• Birth support
• Postpartum doula services
• HypnoBirthing
• Private (in the home) childbirth education classes

• labor doula support
• prenatal Thai Yoga bodywork
• resources for community services and evidence-based information
• postpartum support and overnight care

A positive birth experience can empower and transform you and your partner, ensuring a positive beginning in your new roles as parents.

Believing your baby and your body are meant to work naturally together toward birth, my role as a doula is to provide emotional and physical support to you and to your partner during labor, birth, and during the postpartum as you move forward as a family.

Being connected to community services and accessing evidence-based information is very important during this time, and my role as a doula extends to providing access to these resources.

I am a certified labor doula and a certified postpartum doula (Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association/CAPPA). I have completed childbirth education training through CAPPA as well. I have a master's degree in anthropology with a focus in medical anthropology and the postpartum issues of stress, anxiety and depression. I offer postpartum overnight services as I believe sleep is essential to health and that sleep deprivation can exacerbate postpartum issues.

I also offer Prenatal Thai Yoga bodywork, which is particularly beneficial for women seeking to ease the natural stresses of adapting physically, mentally, and emotionally to pregnancy. In the comfort of your home, wearing clothing that allows you to move, I provide a gentle and relaxing one hour massage. I bring a professional grade massage mat and you bring out your favorite pillows!

We offer services in a variety of forms, depending on individual needs. Our standard birth doula package includes up to four prenatal visits; on call availability starting at 37 weeks of pregnancy; continuous support through active labor, birth and the initial postpartum period; and up to two postpartum visits. We also offer à la carte services to women who want additional support in preparation for birth and motherhood but are not necessarily interested in professional labor support. Individual or multiple prenatal visits can include education and information for support people who will be attending the birth, developing strategies for dealing with concerns or limitations, newborn care, or simply additional childbirth education in the privacy of your own home. Our partnership honors the importance of the individual relationship between doula and birthing woman (and partner). Clients can arrange to meet with one or both of us for a free initial consultation but choose one of us to work with them throughout pregnancy, birth and postpartum. We provide backup for one another and work together on developing strategies for situations that arise while supporting our clients.

Our interest in birth comes from our own birth experiences and beliefs about the importance of the passage from woman to mother, individuals to family. Our goals are to assist in providing tools for making informed choices around birth and offering loving and nonjudgemental support to women and their partners. We have attended births in home, independent birth center, and hospital settings and are comfortable in all.

• Free initial interview (references and resume provided)
• 2-3 prenatal meetings
• Unlimited phone/email support
• Assistance with creating a birth plan and birth preparation
• Lending library of books, videos, and articles
• On-call 24/7 two weeks prior to due date until birth
• Continuous labor support in your home and/or at the hospital
• Comfortable with using a wide variety of labor support techniques, including massage, visualization, vocalization, water, aromatherapy, music, positioning - whatever works!
• Breastfeeding support
• One postpartum visit (additional visits by arrangement)
• Sliding scale
• Knowledge of most of the Pioneer Valley's resources for expectant parents and babies

I believe that every birth is beautiful, miraculous and most importantly, unique. There is no right or wrong way to birth a child, but there are many ways to ensure that a woman, with her family, feels empowered and in control of what she is experiencing. As a doula I strive to support each woman I serve to find her own unique pathway for birthing her baby. I feel strongly that there are real advantages to natural birth that have been well documented. As your doula I will be honest with you about the risks and benefits of various interventions so that you make the decision that is best for you and your baby and no one else. It's your choice and your birth!

I am currently a homebirth midwife (CPM pending) and doula. I have been involved in the world of birth for the last seven years as a mother, activist and birth professional. After completing my Master’s in Public Administration at the University of Massachusetts, I gave birth to my son with the assistance of certified nurse midwives. I went on to have a homebirth with my daughter and was forever changed by the experience of giving birth with women I knew and trusted in an environment uniquely my own.

I completed Stepping Stones to Midwifery with BJ MacKinnon, CNM, CPM which included my birth doula training with the Association of Labor Assistants and Childbirth Educator (ALACE). My advanced midwifery training was through the Barefoot Midwifery/Hands of Light Traditional Midwifery Program.I graduated from the program in the fall of 2004. I have worked extensively as a birth doula over the last six years and have attended more than 100 births, working with all of the hospitals and Midwifery/OB practices serving the Pioneer Valley. During that time period I also became a La Leche League Leader for the Northampton chapter.

