Based in Nova Scotia, Canada, Bianca Sprague (she/her) founder of Bebo Mia, has been a dedicated educator, author, activist, and doula since 2007.

Passionate about accessible pre and postnatal care for marginalized communities, she advocates for mental wellness in families, drawing from her struggle with postpartum depression and family experiences.

Bianca champions reproductive health and justice, focusing on breaking down barriers for female and queer entrepreneurs and restoring joy, equity, and safety in family care through her expertise and innovative approaches.

Connect with Bianca in the following ways:

https://bebomia.com/

Facebook @bebomiainc

Instagram @bebomiainc

Also, Bianca and her team have generously set up a discount code for my listeners, you can check it out here: https://bebomia.com/wholedoula/

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Find out how Mary can support you to turn your passion for birth into a profitable, sustainable business, without compromising on your values or becoming a statistic of burnout: ⁠⁠https://www.marygiordano.com.au/for-doulas-landing⁠⁠ 

Connect with Mary on Instagram ⁠⁠@marygiordano.com.au⁠⁠

Expressions of interest to talk to me on the podcast:⁠⁠ https://www.marygiordano.com.au/the-whole-doula-podcast

Johara (she/her) is a Moroccan-German homebirth and sovereign birth companion who believes in birth as a rite of passage and that pregnancy, birth, and postpartum is a transformative journeys. 

Johara works with nature-based rituals, paying attention to intergenerational presence, more than humans and intuition.

To prepare physically for your birth, in addition to explaining the physiology of birth and what is needed to ensure the unfolding of physiology, Johara uses bodywork, breathwork, visualization, and massage. 

Johara had the privilege to accompany births in Nairobi, Kenya in 2012 and has since then accompanied home births and hospital ones in Berlin and Devon; She has supported several families in the 40-day post-natal period since 2019 and she also provides closing-the-bones ceremonies. 

Johara gave birth to one of her daughters in Casablanca, Morocco (2002) and the other in Luxembourg (2006). Johara is part of the Radiant Mama group in Totnes and is the co-founder of the Transition Town Mother Roots project. She also currently researching the transformative potential of birth for a PhD at the University of Plymouth.

You can get in touch with Johara in the following ways:

Website: https://www.joharabellali.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doula.johara/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Johara-Bellali-Doula-100063905354857/?_rdr

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Find out how Mary can support you to turn your passion for birth into a profitable, sustainable business, without compromising on your values or becoming a statistic of burnout: ⁠⁠https://www.marygiordano.com.au/for-doulas-landing⁠⁠ 

Connect with Mary on Instagram ⁠⁠@marygiordano.com.au⁠⁠

Expressions of interest to talk to me on the podcast:⁠⁠ https://www.marygiordano.com.au/the-whole-doula-podcast

Shoshana lives in London, UK, and has been working as a doula for 13 years, she likes to ‘debunk’ the myth that birth is romantic, easy, and painless. She says it is joyful, super empowering, and the only true ‘pain with gain’ that there is.

In her client work, Shoshana likes to educate her clients antenatally for every eventuality, as she feels that knowledge is the key to having a positive birth. Shoshana has a little black book with lots of contacts in the birth world and can signpost her clients’ pre and post-birth to other experts in the field including yoga teachers, reflexologists, pregnancy acupuncturists, lactation and tongue-tie specialists and postpartum doulas.

As an art Curator by training, Shoshana has also created a superb niche post-natal course that allows women a safe space to share their birth stories through contemporary art images. Using art from well-known international artists, the course is designed to give women a voice to discuss their shared stories, experiences, and sometimes traumas as a way of processing their birth experience. Shoshana recently presented this course at the annual Pregnant Then Screwed online conference in the UK, and it was a huge success.

You can get in touch with Shoshana in the following ways:

Website: https://ukdoula.com/

Facebook: PUSH by Shoshana 

Instagram: @pushbyshoshana

Shoshana’s unique 4-week course exploring essential milestones through contemporary art: https://ukdoula.com/course/

The other organization Shoshana referred to in our conversation: https://pregnantthenscrewed.com/

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Find out how Mary can support you to turn your passion for birth into a profitable, sustainable business, without compromising on your values or becoming a statistic of burnout: ⁠⁠https://www.marygiordano.com.au/for-doulas-landing⁠⁠ 

Connect with Mary on Instagram ⁠⁠@marygiordano.com.au⁠⁠

Expressions of interest to talk to me on the podcast:⁠⁠ https://www.marygiordano.com.au/the-whole-doula-podcast

Aimee (she/her) is a mother to three amazing children, a birth advocate and volunteer, a doula, a calm birth educator, a lactation consultant (IBCLC), and co-founder of the Australian VBAC stories podcast. She lives on Darug and Gundungurra land in the upper Blue Mountains and supports families in her various roles throughout the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, and Nepean areas.

