I am a DONA (Doulas of North America) trained and certified postpartum doula (since 2006) and a Certified Lactation Counselor (since 2010). I came to this work as a second career after seeing a dear friend go through a severe postpartum depression following the birth of her first child. Quite simply, her experience convinced me that more support is essential for all parents of newborns. As a postpartum doula and Certified Lactation Counselor, I love helping parents grow into their new roles and build their confidence by providing them with practical and emotional support. In a recent article, The New York Times described me as “a modern Mary Poppins: a combination friend, teacher and spirit guide…” I teach a prenatal Breastfeeding & Newborn Care Class and I enjoy working with nursing parents; demonstrating infant massage and “baby wearing;” and supporting parents who are struggling with postpartum mood disorders, including postpartum depression and anxiety. I am also certified in infant and child CPR. I regularly pursue continuing education opportunities and am always deepening my knowledge about newborn care, lactation support and postpartum parents. I've been lucky to work with a diverse range of families, including single, adoptive, and LGBTQ+ parents. I'm a former documentary maker and my films about body image and family issues have been broadcast on PBS, HBO and beyond; my short radio pieces can be heard on This American Life; and an autobiographical essay of mine was included in the anthology Out of the Ordinary: Growing Up with Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Parents. I am the proud mother of a son born in July 2007 and I live with my family in Kensington/Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. (In my profile pic, you'll see me wearing my son. The picture is 10+ years old, but I love it! And I bring that same black stretchy wrap to my postpartum doula visits, so you might get to see me wearing YOUR baby in it some day!)
My role as a postpartum doula is to help parents through their postpartum period and to nurture the family as a whole. There is no one right way to structure my visits, and I am flexible in scheduling my support. There are days when parents have a set “to do list” and other days when I arrive and need to figure out how best to serve the family. As a postpartum doula and Certified Lactation Counselor, I provide non-medical physical and emotional support; evidence-based information about postpartum recovery and newborn care and feeding and; and practical household assistance after the birth of your baby or babies. What this means practically is that I help with: self-care recovery measures for the birth parent; infant feeding (nursing and/or bottle) and pumping; baby care and soothing; and meal prep and household assistance, including grocery shopping and light household chores. In a world filled with endless numbers of books and websites about babies (and newborn feeding and sleep!), I help cut through the noise and focus on your baby and help you understand what he or she is telling you. By building your confidence and giving you practical tools, I aim to help you meet your goals and work myself out of a job.
I am a trained and certified Postpartum Doula through DONA (Doulas of North America) (since 2006) and a Certified Breastfeeding Counselor through Healthy Children (since 2010). I have recertified with both of these organizations over the past years and attend regular continuing education classes and workshops, deepening my knowledge of breastfeeding, bottlefeeding and pumping; newborn behavior, sleep, feeding; postpartum recovery; postpartum mood disorders; babywearing; etc. I have worked with (and learned from!) over 160 parents and their babies over the past twelve years, not including the hundreds of students in my breastfeeding and newborn care classes.