Who is your Doula?
Kathleen McGriff Powers
PREGNANCY AND BIRTH DOULA | LACTATION CONSULTANT | PREGNANCY AND INFANT LOSS ADVOCATE | CERTIFIED FULL SPECTRUM DOULA & REPRODUCTIVE CARE PROVIDERMy goal as a doula is to help pregnant people and families navigate their birth experience, and support your decisions on your body.
Before becoming a doula, I worked as an academic librarian for almost 30 years in a remarkably diverse college. This helped me understand how lived experiences inform how people move through this world. In turn, pregnant people and their families lived experiences inform how they view and experience their pregnancies and births. As a birth worker, I must acknowledge and honor these experiences to be supportive during this significant time in their lives.
I received my doula training through Doulas of North American International (DONA) and the National Black Doulas Association (NBDA). I am certified with the National Center for Equity & Agency Inc. after completing their full spectrum doula course. While my professional birth work began more recently, I have been interested in and studied all things birth and breastfeeding/lactation-related since having my own children.
I am a mother to 3 fantastic adult children, Siobhán, Leah, and Jesse, and grandmother to 3 beautiful grandchildren, Anisah, Kenza & Saija. I am also momma to a black Goldendoodle (kinda oxymoronic, huh?) named Tuli.
“We vow to carry the torch and pass the tradition. We carry your ancestral knowledge and spirit with us as we lay hands on each and every woman we support, as babies are safely brought Earthside.”
— from National Black Doulas Association website
TESTIMONIALS
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Kathleen was deeply caring, gentle, and informative. She worked with us to create the perfect birth plan, and help us see our birth through the way we wanted. Her compassion and dedication to this work is unmatched!
Leah H.
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When my labor started in the middle of the night, Kathleen responded immediately. What I loved the most was Kathleen’s ability to guess what I needed at the moment: a distraction or focused breathing time
Alena Z.
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Kathleen was amazing. I wouldn't have made it through my birth without her
Alea K.