My story

First, let me say thank you for taking the time to consider me in helping you through your birth/postpartum experience. My name is Kailyn and I am a super mom to my beautiful baby girl. She’s three going on 33 and keeps me on my toes. I’m also an Air Force Veteran. Before getting pregnant with my daughter, I was obsessed with all things related to pregnancy and childbirth. I would spend hours on forums reading birth stories and cheering on women who were trying to conceive. 

In my free time I enjoy spending time with my daughter and boyfriend, I enjoy playing the sims, animal crossing, and stardew valley. I support all forms of birth, but my ultimate passion is to support people that are birthing while incarcerated. I believe that anyone giving birth should have access to doulas, and those groups that are marginalized deserve that right.

why I wanted to be a doula..

I can’t really say that I honestly chose to be a doula; I feel like it chose me. I felt a pull to be in birth work and for me its less of a job and more of me walking in my purpose. I had always imagined having a water birth at home, but when the time came to actually have my own experience I went along with whatever my doctor said, and had my baby at the hospital. Having a home birth was foreign to my family and I didn’t do enough research to make informed decisions. I did not have the birth I always imagined, and I was not completely satisfied with my birthing process. It was not a traumatic experience but I was so utterly confused at what was going on, and didn’t ask enough questions. There was so much that took place during my time in the hospital while giving birth to my daughter and I severely lacked the knowledge needed for me to really advocate for myself. I needed someone there to help guide me cause honestly I had no idea what was going on. To be frank, being a black woman with a birthing team that looked nothing like me, made me a little nervous. After having her, there was so much I wished I would have asked for and things I would have tried to prohibit. What I was even more taken aback by was the postpartum period. It is true that no one really prepares you for being a new parent, and I was inspired beyond belief to help other parents during that transitional period. I had a rough time breastfeeding, and a rough time making the transition into being a new mother away from my family. Everything was trial and error because I was going against the grain. My family did not historically breastfeed, and they raised children differently. Learning with my daughter and gaining knowledge helped me feel empowered. Being a single parent has given me a different perspective on life, and my daughter is truly my motivation and keeps me going. Becoming a mom was one of the best things I’ve ever experienced. 

I believe birthing and caring for a newborn is genuinely something that you don’t know what to expect until you are in the thick of it. There’s no rule book on how you should birth and parent. That is the magical thing about parenthood; you get to choose the choices you make bringing your child into the world (in most cases) and how they are brought up. 

Maternal health is important for all women. If you are a black woman looking for a black doula, I’m here to make sure you have someone on your birthing team that looks like you.