, fear-based content that deepens their confusion and anxiety.
Why Early, Holistic Preparation Matters
Despite these challenges, many couples still wait until the third trimester to hire a doula. But early preparation is crucial. It gives you time to build trust, receive education and emotionally and energetically ground yourself for birth.
Intentional, early preparation is the most effective way to ensure a positive birth experience—physically, mentally, emotionally, energetically and spiritually.
“Birth is an event that shakes and shapes a mother to her inner core. A woman’s perceptions about her body and her baby’s capabilities will be deeply influenced by the care she receives
around the time of her birth.”
I became a doula because mamas felt rushed, pressured, or neglected by our medical system.
Today, the need for evidence-based education and holistic, continuous support is greater than ever.
A return to a wholesome view of pregnancy, labor and birth and postpartum is desperately needed. We’ve drifted from a balanced, empowering view of pregnancy and birth. T
oo often, women are conditioned to expect trauma or they begin to doubt their innate strength and intuition. It’s time to return to community, confidence and care.
What Continuity of Care Looks Like
This is where coaching and doula support naturally come together.
Pregnancy Coaching helps a mother begin her journey from a place of calm and clarity. Through regular one-on-one sessions, she learns to identify and release fear, connect with her body and prepare herself physically, emotionally, and energetically—long before labor begins.
When a coaching client becomes a doula client, the transition into labor support is seamless. She already trusts herself and the process. I know her story, her values, her intentions—and I can be a steady voice that helps her stay grounded in her power.
We also build a postpartum plan together, so she enters early motherhood with ease and support.
Supporting the Sacred and Sensitive Postpartum Period
My work as a postpartum doula has opened my eyes even further. In hindsight, a single postpartum follow-up—as I once offered—feels deeply insufficient. I’ve learned that having a positive birth experience doesn’t necessarily lead to a gentle and smooth transition into motherhood.
New mothers need to be supported.
They need rest, warmth, nourishment and a sense of being held. They need time to bond with their babies while someone else handles the laundry or prepares a warm, nurturing meal. Caring for mama and baby helps ensure the health of the entire family.
Questions To Ask Yourself to See if a Continuum of Care is Right for You
Do the office visits with my doctor feel sufficient? Do I feel seen, heard and understood?
Will taking a childbirth course at the hospital lean too heavily toward medical interventions?
Is a weekend childbirth course the right choice for my partner and me? Or will I feel overwhelmed?
Is scrolling Instagram planting seeds of doubt and worry?
Do I have my circle of support in place for postpartum?
Would getting physical, emotional and informational support from a doula help me feel safe?
Could pregnancy coaching help me work through my fears and anxiety and help me get clear to reach my goal?
Could having a postpartum doula help me relax so I don’t have to worry about bringing baby home, healing and setting healthy boundaries with visitors?
As you begin your motherhood journey, learning to listen to your body and your intuition is essential.
Deep down, you know what need and what’s going to best support.
This is the most important thing you’ll ever do. Get the support you deserve.
Let’s Create a Continuum of Care—Together
If you’re looking for support that honors the sacred transformation of birth and motherhood, I’d love to walk with you on that journey.
Click the button below and send me a message.
Learn how we can work together to create the birth and postpartum experience you deserve.