Aimee has experienced multiple different pregnancy and birth experiences including early birth, premature birth, a cesarean section, and two home vaginal births after a caesarean, and this provides a unique lens through which she views matrescence and can support families through these experiences. Her philosophy is that women know how to grow, birth, and nurture their babies, and that they are always the most connected and invested in their baby's health and well-being. 

Aimee is extremely passionate about supporting families through big transitions, building community, women's rights, and ensuring women are able to make their own informed and empowered decisions. She views pregnancy, birth, and parenting as rights of passage, enlightening them to the tools, connections, and resilience they always held within for the growth that motherhood demands of them.

She loves partnering with women and their families to ensure they have the most incredible experiences possible throughout their motherhood journeys and her vision is that all families receive the continuity of support and care they deserve. 

To learn more about Aimee and her offerings, please see below:

Website - www.birthaims.com.au

Instagram - www.instagram.com/birth_aims

Facebook - www.facebook.com/BirthAims

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Find out how Mary can support you to turn your passion for birth into a profitable, sustainable business, without compromising on your values or becoming a statistic of burnout: ⁠⁠https://www.marygiordano.com.au/for-doulas-landing⁠⁠ 

Connect with Mary on Instagram ⁠⁠@marygiordano.com.au⁠⁠

Expressions of interest to talk to me on the podcast:⁠⁠ https://www.marygiordano.com.au/the-whole-doula-podcast

Mirjana Gnjatić is the first doula in Serbia. She attended Michel Odent’s Paramanadoula seminar in 2010. Back in 2012, she invited a DONA doula trainer to Belgrade and organized the first-ever doula training in Serbia, after which doula calling spread throughout the region.

The following year the first informal Serbian doula association was founded which now has about a hundred doulas from all over Serbia. Mirjana is a massage therapist, prenatal yoga instructor, and mother and baby yoga teacher.

During her first pregnancy in 2006. she recorded the first and only Yoga DVD for pregnant women in Serbia and the region.

In addition to online education, Mirjana attended conferences and trainings in Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Italy, Germany, and London. Her knowledge and understanding of the physiology of childbirth, as well as its spiritual aspects led her to three unassisted homebirths. Her pregnancies and births were a space for an exploration of feminine wisdom, support, and the power of natural childbirth. She is proud mum of three sons.

Mirjana is an advocate of natural childbirth and the idea that our entire previous life prepares us for childbirth and motherhood. She believes in the strength and ability of every woman to give birth to her baby in love. Mirjana is currently focused on perinatal massage and individual support. To date, more than a thousand pregnant women have passed through her classes and offerings.

You can connect with Mirjana:

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mirjana.gnjatic

On Instagram: @mirjana_gnjatic

Find out how Mary can support you to turn your passion for birth into a profitable, sustainable business, without compromising on your values or becoming a statistic of burnout: ⁠⁠https://www.marygiordano.com.au/for-doulas-landing⁠⁠ 

Connect with Mary on Instagram ⁠⁠@marygiordano.com.au⁠⁠

Expressions of interest to talk to me on the podcast:⁠⁠ https://www.marygiordano.com.au/the-whole-doula-podcast

Lisa Marie is a birth worker based in Fresno, California with a special passion for supporting folks who are marginalized and vulnerable, especially pregnant teens who are in foster care or who have been involved in the child protection system.

Lisa Marie is Yaqui Indigenous and Mexican by descent and is the only indigenous birth worker who is native to her area. As a birth worker, her objective is to pay tribute to the wisdom of her ancestors by offering nurturing and holistic care to women and families throughout the childbearing journey.

One of the central aspects of her work is in placental encapsulation, which she does respectfully in accordance with her native teachings and practices. Lisa Marie explains that “within indigenous cultures, the process of giving birth is viewed as a sacred ceremony, wherein the transition from the spiritual realm to the physical realm is celebrated and revered in honour of the new life entering the world”.

Lisa is the only person in her family to achieve a BA and prior to her commencement in birthwork two years ago, she was working as a social worker where she was also supporting pregnant teens. Prior to her studies and work in social work, Lisa Maria also trained and worked in veterinary sciences. 

To learn more about, and/or get in touch with Lisa Marie, please refer to the links below:

Website: https://www.phenomenalwomban.com/

Instagram: @phenomenal_womban_birthworker

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089950410989&mibextid=zOiqff

Find out how Mary can support you to turn your passion for birth into a profitable, sustainable business, without compromising on your values or becoming a statistic of burnout: ⁠https://www.marygiordano.com.au/for-doulas-landing⁠ 

Connect with Mary on Instagram ⁠@marygiordano.com.au⁠

Expressions of interest to talk to me on the podcast:⁠ https://www.marygiordano.com.au/the-whole-doula-podcast

I am Mary Giordano (she/her), your host here on the Whole Doula Podcast.

This is a little solo episode to mark the end of season one on the podcast before we dive into a whole bunch of new conversations in season two.

