Hi, I’m Melanie
Here is part of my story…My path into birth work was ignited by my own birth as a mother and the raw departure from everything that came before. I was fascinated by the seeemingly immediate transformation, and explosion of love, yet felt wildly unprepared to process and integrate the experience of birth and mothering. From the deepest place of my soul I felt like birth had just taken a baseball bat and wacked my legs out from underneath me! “What just happened?” I hunted and gathered for three years trying to piece together the experience of my son’s arrival. I processed shame and pride, defeat and triumph, body image, relationships to self and others, fear, surrender and more surrender! The path always lead back to myself and my ability to just be. After the birth of my daughter I was provided an extraordinary contrast that filled me with a deeper sense of curiosity. I was finally ready to answer “the call” of birth work.
I completed my doula training and began attending as many births as I could manage while also mothering two young children. I will forever be in awe of the amazing bodies that give birth to life and am eternally grateful for each experience I’ve been honored to witness. Each birth taught me something wildly different and humbled me in a beautiful way. I began to understand that birth outcomes are extremely important for many reasons, yet the process or way we birth (and mother) and how embodied we are during that process is the real game changer. The ability to slow down and be in our bodies is the access point to finding a deeper felt sense of safety while simultaneously creating a wider capacity to experience all of who we are. This is where I center my work as a doula.
I continued to expanded my skill set through a holistic approach to maternal wellness, focusing on the physiological and emotional needs of new mothers. I studied under an incredible teacher, Rachelle Garcia Seliga from Innate® Traditions, and I was able to authentically “weave the sacred and the scientific” into a practice of being with families through the transformative time of welcoming a child. I gained a deep understanding of my role as a doula and the responsibility to offer co-regulation for postpartum mothers to regulate themselves and then regulate their newborns.
My doula practice is in support of mothers returning to the wisdom of their bodies in preparation for embodied birth and mothering. Our work together will have a shared intention of meeting you exactly where you are with the goal of expanding internal and external resources that will last the duration of your parenting journey. I offer in-person, hands-on birth and postpartum support, 1:1 Somatic coaching, birth story listening sessions, lactation counseling, and nutrition support for postpartum families. I attend home, center, and hospital births in Orange County, CA.
As a doula on a mission to truly resource the families I support, I am currently honing additional skills as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner with Ariel Giaretto. I have training in trauma informed care, body balancing for an easier birth, and healing modalities for the postpartum body. Below you can see a complete list of my trainings.
Our bodies hold the wisdom that we seek. It is my work to support you in your return to the wisdom of your body in preparation for birth and mothering.
With Love,
Melanie
Certifications and Trainings
University of California, San Diego- Certified Lactation Educator Counselor
Innate Traditions - Certified Innate Postpartum Care Provider with Rachelle Garcia Seliga
La Matriz Birth - Belly Binding and Postpartum Care Practices with Tema Mercado, CPM
DONA, International - Birth Doula Training with Stacey Scarborough
Spinning Babies® with Nicole Morales
Birthing From Within® with Virginia Bobro
Birth Story Medicine® with Pam England
Lumos Transfroms- The Resilience Toolkit with Devika Shankar
Somatic Experiencing® International with Ariel Giaretto