Vickie + Rachel

Vickie's Bio: Vickie (she/her) is a birth doula, a postpartum doula, a lactation counselor, a childbirth educator, a doula mentor and a home birth assistant. Over the past 5 years as a doula, she has supported over 250 families during the perinatal period and has attended over 135 births. She strongly believes that there is not a right or wrong way to be pregnant, to birth or to be a parent. She cares that you feel informed and empowered during this process/journey. She believes that birthing people’s bodies instinctively know how to birth and her goals are to help keep her clients as calm and centered as possible during their labor and birth and to believe in themselves and their bodies! She is a native Brooklynite, Latina, and former educator/administrator. She received my B.A in Economics from Williams College and her M.S. in Teaching from Pace University. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and 2 kids. Rachel's Bio: Although Rachel has been a witness and sometimes an active participant in births since a very young age, she has been working as a trained birth and postpartum professional since June 2018 and have supported 250+ families throughout the NYC area. She is a certified lactation support counselor, integrative lactation and baby feeding specialist, a trained lactation educator, doula mentor, placenta specialist and currently obtaining clinical hours at Jamaica Hospital to become a more advanced lactation specialist as an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). Her philosophy is simple - there is no wrong way to birth as long as your choices and decisions through the journey are being heard and respected. In working together, she hopes to co-create the vision for how you would like to feel and be supported during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum; helping you move through this time building confidence in your ability to decide what feels right for you. Her style is rooted in mindfulness; working with the tools we already have to help us stay grounded and present in the moment. Rachel has been a Brooklyn resident since 2004 and lives one block away from Prospect Park with her child, Simone, and dogs, Elfie and Gyda. Rachel has a BFA in Studio Art from Hunter, owns a recurve bow, has a depth of knowledge in native new york plants and studies herbalism. Rachel is a LGBTQIA2S+ friendly doula - gender affirming care matters to her! *Rachel offers sliding scale community support in the following situations: single parents, teen parents, people who are unemployed or underemployed, and members of the BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+ community. When you pay our standard fees, you are supporting a fair, living wage aligned with our level of experience and education. When you pay a sliding scale, you are allowing your community to hold and support you. Both are acceptable ways of participating and we are honored to be a part of your journey. Everyone deserves a doula’s support and care.*