For those who don’t know me, I am a  Full Spectrum Doula, Educator, Counsellor, Facilitator, Community Builder,  Business Mentor/Coach, and Online Course Creator.

Here I share a little update on my business since the podcast launched six months ago, some feedback on the Savvy Doula, some manifestations for the rest of this year in business and life, and more. I hope you enjoy listening, and I’ll be back next fortnight with another guest conversation, so stay tuned!

www.marygiordano.com.au

Find out how Mary can support you to turn your passion for birth into a profitable, sustainable business, without compromising on your values or becoming a statistic of burnout: ⁠https://www.marygiordano.com.au/for-doulas-landing⁠ 

Connect with Mary on Instagram ⁠@marygiordano.com.au⁠

Expressions of interest to talk to me on the podcast: https://www.marygiordano.com.au/the-whole-doula-podcast

Dusk (she/her) is in her third year as a birth doula, but she has worked as a space holder for a decade. Dusk lives in Boiwuring country in Altona Meadows. Her focus is on supporting survivors of sexual assault or trauma and as a survivor of childhood sexual assault herself, she is driven to support others navigating the unique challenges of pregnancy like she did.

Dusk experienced a lot of silencing in her childhood and early 20s, and she was always drawn to listen to other people. This resulted in her creating a business called The Listening Squad, then later The Listening Mama. 

When we spoke, Dusk was in the midst of a Masters of Spirituality, where she trained as a spiritual companion. She calls it her Masters in Listening! Dusk also supports pregnant people experiencing grief, informed by the loss of her mother in her first year postpartum.

Dusk has recently created a space for survivors called Dear Dusk. Dear Dusk is a gentle place of companionship for survivors navigating motherhood / parenthood after trauma. It brings light to our unique experience of pregnancy, birth, postpartum and matrescence through an agony aunt style column. You are invited to read the column, reach out and recognise your story in each others.

You can learn more here: ⁠https://www.deardusk.com/

To learn more about Dusk and her work, you can follow the links below:

IG @thelisteningmama

www.thelisteningmama.com

Resources she mentioned for doulas: 

When survivors give birth by Penny Simkin

Katie Kurtz trauma work

Find out how Mary can support you to turn your passion for birth into a profitable, sustainable business, without compromising on your values or becoming a statistic of burnout: ⁠https://www.marygiordano.com.au/for-doulas-landing⁠ 

Connect with Mary on Instagram ⁠@marygiordano.com.au⁠

Music credit: Slow Gusto by Good News Tunes

Siobhan (she/her) lives in Adelaide on Kaurna country. While Siobhan was practicing as a Vedic yoga and meditation teacher and studying Ayurveda and the Vedic tradition, she found prenatal and postnatal mothers attending her classes were naturally drawn to stay behind after class to share their pregnancy birthing journeys. These conversations resonated with Siobhan’s own devotion to the Divine Mother and inspired her to train to become an Ayurvedic Postpartum Doula.

Siobhan currently services families in the Adelaide Hills on a farm where new mothers can receive traditional Ayurvedic bodywork, as well as in families homes where she provides traditional Ayurvedic nourishment and support for new mothers and their families.

Siobhan has also had the honour of offering Ayurvedic postpartum care to her mother as a reclamation of her postpartum, which has been a beautifully connected experience for them both.

To learn more about Siobhan and her work, you can follow the links below:

https://www.matruprema.com.au

Instagram: @matru.prema

To learn more about Soma Shakti, the Ayurvedic Postpartum Doula training Siobhan did, click here: https://www.soma-shakti.com.au

Find out how Mary can support you to turn your passion for birth into a profitable, sustainable business, without compromising on your values or becoming a statistic of burnout: ⁠https://www.marygiordano.com.au/for-doulas-landing⁠ 

Connect with Mary on Instagram ⁠@marygiordano.com.au⁠

Music credit: Slow Gusto by Good News Tunes

Sara (she/her) is a Certified Birth, Bereavement, and Postpartum Doula and a Certified Lactation Counselor with a professional background in biological sciences and education. She lives with her four children, her husband, and a menagerie of dogs and cats on a small farm in southeastern York County, Pennsylvania. Sara has been providing her services in her private practice, Mandala Motherhood, for three years.

In addition to this, she also works under the umbrella of a nonprofit she founded last year, called Rooted Willow Community, which is a small organization offering free and low-cost support groups and connection, and educational-oriented resources to new families. 

To learn more about Sara and her private practice, you can find her on Facebook @MandalaMotherhood

To learn about Rooted Willow Community, click here: https://www.rootedwillowcommunity.org

Find out how Mary can support you to turn your passion for birth into a profitable, sustainable business, without compromising on your values or becoming a statistic of burnout: ⁠https://www.marygiordano.com.au/for-doulas-landing⁠ 

Connect with Mary on Instagram ⁠@marygiordano.com.au⁠

Music credit: Slow Gusto by Good News Tunes