Doula | Childbirth Education |Your Birth Helper |Athens, GA |  Charlotte, NC | Atlanta, GA | Greenvile, SC

Meet Lena

Certified YBH Childbirth Educator

YBH Doula Apprentice (Certificate Program)

 

I grew up in a South beach town in Florida, then moved to South Carolina and onto northern California.  From there, my husband and I, settled in Charlotte. I pursued traditional childbirth education in The Bradley Method® and it was there where I met Pam.  After several months of training, we chose Your Birth Helper as our  personal doula.  Our training paid off big and I had a beautiful, low intervention natural birth.  It was then I realized how important it is to have the support of a unbiased person, a doula, to help in achieving your birth plan.  My desire is to support and empower women during one of the most important times of their lives, as Pam did for us.  I have a strong passion for healthy lifestyle and loves to incorporate that into helping new moms eat well during pregnancy for healthy mom- healthy baby- healthy uterus! And, certainly after birth, during postpartum phase, as the nutrition for nursing moms is so very important for our little ones. I host our YBH Labor Workshops and serve Your Birth Helper expectant clients though a variety of services including: educational hiking workshops, consults, birth training, labor assistance and postpartum visits.  Allow me to share my firsthand knowledge of how proper training + the perfect birth team = an amazing "Birth"day party!!

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Meet Sarah

Certified YBH Childbirth Educator

Certified Bradley® Instructor ~ Bradley®Doula

Certified Advanced YBH Doula

 

During my first pregnancy, I would describe my husband and I, (like most) as being completely clueless expecting parents.  By chance, I ended up with an amazing OBGYN, who supported natural childbirth.  She also let me know “natural childbirth is not as easy as just showing up, you need to prepare”.  Through my relationship with Pam and Your Birth Helper, we have had the opportunity to make wonderful lifelong friends, aka “birthfamily," we call Charlotte home and have since had two amazing natural births!   Having been able to meet a lot of new expecting mothers, who originally, had the same mindset as I did, I’ve been able to give back and those women I’ve met who fear childbirth due to the lack of education, I now empower them. There is nothing that can compare to being properly informed and making your own choices, especially when it comes to YOUR OWN body, health, baby, let alone simply having your voice heard.  I also believe that food/ good nutrition; plays a very powerful and important part in staying healthy and low risk during pregnancy, as well as, having a speedy, complication free recovery afterbirth.  I hold new client consults, help instruct training workshops, assist labors, attend postpartum visits & help coordinate birth family events. I am also now serving Charlotte couples teaching the very best birth prep available, The Bradley Method.  You need way more information than what to expect at the hospital. Pregnancy on average takes 9 months, use it wisely, there is much to learn. From how to eat, to physically, mentally and emotionally training for birth, how your coach can help, how to manage variations/ complications, etc.

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Meet Jeanie

DONA Certified Doula ~ NC Adoption Specialist

YBH Doula Apprentice (Advanced Skills Program)

 

Hello, my name is Jeanie Mason and I began my Doula career over 20 years ago by recognizing the amazing opportunity to help families experience the joy of birth.  I am a certified DONA Doula and have assisted a multitude of childbirth experiences at hospitals and birthing centers; including natural births, water-birth, medicated-induction births, an emergency-stat cesarean section and an unexpected birth in the back-seat of a car.     Additionally, my pursuit to help families led me to serve six years on the Board of Directors for the State of NC Pregnancy Care Fellowship, work as the Director of the Pregnancy Resource Center of Statesville, manage the Iredell County "Off to a SmartStart" program, work as a Child Behavioral Specialist for Barium Springs Home for Children, and certify as a NC Adoption Specialist.  My passion for life extends into my home-life as I am the proud mother of four children - two healthy boys, 1 son lost during my second trimester and 1 daughter lost in miscarriage.  The tragic loss of my son and daughter lead to 2 high risk pregnancies and both of my boys were admitted to the NICU immediately upon birth.  The traumatic emotions of walking through a second trimester pregnancy loss kept me from considering natural childbirth and I had to deliver my son David via emergency stat cesarean section. All of these experiences helped to shape my life's purpose and passion and renew my drive to help families celebrate birth. Through additional training and experiences with Your Birth Helper and the Bradley Birthing Method®, I now understand the power of incorporating fathers in the childbirth process and the advantages natural childbirth has over cesarean and medicated births.  Your Birth Helper provides research-based education and a team approach for couples, as they acquire the knowledge and support necessary to experience the joy of natural childbirth. We call it #symbioticbirth.  As a member of the Your Birth Helper team, I can attest to how remarkable it is when fathers and mothers work together to experience the best of the natural childbirth process.  I have the experience and knowledge to work in concert with the medical staff, and your birth plan, to create a better birth experience for you and your new baby.  Birth is truly remarkable and I look forward to helping you experience the miracle of life as Your Birth Helper.