I began attending home births in the fall of 2004 and apprenticed with Tanya Rapinchuk, CPM, LM at Sacred Birth Midwifery from December 2004 - October 2006. In October 2006 I completed a clinical intensive in Belize through the Arizona Midwifery Institute and upon returning joined Sacred Birth Midwifery as a partner.

• Prenatal meetings and postpartum visit and support
• Birth plan counseling
• Birth art sessions
• On call 24 hours, beginning two weeks before expected due date
• Knowledge of medical procedures, informational resource
• Continuous physical and emotional support throughout active labor
• Proficient in techniques for relieving labor discomfort
  • Massage, breathing, pressure points, labor positions, visualization, and relaxation techniques.
• Advocate for mother's wishes
• Breastfeeding education and assistance
• Childbirth education/preparation classes
• Lots of love and honor for the birthing family!

I am a birth enthusiast! I love having the opportunity to support and educate women and help prepare them for the awesome experience of birth and motherhood!

I have been a labor assistant for 8 years. My training began in Israel at The Misgav Ladach Birthing Hospital in Jerusalem, where I was trained in an intensive doula program and worked many hours on the labor and delivery floor. I began teaching childbirth education classes in Brooklyn 7 years ago and have continued to teach and attend births here in Amherst. I am currently in the CAPPA CBE certification program, and I am a certified DONA and CAPPA doula, as well as a CAPPA certified labor doula trainer.

I believe that every birthing mother deserves a doula who will help in creating an environment that is conducive to birth. I strive to help women discover and arouse their own innate birthing abilities. My goal is to help birthing women to have a wonderful birth experience and a beautiful birth memory!

• Birth and Postpartum Doula Services, including day, weekend, and nighttime postpartum service
• Doula Training Workshops and Mentoring Program
• Creative Movement for Birth
• Blessingway Ceremonies
• Pre-conception Counseling

Women approach their pregnancies, birthing-times, and early months of parenting with such a wide range of beliefs, hopes, and personal history.

For some women, birth is an exciting physical/athletic challenge; akin to a high mountain ascent. While it may be daunting, there is also the potential for a meaningful inner experience, and ultimately an exhilarating victory.

For some, it is a spiritual or religious rite of passage; an invitation to deepen in faith and trust, and to welcome a new soul into their family and the world.

For some, it is a frightening unknown; a time to revisit and hopefully revise self-perceptions around issues of strength, power, knowledge, safety, and trust. Sometimes past negative experiences resurface during the pregnancy, prompting women to reach a new level of healing and resolution.

For some parents, birth is the passage into a much longed-for life as a family; the joyful welcoming of a child after uncertainties of infertility or assisted conception.

For some women, it is a solitary passage into motherhood. By choice or circumstance, single mothers are called upon to dig deep for courage and strength.

For most of us, birth is a marvelous homegrown hybrid of several of these meanings. As your birth doula, I'm interested in hearing what this pregnancy and baby are to you; and developing a deep understanding of how I can be of service to your growing family.

Families of all configurations, beliefs, and birth plans are welcome. I support women in home or hospital; natural, epidural, c-section, VBAC, birth after loss, birth for adoption, and multiples.

I've been honored to walk this path with women and families for over eleven years. While each birth is unique, there are also common themes in the passage. My role is to serve as an experienced companion and guide, supporting your highest hopes and shining a light on your own wisdom, courage, and strength.

• Free consultation
• Two prenatal visits and one postpartum visit
• Phone and e-mail support
• 24-hour on-call status beginning at 38 weeks
• Full support during your labor
• Photographs and video during the birth if you wish

I received my training as a birth doula and childbirth educator in 2003, as a component of a year of midwifery training at WomanCraft Midwifery. I plan to be a homebirth midwife one day myself, so I have a special interest in natural birth.

