I am a certified birth doula, postpartum doula, lactation counselor, childbirth educator, newborn care specialist, bereavement support, aromatherapist, and herbalist living in Center City, Philadelphia, and serving the entire Philadelphia region.
BEST DOULA AWARD 2016
BEST DOULA FINALIST 2017
BEST DOULA AWARD 2018
BEST DOULA AWARD 2019
I am an older doula, so if you are looking to be mothered (which is what doulas do), then you have found the right person! Let me care for you with my wide range of services that will inform, inspire, and nurture you from pregnancy to postpartum. One of my clients shared that my care felt like “one-stop shopping!”
I am mother to three, wonderful, grown, children who are all out on their own. This allows me plenty of time to dedicate myself to caring for your family as your doula. I currently live with Honey, my very old Golden Retriever, and my Tortie cat Harvey-Two Face.
My birth philosophy? Over the years I have seen again and again that a safe and calm birthing environment with minimal disruptions allows your body and baby to know what to do to give birth. While this philosophy guides my care for you, my #1 priority is to support you in making informed decisions and honoring your needs and wants for your birth.
Certified Birth Doula, DONA International
Certfied Postpartum Doula, DONA International
Certified Lactation Counseling, Healthy Children Project
Certified Childbirth Educator, Childbirth International
Bereavement Support, Birth Arts international
Certified Aromatherapy, Heart of Herbs
Certified Herbalist, Heart of Herbs
My birth doula care begins in pregnancy, with two comprehensive home visits helping you and your birth partner(s) to feel prepared for birth. My role includes continuous emotional support for you and your partner, physical comfort measures, information support, and helping you advocate for yourself every step of the way.
As a postpartum doula, I am all about mothering you as a new mother and nurturing your family. Ideally I would be at your home once you get home from your birthplace. My role is to help your new family sleep, rest, relax, enjoy, feed and bond with your baby. I will help with food, breastfeeding, household tasks, baby care instruction, and emotional support.
As a lactation counselor, I help you get a solid healthy start to breastfeeding your baby. I encourage you to begin with my prenatal breastfeeding class while you are pregnant, building a foundation for your first weeks with baby. After birth, I can come to your home to help with any breastfeeding issues that may occur.
If you are a bottle feeding family and would like to get some sleep at night, I can come in to your home and provide expert professional care for your newborn at night so you can get some sleep.
Learn about the care and keeping of babies in 2017 with current information on safety, health, and baby care. Join me to learn how you can be the best grandparent ever and help avoid conflict with your own child!
I teach private childbirth education classes in my home or yours, as well as a newborn care class, infant sleep workshop, and a breastfeeding class. You can even invite friends or family to create a group class!
Consultations and fear release sessions to women who are pregnant with a breech baby, including practicing and modeling the exercises, discussing contraindications, and emotional support.
There are many ways to use aromatherapy and herbs during your pregnancy, labor, postpartum period, breastfeeding and for baby.
Belly binding and sealing have been used to support pregnant and postpartum parents in nearly all traditional cultures around the world.
*Prices are valid for Center City, Philadelphia within 30 minute walking distance of Rittenhouse. Travel charges apply outside of this area. Classes are available at my home or your home.
Interested in learning more about my services or ready to schedule an interview? Please let me know by using the form at right, or contact me by phone or email. I do my very best to get back to all requests within 24 hours. I look forward to sharing more with you!
Certified Doula, Lactation Counselor, Childbirth Educator, Bereavement Support, Aromatherapist, and Herbalist
I delivered a son via VBAC with Christine’s help. My goal was to labor at home for as long as possible for fear that if I went into the hospital too early I would be trapped in bed with all sorts of meds and IVs and not be able to move around. This baby was my last chance to have the vaginal birth that I desperately wanted and Chris was there to help me despite my fears and pain. Please don’t hesitate to hire a doula to assist you in labor (they are heaven sent) and consider Christine to help you.”
I was recently featured in an episode of Rompers Doula Diaries with one of my clients having their second baby. I’m delighted to offer you this chance to see me in action and learn from this beautiful family!
I would like to write a review for one of my favorite websites for my birth doula clients! That website is called Evidence Based Birth! I cannot tell you how many times I refer, or refer my clients to this website. This website was created by a nurse researcher, Rebecca Decker, after she had a… Read more
I’m delighted to share with you this post from Romper.com on my doula experience with a wonderful family who experienced a very fast birth. Enjoy this story of what happens should I miss your birth as a doula simply because there was no possible way to get there on time! Click here to read the… Read more
Since I have been supporting families as a birth and postpartum doula for about four years now, I have met some great professionals in the field that I would like to recommend. I am a strong believer in taking advantage of all the wonderful care the community of holistic practitioners here in Philadelphia has to… Read more
One of my favorite stories that I like to tell is from the first time I was a backup doula for another doula who was away when her client went into labor. I had briefly met with the client and her husband for about a half hour, during their second prenatal meeting. So, needless to… Read more
What is a doula? Doula is an ancient Greek word for female who serves. There are two types of doulas. First I will talk about the birth doula. A birth doula is a woman who will help a laboring mother through her labor and the birth of her baby. Many doulas are certified by DONA… Read more
“There is a phase in labor, appropriately called transition, where a woman will meet her breaking point. She’ll feel as though she just can’t go on, and she is right. The maiden in her is not strong enough for the task at hand. It’s during this Time the maiden dies so that the woman can be reborn as a mother, with her child. A new, more capable version of herself with far more strength than she has ever known. From maiden to mother.”
– Carley Mendes
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