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Make #CharlotteDoulaDreamTeam your choice for your happy "BIRTH" day in Charlotte or surrounding areas.

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North Ga DoulaTeam

 

Meet Nikki 

Certified YBH Childbirth Educator

Certified Doula ICCE, ICBD

Certified YBH Advanced Doula 

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Nikki Reeves grew up in Georgia and was a Cum Laude graduate of Georgia Southern University in 2010.  She studied education and taught three years in the public school system.  Nikki has been married to Todd since 2011 and together they have three young boys.  She found a passion for supporting new families after her own struggles with perinatal anxiety and depression.  Nikki is now a certified childbirth educator and labor doula with International Childbirth Education Association.  In addition, she has been  extensively trained over two years, Your Birth Helper style, by mentor Pam Sauls.  Another training that sets her apart is her prestigious certification in Perinatal Mental Health via Postpartum Support International.  Nikki teaches weekend childbirth classes at Emory Decatur Hospital as well as Emory University Hospital Midtown.  She’s also a contracted prenatal educator with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia.  Nikki’s goal is to educate and empower families during pregnancy through the postpartum period and beyond!

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Meet Amanda 

YBH Doula Apprentice (Certificate Program)

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Amanda grew up in New Jersey and moved to Georgia in 2004. She then attended University of North Georgia and Gwinnett Technical College, completing their Healthcare Assistance program, but not before meeting her husband and giving birth to their first son! 

She had always wanted to have a drug-free, low intervention birth as nature intended and her work assisting animals before, during and after birth as nature intended only further fueled that personal  goal.  Believing she could give birth naturally, with a supportive practice and her husband coaching alongside, she skillfully executed a beautiful WATER BIRTH in Atlanta. During the postpartum phase, she did feel as though she and her husband, could have benefited from extra support and more detailed education.  She later became aware of how important quality childbirth preparation really is and how a skilled Doula could compliment birth. Not only for the mother, but for couples and the family as a whole. This realization, paired with the general lack of postpartum and breastfeeding support in our society today, really fueled the flame that was burning in her to become a doula and childbirth educator. Amanda has since completed training in The Bradley Method® under Pam and will serve YBH clients in all areas from consults, to childbirth education, to labor and birth assistance, to postpartum and breastfeeding support. Her goal is to help couples realize that they have options during labor and birth, lots of options; they don’t have to make the birth of their child just "work" for them, they can "PUT IN THE WORK" educate, prepare and execute together to achieve the birth that they WANT! 

 

Interested in expanding your Doula skills or helping lead one of our amazing new teams? Email yourbirthhelper@gmail you 200 word essay on why you feel you could be an asset to birthing families.   Interested candidates are welcome to apply for our Certificate or Advanced Skills YBH Doula Apprenticeship Program.

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Tip of the Year: Work "Labor" Smarter NOT Harder "doing everything wrong."

 

Never allow "To medicate or not" to be the deciding factor of whether you educate or not.  Our bodies are designed to give birth yes, but what is instilled within us is to do everything incorrectly... tense up, rise up, fight pressure, avoid positions that create progress.  If you have no idea what you are doing, imagine how your partner feels.  How can they possibly support you when you do not even know what your choices are?

 

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Want to HOST a Bradley series, Labor Workshop or 4th Trimester retreat in your area? We would love to serve YOU!

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Stay connected for #BirthFamily events in your area!  We are happy to plan lunch, walk and play dates with our clients.  We also have monthly fun days including craft nite on the farm.  Postpartum and Breastfeeding support etc. Simply put, we don't go away just because you had a baby!

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