About

Melanie Smith is a mother, seasoned doula, matrescence coach, and holistic lactation counselor. With over 12 years of experience, she specializes in guiding expectant and new mothers through the profound transformation of matrescence—the journey of becoming a mother.

Melanie’s approach to birth and motherhood blends somatic awareness, intuition, wisdom, and unwavering support. She believes childbirth is not just about welcoming a healthy baby but also a profound catalyst for the mother’s whole-self transformation—a journey that extends far beyond birth itself. Melanie nurtures the health and well-being of new mothers, offering a gentle invitation for personal growth with kindness and grace. She empowers mothers to prioritize their well-being as the foundation of a thriving mother-baby bond. Melanie cultivates deeply connected relationships with her clients, providing continuous support before, during, and after birth, ensuring they flourish together from a place of abundance.

Melanie offers comprehensive support for women designed for every stage of their motherhood journey.

Melanie’s work is deeply rooted in holistic, somatic, and evidence-based postpartum and birth support, informed by extensive training with leading educators in the field. Her expertise spans lactation, postpartum healing, birth support, somatic resilience, and birth story integration, ensuring a comprehensive and nurturing approach to maternal care.

  • Certified Lactation Educator Counselor – University of California, San Diego

  • Certified Innate Postpartum Care Provider – Trained with Rachelle Garcia Seliga (Innate Traditions), specializing in traditional postpartum healing practices.

  • Belly Binding & Postpartum Care – Studied under Tema Mercado, CPM (La Matriz Birth), learning ancestral techniques for postpartum recovery.

  • Birth Doula Training – Completed DONA International training with Stacey Scarborough, focusing on compassionate, evidence-based labor support.

  • Spinning Babies® – Trained with Nicole Morales, learning fetal positioning techniques to support easeful births.

  • Birthing From Within® – Studied with Virginia Bobro, integrating mindfulness-based childbirth preparation.

  • Birth Story Medicine® – Trained with Pam England, supporting parents in processing and integrating their birth experiences.

  • The Resilience Toolkit – Certified by Lumos Transforms with Devika Shankar, incorporating nervous system regulation and trauma-informed care.

  • Somatic Experiencing® – Studied with Ariel Giaretto, deepening her ability to provide body-based healing for birth and postpartum experiences.

With a holistic and integrative approach, Melanie supports mothers in navigating birth, postpartum recovery, and personal transformation with wisdom, compassion, and deep respect for the body’s innate intelligence.

Melanie lives in Orange County, CA, and supports families through home, birth center, and hospital births across Orange, South Los Angeles, and North San Diego Counties. She also provides in-home postpartum care, holistic lactation support, birth story processing, matrescence coaching, and nutrition guidance to nurture families through the postpartum journey.