About Vanessa
Birth & Postpartum Doula | Newborn Parent Educator| Childbirth Educator
In a prior career, I was working as a Head Start home visitor; my role was to collect families' medical, dental and vaccination records. Though this role afforded me the lovely opportunity to talk with families and hear many of their birth stories, I still felt very distant from their lived experiences. Even though I was able to counsel clients on preparing for their births, and provided some postpartum support in the form of sleep and feeding guidance, I wasn't able to invest in my clients as fully as I wished. The majority of my job remained technical in nature: tracking babies and toddlers hitting their milestones, helping get breast pumps, navigating WIC and job programs, and counseling on postpartum hair loss and nutrition.
It was when I started talking to a coworker about wanting a deeper level of involvement that I first learned about doulas. She was the first to suggest that maybe Head Start wasn't for me, but that I'd make a great doula. “Doula what?” It was all new to me, but after two months of research plus diving into the local community, I quit my job with Head Start and dived fully into doula work, and I have never looked back.
My prior work provides a great platform for my role as a doula, but it is the connection with my clients that drives my work now. Whether I support you as your birth doula, your postpartum doula, a childbirth educator or newborn parent educator, I invest my whole heart into helping you navigate your best possible experience through this amazing transitional time. I want all birthing people and their partners to feel safe, supported and informed. My passion for this work drives me; my approach is evidenced based and matter of fact, and I will support you with education, advocacy and resource as well.
I have now been a doula for seven years. I have trained with DONA, ProDoula and MaternityWise; I've also completed training in Spinning Babies, TENS Unit and Comfort Touch. I'm an Air Force veteran and a classically-trained French chef (food safety certified). I hold a Bachelors in Family and Human Development and CPR certification. I put my whole background to use when serving clients, helping to bring you the very best information available, support you with my full resources, and join you on your journey. Let's do amazing work together!
Training & Certifications
