Meet Our Doula Team
When I (Heidi), opened Bloc Births LLC almost three years ago, I was worried my idea wouldn’t take off. I wanted to market to group of people who traditionally weren’t looking for doula support. From my experiences in the pregnancy and childbirth world, I saw that people giving birth inside of a hospital setting; including those experiencing high-risk pregnancies, or higher-intervention births; could greatly benefit from an additional, educated support person on their team who were focused on their needs. And while doulas were certainly in those spaces, I didn’t see them advertising towards that demographic; and lots of people who could use their services didn’t know that doulas were the support person they were looking for.
Shortly after starting my business, I learned my worries were completely unjustified. As my message spread, my client load quickly grew. Stresses on the medical care system during the pandemic pushed people towards building out their own support teams, which included doula care. I found my focus on hospital birth was greatly desired inside of the birthing space. As my schedule filled, I continued to have inquiries come in, and I wanted to add more people onto my team who believed in this type of support the same way I do… other doulas who are comfortable supporting any medical interventions our clients either choose or need, and are able to advocate for our clients inside of a labor and delivery unit when their needs are different then what their medical care providers are comfortable offering.
First, Elly entered the picture. She first reached out to me to talk about her postpartum doula services so I could potentially refer clients to her, but we quickly connected on all things parenting, birth, and postapartum. We had such similar philosphies, that I knew I had to figure out a way for her to be on my team, even though she doesn’t attend births as a doula. Elly is our jack of all trades here at the Bloc. Those who work with her are lucky to receive her insight on all things childbirth and postpartum. She is a nurse, childbirth educator, and postpartum doula. She is caring but direct and will give you the real answers for all your questions and curiosities about what hospital birth looks like, and how to care for yourself and your baby postpartum. Check out all of her services here.
I was still looking for someone else who I could train up in all things hospital birth support and could take on some of the birth doula clients who were reaching out to me, and I couldn’t take because I was either out of their budget, or my schedule was full. Morgan originally contacted me on Instagram because she was looking for a birth doula for her first birth, but I was on maternity leave when she needed support (our littles are only a month apart!). She later DMed me asking me questions about becoming a doula and I just straight out asked her if she would have any interest in working with me if she decided to move forward with pursuing the career. We met to see if we’d be a good fit (and I pretty much tried to convince her to be a doula because I wanted her on my team), and she bought into our vision and decided to train under me while certifying through Childbirth International! Morgan has just started attending births and will be finished with her certification in the early Fall. She is so eager to learn, receptive to client’s individual needs, and one of the sweetest and calmest people I have ever met. Read more about her heart for doula care here.
I am so grateful for a team that shares my vision and passion for doula support in the Kansas City community. I never could have imagined the influx of parents I would find who were looking for this type of support team to fit their physical and emotional needs during their pregnancy and postpartum experience. There is truly a different doula for everybody, and if we do not fit your values, we are always happy to refer out to the slew of other amazing doula organizations in the area.
… and we are still looking for other doulas to join us, so if you align with the values of our organization and are looking for a team to join or are interested in doula training, always feel free to shoot me an e-mail at heidi@blocbirths.com
