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Breastfeeding Feeding Issues Lactation Postnatal Postpartum Depression Stress Adoptive parents LGBTQ Minority mom Partner support Returning to work Single parents Stay at home mom Women of color Working mom Baby Care Baby Wearing Coaching Education Meal Preparation Multiples Natural Pumping Twins Baby Blues Clogged Ducts Colic Fatigue Gas (baby) Mastitis Reflux

About me

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!)

How I work with parents

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.

My training & experience

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.