Press

Karen Laing didn’t set out to become a midwife, lactation consultant or tech CEO when she enrolled in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1989. Painting was her forte, and she planned to build an art career. To pay the bills, she took a caregiving job at Dana Home Care, an organization that paired home-based health care with Buddhist-inspired mindfulness practices — a novel idea at the time.

Karen Laing has been in the business of supporting expectant and new families for 25 years as the founder of Birthways, a leader in delivering labor and postpartum doula care. However, Laing was eager to tackle the larger issues present within the industry. “Having a baby,” says Laing, “should be safer and better supported for…