Jump to my journey, my approach, my certifications & trainings
Hi, I’m Leah!
I’m a Birth and Postpartum Doula and Certified Lactation Counselor with over five years of experience supporting families in NYC.
As a doula and lactation counselor, I am called to "mother the mother." I see the need for mothers and sisters to understand the sacredness of birth, the blessing of children, and the impact of love, support, and care in this transformational season. Women should be championed in their greatness and reminded of the calling on their lives that so naturally enables them to birth and mother with peace, joy, and power.
My journey
Though always drawn in by the raw beauty and strength of birth with my first labor witnessed over 15 years ago, I didn’t know how much I would love it until attending the birth of my niece. I witnessed how in birth we incredibly endure beyond what we believe possible because of “the joy set before” us. This forever marked my life and began my deep devotion and passion for this work.
I then began my year-long certification training and mentorship with Childbirth International & worked in Manhattan with two prominent pregnancy crisis centers, Sisters for Life & Avail NYC. I began by volunteering my doula support to women in need and teaching childbirth education classes. I went on to launch my own practice, Leah the Doula, supporting birth and postpartum journeys across the Tri-State area, working in close connection to local midwives and birth workers. After walking with families through a variety of feeding journeys in the postpartum time, I found a wide gap of deficiency in support for so many mothers and babies again and again. They needed so much more information, resources, encouragement, and space to discuss the challenges that are constantly evolving hour-by-hour with their newborn. They needed more than check-ins with their pediatrician and a 6-week OB visit. I decided to expand my work to include lactation counseling after certifying with the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice.
Over the years, I have supported a wide range of birth experiences: zero-intervention and unmedicated births at hospitals & birthing centers, amazing home births, empowered medicated hospital births, inductions that have resulted in unmedicated, vaginal births, planned and unplanned c-sections, gentle c-sections, twins, triplets, VBACs and VBA2Cs, freebirths, stillbirths, premature births, NICU stays, and even a beautiful car birth!
My support postpartum with families has varied from 1-week to 6 months! I’ve supported many women through their lactation and infant feeding journeys that have led to years of breastfeeding, to learning how to be an exclusive pumper, to the confident use of formula and donor supply, and a happy combination of different feeding methods. My postpartum support is characterized by hands that heal through bodywork, food that nourishes, safe spaces for processing, and care for the whole home.
I have supported a wide range of families: 1st time parents to 8th time parents, a variety of different “high-risk” pregnancies, teen moms, moms nearing 50, single moms, parents with previous losses, women with a history of mental illness, mood disorders, & sexual trauma, families coming from many different cultures & communities, and even an open adoption working with both the birth and adoptive parents.
My approach
I have a very holistic view of birth, postpartum, & lactation, which engages the body, mind, and spirit, and I attend to families with intentional care and preparation in each area.
To my clients, I bring a wealth of knowledge on the physiological birth process, family-centered birthing, care provider selection and communication, evidence-based practices, empowered pain management methods, birth advocacy, establishing and continuing healthy breastfeeding & infant feeding methods, and postpartum wellness & recovery.
Right from the start, I love building trust and developing relationships with families that will be the foundation for the safe and peaceful space of birth & postpartum.
Your prenatal meetings with me will focus on evidence-based research & education, exploring your values, your health & well-being, and goal development. Families have safer and better birth and postpartum experiences when they confidently understand how their bodies work, know all available options, & have the chance to discover their own preferences and values. I believe in supporting you no matter what those preferences are! Each pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum is a unique and miraculous experience, and the emerging family should be the center and focus of that experience.
As a doula and lactation counselor, I value being completely present with you in each moment with total confidence in a woman’s abilities & autonomy. I’m a strong believer in trusting your instincts & I have specialized my skills and training in supporting families seeking physiological birth. I love providing moms with lots of positional & pain management options during labor and constantly creating a peaceful atmosphere. What I love most in my doula work is gently nurturing a mother because if a mother’s needs are met, she can meet her baby's needs.
As a Christian doula, I support a variety of families, but I love having the opportunity to support Christian families by incorporating prayer & worship into my support.