When I began attending births in early 2004, I was lucky to quickly gain a wide range of experiences. I've attended home births and hospital births; Cesarean births and VBACs; quick and easy births and long, slow labors; water births and land births. I've worked with moms who are survivors of sexual abuse, GLBT families, and families with special spiritual needs. I welcome families of all configurations, and a sliding scale is available - no one is turned away for lack of funds.

A specialty of my practice is educating moms about simple ways to encourage their babies to be well-positioned for birth, increasing the chances of a shorter, less complicated labor. Since my clients have begun using these simple techniques, I've noticed that their labors are a great deal shorter on average. This is one of the best-kept childbirth secrets, and it's a privilege to share it!

I love the challenge of meeting what each unique labor brings, and I feel very honored to serve my clients on one of the happiest days of their lives.

• 1 to 2 prenatal and one postpartum visit in your home
• Birth preferences and "wish list" counseling
• Unlimited phone consultations
• Twenty-four hour on call service from the time we contract
• Early labor support individualized to client's need
• Continuous emotional and physical support for laboring woman and partner throughout labor, delivery and early postpartum
• Knowledge of emotional and physiological stages of labor
• Up to date knowledge of medical procedures and ability to answer questions regarding these procedures
• Many techniques for relieving labor discomfort including massage, breathing, pressure points, labor positions, visualization, aromatherapy and relaxation techniques.

Experience with birth:

• Trained and certified by DONA (Doulas of North America) in 1998
• Actively attending births as a certified doula since 1998
• Certified as Childbirth Educator by ALACE and actively teaching since 2006
• Have experience with vaginal births, VBAC, cesarean, twin births and water births
• Fully insured
• CPR certified
• Mother of one son
• I have attended births at Franklin Medical Center, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Baystate Medical Center, Berkshire Medical Center, Holyoke Hospital, Fairview Hospital, as well as many home births.

• Labor Assistance
• Postpartum Support
• Lactation Counseling

I am committed to supporting you and your family during pregnancy, birth and beyond. Having a baby is a time of sacred transformation. It is my purpose and joy to support you and your family during this time by being a resource for evidence-based information on pregnancy, birth, the postpartum period and breastfeeding. During your labor I will be a constant presence, providing both physical and emotional support as you give birth to your baby. As your Labor Assistant it is my duty to provide you with the support you need during your time of transformation, thereby empowering you and your family for years to come.

I am an ALACE trained Labor Assistant and the mother of 3 children. My youngest child was born at home. I have completed a 45 hour Lactation Counselor Certificate Training Course. I am training to become an ALACE Childbirth Educator. I am a believer in birthing the way nature intended. I am at the beginning of my journey toward becoming a Midwife one day. I believe that all women in all settings deserve all-embracing support during labor, however they decide to birth, should they choose it.

• Free initial interview
• 2-6 prenatal visits and 1 postpartum visit (further postpartum care can be arranged on an individual basis)
• Assistance writing a birth plan
• Information about educational and local resources
• Unlimited phone and email support throughout your pregnancy
• 24-hour on-call beginning 2 weeks prior to your due date up until the birth
• Continuous support throughout labor and delivery, in your home or in the hospital
• Sliding scale
• Training for parents in infant massage
• Prenatal and postpartum massage therapy

Birth is a powerful and sacred time for women. Each one is different and perfect, and every woman deserves to be listened to, respected, and fully supported during her labor and delivery. As your doula, I will listen to you, advocate for you, be present with you for the entirety of your labor, and do my best to make your birth feel safe and supported. Whether you need encouragement, ideas for different positions to relieve pain, shift the baby, or move labor along, a loving touch, or simple reassurance, I will be there. Drawing from millennia of women helping women, I will offer support through laboring techniques, educational resources, breastfeeding assistance, and friendship.

I trust that birth is inherently safe and that all women are deeply capable of it.

• Birth Doulas
• Postpartum Doulas
• Childbirth Education and workshops
• Professional development (for doulas and other care providers)

Providing calm, confident and continuous support for the woman and her family during labor and childbirth, and empowering them with the tools and knowledge to achieve a positive pregnancy, birth and parenting experience. At Brattleboro Birth and Doula Services, your local childbirth and postpartum doula network, we contract with professional birth and postpartum doulas. Our doulas are professionally trained and for peace of mind, all doulas have verified credentials and references and you are guaranteed a back-up doula. Visit our website to see a list of doulas available.

