Birth Doulas

Brenda recently moved to Seattle, WA 2 years ago, she is originally from Los Angeles, Ca.  Brenda is married to her high school love and has 4 children she enjoys spending time with her family. Brenda loves creating a village-like community anywhere she goes. She understood the need to be culturally responsive and trauma-informed in how she cares for and serves families. Brenda has a heart for encouraging, empowering, and educating BIPOC families with holistic wellness practices and community resources that tend to be inaccessible to them in their communities.

Caellyn Everson (She/Her) is a PNW transplant by way of the Midwest. She came to birthwork in 2014 after years of ignoring the call to this work. She is an active community member and builder, social & reproductive justice activist. small business owner, lactation counselor, full spectrum birth doula & postpartum care provider. Caellyn is a practiced soaker up of people’s stories, deep listening and hearing the unsaid and, a wee bit of a mama bear. She likes to spend her time nesting, cooking and crafting and finds herself so comfortable with “making do” or thinking outside the box to get the job done. Her website is www.heldinarms.com.

My name is Cashew (they, he, she), my practice is Crescent Dream Doula & Photography. I am a queer, gender-fluid, birthworker in Everett, WA. I have been a birth doula serving local low-income & marginalized families for the past 3 years. I value joining you WHEREVER you are at in your journey and providing support in the specific areas that feel most impactful to you. I don’t come with an agenda, I come with an open heart and unconditional support. I believe people should have access to high-quality, affirming care that meets not only their needs but goes beyond that so that they feel comfortable, validated, and loved.

www.crescentdreamdoula.com
Crescentdreamdoula@gmail.com
IG @crescentdreamdoula

Courtney comes to Open Arms as a birth doula with much gratitude and a passionate commitment in assisting healthy birth outcomes within her community. Also as a licensed social worker, Courtney has an extensive background of supporting and advocating for families from many diverse backgrounds. Outside of birth work, Courtney is a children’s grief counselor and enjoys spending time with family and friends, lifting heavy weights, and tap dancing the night away.

My Name is Ela Tinoco-Herrera, and I have an associate degree in Early Childhood Education, with an emphasis on Infants and Toddlers. Additionally, I have 8 years of experience volunteering and working as an activist and community organizer with One America, Casa Latina/Mujeres sin Frontera, Para Los Niños, and The Arc of King County.

Now, I am excited to bring my passion and knowledge into my journey as a Community-based Doula and to work at Open Arms beside its wonderful team of dedicated and kind professionals that inspire me. I have three children, two grandchildren, and the human mom of Chester, an adopted poodle of 8 years old. We love spending time in nature and traveling through The States.

Hayley McKie (she/they) everyone deserves to feel cared for during the transitional and impactful moments in their life! I am a certified full-spectrum doula, supporting families through pre-conception, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, abortion, loss, adoption, and surrogacy.

My goal is to be a reassuring, calm, down-to-earth presence, helping ease your transition into a new family. As a queer person, I came to birthwork to advocate for birthing people of all genders and family structures. My belief is that YOU are the expert in yourself – my role as a doula is to support you physically, and emotionally, and in advocating for your wants and needs. I also love supporting partners and anyone else who finds themself “born” into a new role, ensuring the whole family feels nurtured!

Jin Moon (they/them) is an herbalist, birth worker, and writer from Lenape lands (New York) and who is now living on Puyallup lands (Tacoma WA). They believe deeply that supporting our own and each other’s healing creates conditions for healthier communities. They show love by making soup, eating soup, and offering soup to the people around them. You can check out more of their work at Grounded Hearts Apothecary (groundedheartsapothecary.com).

I am a born caretaker and Mother of 4 who brings a wealth of knowledge which I’ve learned by raising own children over the last 20 years, and in one way or another supporting many children and families within the community. I am no stranger to community and village work as I have coached and been director over drill teams and cheer squads that perform throughout the greater Seattle area for over 22 years. I completed my CMA at Bryman college back in 2004 continuing to work as a Certified Medical Assistant supporting a very diverse population. I trained as a Doula with Shafia Monroe Full Circle Doula Consulting, where I’ve obtained a great deal of African ancestry traditions and birth knowledge from the African diaspora. Birth work has been something I have been doing for many years and am very passionate about. My goal is to educate, eliminate anxiety, and bring forth the best birth experience while helping you prepare spiritually, mentally, and physically. I provide personalized unbiased and non-judgmental encouragement. My zeal for birth work has pushed me to further my education by taking a placenta encapsulation course. As an African American woman, I believe in passing along tradition while teaching our history. I have a great interest in working with teen mothers as I myself was a teen mother and was able to overcome many obstacles.

I came into birth work with a passion,  curiosity, and appreciation for the amazing capabilities of the human body. Giving life is precious and can be an emotionally exhausting time. We need support. We deserve support. Being there to support them with love, them care for them emotionally, physically, and mentally is what we all have been missing. I believe for the past centuries in the United States, especially women of color, have been separated from our lineage, heritage, and ancestral rights. Not being able to birth the way that we inherently know how to, has been one of my main goals in terms of educating young persons, single persons, birthing people etc. Bringing the knowledge back, the pride, and the skills passed down is very special to me.

My website is birthmarksrenewed.com

I completed the doula training through the Bastyr University Simkin Center for Allied Birth Vocations. I have been working with first-time parents, parents with multiple children, parents who want a vaginal birth or cesarean, and those who seek unmedicated birth or want to use pain medication in their birth. As a birth doula, my goal is to help and support parents through education, advocating, coaching, and nurturing a mom-to-be throughout the pregnancy and birth. I am pleased to work with my clients to maintain a sense of comfort and control on them through different relaxation techniques during birth. Throughout my experience, I enjoyed being the bridge for mothers to create a memorable birthing process.

Sam has been a full-spectrum doula for almost 8 years; starting out in her native Los Angeles as well as working throughout the bay area. Sam’s passion for birth work has brought her up to Seattle to study and train to become a midwife. Sam spends her free time walking around Green Lake and snuggling with her tiny velvety rabbit named Elvis.

Previous clients have described a warm, calmness about me that helps them feel grounded, and this is exactly the type of environment I intend to cultivate. My approach is to listen to your hopes and fears, meet you where you are, and accompany you on your journey with grace and patience. I draw on my work as a dual language educator and instructional coach to support families in communicating their needs and connecting them with resources and unbiased support. I welcome all families and their configurations, and I intentionally center queer and trans-affirming practices in birth work and postpartum support. My passion is in accompanying survivors, queer, trans and gender non-conforming birthing people and their families as they navigate the transformations of pregnancy, birth, and parenting. I provide respectful, collaborative and inclusive care for all families. It is my priority to see, honor and celebrate you fully. I believe in you and your body’s wisdom and needs and support your choices in what is best for you and your baby. When I am not hanging out with babies and birthing people, I love to make pottery and eat good food. I was born and raised in Texas and now live in South Seattle on the unceded territory of the Duwamish and Coast Salish people with my partner, my teenage son, our two cats and a lot of house plants