Hello friend, I’m Anna!
And I believe all birthing people should feel support and love when becoming parents.
World, meet Kobe!
This Is Me
I’m a thinker, listener, and “do it yourselfer”, as my mother would say–sometimes I climb into the freezers at the grocery store to reach the top back shelf instead of asking for help. I love spending time with family and friends over a home cooked meal, and most Saturdays you’ll find me at the farmers market purchasing ingredients for said meal. I spend loads of time outside with my adorable puppy and husband by my side. They’re the best playmates and adventure buds. I’m drawn to diving deep into intimate moments and experiences, and I think that’s one reason birth and postpartum speak to my soul.
It’s taken me a long time to learn about my inner strength, my intuition, and the power that results from doing the work to heal myself and the world around me. But, I am learning and birth is one of my greatest teachers. As a doula, I support families throughout the entire pregnancy, birth, and postpartum process. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to pursue this passion of mine. Birth’s intimacy and transformation draws me in. I believe remnants of our births stay with us for our lifetimes, and to me this means birth can make the world a better place because it can change who we are and how we exist.
I’m here to support. As your doula, I use my knowledge and experience to calmly guide you by sharing evidence based information, so that you birth your baby in a way that resonates with you. I’m with you throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum to nourish you physically, mentally, and emotionally as you transform into parents. We begin working together in pregnancy when I teach you how to advocate for yourself by building relationships with your providers. We talk about questions to ask during pregnancy, what to expect as nearing birth, and we cover a multitude of options for coping with labor. At the birth, I am a continuous presence that calmly encourages and supports you. We talk through fears and emotions. I remind you that I believe in your intuition and power. Once your new family is home, I create space for your new family unit to bond and heal by offering gentle care for the parents and baby.
This Is Becky
Doula.
HypnoBirthing Educator.
Aspiring midwife. Breastfeeding advocate. Holistic mama.
Meet
Becky!
Living life on call is tough! I tell people it's a combination of lots of planning- like planning travel nine months in advance- and then tons of spontaneity in the moment. Day to day, my schedule is at the whim of the next baby's arrival. Solid and supportive relationships with backup doulas really help make this work possible. I'd love to introduce you all to Becky Gerson, my go to backup support.
Becky has been a birth doula for over 15 years and attended over 300 births in both in hospital and out of hospital settings. She spent 2 years learning as an apprentice midwife in a birth center and 4 years taking academic courses on the subjects of pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and the newborn. While Becky is highly educated, she is also very intuitive and easily connects with laboring women so that she can nurture them through a smooth and happy transition into motherhood. She loves supporting couples on varying paths, including those preparing for natural births, as well as those planning cesarean births, and everything in between! She has an added passion for women with challenging pregnancies and also those planning a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), as she has personal experience with having complications of pregnancy and a cesarean with her first baby, and then very smooth and healthy pregnancies and VBAC's (vaginal births after cesarean) with her second, third, and fourth babies. She also has extensive experience in breastfeeding and postpartum support, including postpartum depression. Becky is also a childbirth educator and teaches both private and group classes, specializing in HypnoBirthing.
Credentials
My Training & Certifications:
I am a DONA International Certified Birth Doula. Below are the workshops I've attended thus far:
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DONA Birth Doula Workshop (Denver, CO) – Sept 2017
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DONA Breastfeeding Basics (Denver, CO) – Jan 2018
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Advanced Lactation (Virtual) – July/Aug 2020
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How to Help Families Get Evidence-Based Care by Evidence Based Birth (Virtual) – Summer 2020
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Spinning Babies (O'Fallon, MO) – Sept 2020
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Jamaa Birth Village Full Spectrum Doula Training (St. Louis, MO)- April 2021
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VBAC Link Advanced VBAC Doula Certification (Virtual)- May 2021
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Trained in Gilligan's Guide by Ann Marie Gilligan (Virtual)- February 2022
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Creating Space: Pelvic Dynamics and Fetal Positioning For an Efficient Labor and Birth with Brittany Sharpe McCollum (virtual)- March 2022