• Free initial consultation
• 2-3 prenatal visits to clarify your birth and establish a relationship
• Unlimited phone and email support
• On call 24/7 from 37 weeks
• Empowering support throughout your labor, birth and immediate postpartum
• 1-2 postpartum visits
• Additional visits can be arranged
• Breastfeeding support
• Herbal and homeopathic consultations can be offered as an additional service
• 10% off any of my other services

My interest in supporting women in birth came after the birth of my first son. After a traumatic, unplanned cesarean, I became determined to seek out a healthier paradigm for birth and healing. This quest has sparked a miraculous journey which has taken many twists and turns which brought me to the recent homebirth, VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) of my second.

I graduated from Hampshire College with a degree in herbal medicine and child development. I completed an herbal medicine apprenticeship as well as several homeopathy courses. I am currently study midwifery at WomanCraft Midwifery Education Program. I am a certified lactation counselor (CLC). I am also a birth doula.

I firmly believe that birth is a natural part of life and that given the proper environment and support, every woman is capable of a joyous and wonderful birth experience. I hope to use my passion and compassion for women and birth as well as my knowledge of herbs, homeopathics, nutrition and birth to help women have the best birth she can have. I support women in all of their birthing, personal and family choices.

As a mother who has experienced both an unplanned cesarean and a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), I am wholeheartedly devoted to helping women facing similar situations. Whether it is support around processing a challenging birth or support in planning a subsequent birth, I hope to be a valuable resource. I know firsthand the healing and empowering effect that birth can have, particular for mothers with a previous traumatic birth.

What I hope to bring to your birth is emotional, physical and educational support during one of the most pivotal and transformative times of your life. It is my hope that working together you will feel empowered to find your strength and voice through your birthing experience. I bring to you a plethora of comfort measures and knowledge of the birthing process to ease tension, pain and anxiety with love, nurturing and information.

• Free initial interview
• Assistance with a birthing plan
• 2-3 prenatal meetings (further care can be arranged on an individual basis)
• Unlimited phone/email support from 37 weeks
• Continuous support throughout labor and delivery or postpartum care
• Backup doula upon request
• Sliding scale
• Breastfeeding support
• Postpartum support and overnight care
• Belly casting
• Mother's Blessings, and henna

Whether you are newly pregnant, or are close to your due date, I am glad you are taking the steps to help you make informed decisions on the birth of your child. I believe very strongly that a woman's birth affects her self-perception in a very intense way. After a positive birthing experience, the mother has higher self-esteem, bonds more with her baby, and has a closer relationship with her partner. Even the time she spends nursing is affected by how she feels about her birthing experience.

As a Doula, I believe in laying out all your options and encouraging you to inform yourself. I believe in staying current so that I can give my clients the best information available, and I offer many options, even if they seem unconventional. I am a strong believer in a woman's right and responsibility to make her own decisions in labor, and strongly encourage my clients to take classes, visit La Leche League meetings, and prepare emotionally.

As a woman, I believe birth is a natural, safe, sacred event that changes a woman's self-perception and her relationships forever. You will never forget your birth; enter into it with the same intentions, focus and determination that you did in planning your wedding, or other pivotal moments in your life.

I completed my Doula training through Michelle L'Esperance of Warm Welcome Birth Services. I'm a proud mother of a 2yr old son. I'm open to working with GLBT families.

Prenatal, Birth & Postpartum Services:

• free initial consultation
• 2-3 prenatal visits, as needed/desired
• assistance in developing a birth plan
• unlimited email & phone (9 a.m. to 10 p.m.) support throughout pregnancy
• on-call beginning two weeks before your expected due date
• supportive presence (emotional, physical and informational) throughout labor and birth, and immediately after
• 1 postpartum visit
• breastfeeding assistance & support

How can I possibly capture in a few sentences how privileged I feel to work with pregnant and birthing women and their partners? I am passionate about helping to ensure that the birth of their child is as comfortable, respectful and astonishing an experience as it can be through providing adequate and appropriate information and support.

