Meet Vanessa
My love of childbirth started when I was only 7 years old! I attended my mother's home birth and was privileged to welcome my youngest sister home and amazed by the process of bringing a baby into the world. After that I was honored to provide support at my best friend's birth as a teen, and later to stand by my teenage sister as she was transformed into a mother herself. After the transformational, doula assisted, birth of my first child, I realized how beneficial it is to have that support and that every women deserves it! Shortly after, realizing my passion and desire to help breastfeeding moms, I started my career as a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor for W.I.C. (a non-profit government organization for Women, Infants, & Children) and was later promoted to Senior Breastfeeding Peer Counselor/IBCLC for the program, hiring, training and mentoring peer counselors. I have received numerous trainings in the field of lactation through them and have become a Trained Breastfeeding Educator by the Texas Department of Health Services (TDHS). I attained my CLC (Certified Lactation Counselor) and also my IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant). It wasn't until after my second non-medicated, doula assisted, birth that I decided to follow my love of supporting women and their partners through this emotional and powerful time. I spent several months training with the lactation, childbirth ed., and doula staff at UMC. During this time, I was able to attend hospital births, including that of my own doula and now mentor, which further confirmed that doula work is a true calling for me. After that, I started my official certification process through Childbirth International and earned my Certified Birth Doula title in 2010. During my training, I gave birth to my beautiful third child easily using the "hypnobabies" program and now offer the home study program to my clients who are interested in using it. I hope to someday complete the training to become an official "hypno-doula".