• A continuum of care from Pregnancy through Infancy
• Birthing From Within® Childbirth Preparation Classes - 12 hour series, Immersions, and private sessions.
• Birthing from Within® Doula Support - Labor and Postpartum
• Birthing From Within® Birth Story Workshops
• Mindful Mother Journey Support Groups

My own journey through pregnancy, my son's birth, and becoming a mother was deeply transformative.
I realized that birth offers us a profound opportunity for personal growth, which can be very helpful in our parenting!
I have since been in training to offer mothers, their partners and newborns a unique and meaningful continuum of care from pregnancy through postpartum.

Please read below for more information, visit my website at www.mindfulbirthjourney.com, or just give me a call. I look forward to hearing from you!
(Sliding scale is available for all my offerings.)

In Birthing From Within® Childbirth Preparation Classes we learn Mindfulness practices (based on age old meditation traditions) which are proven to be very helpful for coping with pain, un-wished for surprises, and life postpartum. In BFW classes we also:

• Explore personal concerns and release fears with thought provoking processes and creative expression.
• We learn about and explore:
  • Creating the optimum environment for birth,
  • Labor physiology and psychology,
  • Home birth and hospital culture,
  • Handling un-wished for events and getting information and giving consent,
  • Finding your voice,
  • Birth from the baby's perspective,
  • Preparation for life postpartum - family, food, support.
  • Special class for Partners and much more.
• Each couple receives a BFW Keepsake Journal with over 200 pages of thoughtful questions for both you and your partner, from pregnancy through postpartum.
• My BFW classes are fun! We dance, sing, work with art materials, hear stories, and make friends.

• As a BFW doula, I offer you at least 6 hours of BFW classes, both in group and privately.
• My first consultation is free.
• I am on call for you anytime during day hours and then 24 hours a day after 37 weeks.
• I support you with Mindfulness techniques, and will support you and your partner in making your own best decisions.
• If wanted in labor, I can be very hands-on, and will massage, offer aromatherapy, hold hands, talk and breath with you.
• I will stay with you for the first few hours after your baby is born to help with breast-feeding and to get you nourishing food.
• I will visit you within three days of the birth, if possible, at your home.
• And again within the next month.

As a postpartum doula I will offer you basic house cleaning, and cooking and support you emotionally and physically in your care of your baby.

Mindful Mother Journey Support Groups

In the months that follow, you can come with your baby in the pre-crawling stage, or by yourself to practice Mindfulness with other mothers, have time to talk, and renew, and build community.

BFW Birth Story Workshops

You can also come for a 4 hour class and explore your birth experience through healing visualizations, drawing, and writing and sharing with other mothers. Partners are also welcome to this class.

I have over 60 hours of mentor and doula training with Pamela England, author and founder of the Birthing from Within® movement.
I have also trained with Michelle L'Esperance of Warm Welcome Doulas.
I am also trained by Rachel Zamore of Mindful Mamas® to facilitate Mindfulness Support Groups.
I have been offering my services to families in Western, Ma. for two years. References available.
I bring my love of meditation, expressive art-making, mothering, children and families to all that I offer with Mindful Birth Journey.

• Labor Doula
• 2 visits before birth; 2 after
• Works with spouse to help support the mother
• Speaks passable Spanish

I believe that Better Beginnings happen for mothers and babies when the mother and her caregivers develop a relationship with the doula before labor, a relationship, based on openness, trust and information.

• Birth Doula with emphasis on integral wellness through prenatal, labor and postpartum experiences;
• Prenatal, Labor, Postpartum & Infant Massage & Bodywork (including Swedish Massage, Polarity Therapy, Reiki, Acupressure/Moxibustion, Cranial Sacral, Core Synchronism, Reflexology & Postpartum Hot Stone Treatments);
• High Vitality Nutrition & Integral Wellness Consultations & Workshops;
• Facilitation of Mother-centered transition rituals like Blessingways;
• Prenatal & Postpartum Individualized Yoga sessions...

As a Natural Therapeutics Specialist, a Licensed Massage Therapist, a Certified Yoga Teacher, an Integral Wellness Mentor/Educator, and an aspiring Herbalist on the path to Midwifery, I hope to offer you the unique and diverse package that your Journey to Birth (prenatal), your Birth Expression (labor) and Beyond (post-partum) will require. Peek around the site to learn how I might best serve your needs. Please check out my website or contact me for further information. I look forward to our connection!

• Initial meeting (no charge)
• Once contract signed, prenatal meetings as needed (usually one-three)
• Assistance in preparing your Birth Plan (Wish List)
• Continuous email and phone support; 24/7 on call from time of signing contract to birth
• Continuous labor support (in home and/or hospital)
• Belly cast
• Birth story from my perspective (presented at time of postpartum visit)
• Postpartum visit to listen to your birth experience, answering questions, and filling in the 'blanks'

The first birth I attended was 32 years ago, in the home of a dear friend. I was 8 months pregnant with my second child and recall kneeling on the bed, with the laboring Mom laying with her back against me. The feeling of my baby reacting to hers, as he moved toward the arms of loved ones, is one I will never forget. Since then, I have had the privilege of attending many births of friends, and friends of friends, in order to give loving support and a calming voice to the parents.

It was right after the birth of my first grandchild - nine years ago - that I found out that what I'd been doing for decades had a name. I was trained as a Birth Doula through DONA two months later and was shortly thereafter DONA certified.

Though I had attended many births, and had two natural births myself in the days before it was common, the pivotal "moment" for me was watching my daughter labor and give birth to her daughter. To see her follow the rhythms of her body throughout the process of a very long and difficult labor, and do it all without the medications that were regularly offered her, was such a gift. And then to have a beautiful baby at the end of it was the ultimate!

There are so many aspects to the birth process, and I believe that each mother and her partner are to have their own beliefs and desires cherished and respected. Whether it's at home, in a birthing center or in a hospital, the mother is to be nurtured, protected and assisted in any way possible throughout her labor. I also believe that part of my role is to model behavior for the primary support person - the father or partner. I am very careful to not overstep my boundaries in this regard, and enter their family circle only when I am sure that I am wanted or needed.

The greatest gift in being a doula is to witness a woman as she reaches down into the deepest part of herself to pull up a strength she did not even know she possessed, in order to birth her baby.

I have attended births in Western MA, the Boston area, RI, and FL; in homes, hospitals and birthing centers. The common thread is the miracle of birth and the making of new families. Each is different, and I have been honored to be a part of every one.

I am open to bartering for other services or goods, offer a sliding scale and payment plan to those who require it. I believe that every woman who wants a doula should have one, regardless of her financial situation.

• Birth and Postpartum Doula: certified and insured
• Emotional support
• Certified E.M.T.
• Labor & delivery coach
• At-home support for family
• Certified EKG Technician
• Personal care assistant
• Special needs assistant

As a mother of three children, ages 10 - 25, and having experienced natural and c-section births, I feel I bring confidence, tenderness, flexibility and enthusiasm to this personal experience. I have shared in many amazing births. It has been an honor and a privilege to be a valuable part of the miracle of birth.

• Free consultation
• Help you create a birth plan
• 2-3 prenatal visits
• 24 hour on call service 2 weeks before your due date
• Labor, birth and postpartum support
• 1 postpartum visit
• Breastfeeding support
• Lending Library
• Postpartum doula services, including overnight support

I was originally drawn to this wonderful calling when a friend of mine invited me to her birth. I was in awe of the beauty and power of birth and gained a fundamental awareness of how important it was to birth where you want and with whom you want. I went on to midwifery school through the Massachusetts Midwives Alliance, worked my way through a busy apprenticeship in the Boston area, and became a Certified Professional Midwife in 2002. I have been practicing as a homebirth midwife and doula, in all birth settings since 2001.

Although the work I have done with birthing mothers has brought me incredible knowledge and experience, it is with the births of my own children that I can truly speak to what support is. I had three very different, yet wonderful birth experiences. The births were not easy, or without challenge, but at no point did I feel unsafe, disempowered, or unsupported, and that is what made them so positive. I had a birth team who knew what I wanted, and I was treated with respect and dignity, and that is what I can offer you. To uphold what it is you want, listen to your needs at all times and help navigate you and your family through the challenges and joys of birth.