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Here’s how we serve our community. It matters.
We have a compass. We define what great care looks and feels like for you, and lean into our embodied care model. It is a framework developed by our founder, who is a national thought leader in developing doula care models and mindfulness-based frameworks for improving maternal outcomes, quality care and health equity.
Great care is cultivated. It doesn’t just happen. This is our magic.
We create great teams.
Our community is built by recruiting, vetting and hiring amazing people that are meaningfully supported throughout their doula journey.
Did you know that Birthways is the only organization in Chicago that hires qualified employees rather than just contractors?
We believe that we can create a consistent experience as an organization, and become great providers when we commit to intentional mentorship, modeling, and community practice.
By definition, contractors in an agency miss this opportunity to develop consistently as doula professionals. Birthways recognizes the impact that community and mentoring have on doulas’ wellbeing and the care relationship.
We walk with you.
We support you every step of the way.
You will be supported by a Community Leader who will be there to coordinate last minute care needs, to fine tune your baby’s overnight care plan with you and your doula(s), or to take away some of the uncertainties as you imagine what lies ahead.
You get our entire village: skillful, certified, and closely supported providers, along with professional resources and guidance for your experience.
- All
- Doulas
- Educators
- Labor Support Doula
- Lactation Experts
- Postpartum Doulas
- Staff
Akiwele Burayidi
Aki (she/her) graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2022 with a degree in Health Promotion & Health Equity, as well as an additional major in Dance. During her studies she learned about the maternal health crisis in the U.S. ...
Alexis McCullough
Alexis (she/her) is the Office Administrator at Birthways, the point person for inquiries related to contracts, billing, and operations. She played college softball for five years, and graduated with her Master of Healthcare Administration from Grand Valley State University. Alexis ...
Alexis Franklin
Alexis (she/her) joined Birthways in August 2022. After moving from her hometown of Washington, D.C. to study Cultural Studies at Columbia College Chicago, she decided to stay and pursue a career in non-profit and birth work. Alexis’ interest in public ...
Brandi Reed
Brandi (she/her) is a labor support, sibling care during labor, and postpartum doula. She started her caregiving journey twelve years ago when looking after infants and toddlers at daycares, and transitioned into supporting children in healthcare and counseling. When not ...
Brit Brackins
Brit (she/her) joined Birthways in 2014 as a Labor Support Doula and Perinatal/Lactation Educator, bringing years of experience and love for learning to this work as a certified doula. Brit’s interest in women’s health and perinatal studies began as part ...
Carly Ann Braun
Carly Ann (she/her) has been a doula for five years and attended over 50 births. Before becoming a doula she worked in social justice education with teenagers. She began feeling dissatisfied with just talking shop about injustice, and found that ...
Chanel Washington
Chanel (she/her) was a doula even before it had a name in her world. She loves what she does meeting so many families with many different backgrounds, learning from each one! Intuitively knowing what steps she needed to take to ...
Daisy Johnson
Daisy (she/her) is a holistic birth and postpartum doula, trained in Advanced Labor Support, Peer Lactation Support and Childbirth Education. She is currently pursuing her Associate's Degree in Midwifery from the Midwest Maternal Health Institute and expects to complete the ...
Diana Sullivan
Diana (she/her) joined Birthways in 2016 as a postpartum doula with a passion for supporting new families. She brings great care and professionalism to this work, as she earned her child development associate certification and is currently in the process ...
Ebony Johnson
Ebony (she/her) is a certified full spectrum traditional birth worker. She became passionate about birth, postpartum and wellness after assisting a friend through a difficult pregnancy as well as embarking on her own wellness journey. Ebony is inspired to revolutionize ...
Emylee Shultz
Emylee (she/her) joined Birthways as a Labor Support and Postpartum doula. After knowing since she was a child that she wanted to work with families and babies, her passion for this type of service was truly awoken during her first ...
Erika Maldonado
Erika is a certified Birth and Postpartum doula, very passionate about babies and families. As a birth doula, Erika provides different comfort measures, and has experience in vaginal, C-section, VBACS, and unmediated births in birth centers and hospitals. Welcoming a new ...
Francine Kazmierski
Francine (she/her) has been working as a certified doula for 3 years now. She is also a mother of 2. She specializes in working with twins, and strives to help moms feel supported and educated through their postpartum journey. Francine ...
Harmony Ogunbade
Harmony (she/her) joined Birthways in 2021 as a Postpartum, Labor Support, and Sibling Care Doula, and is certified as a full-spectrum birth justice doula. Her passion, knowledge, and warmth are evident in her commitment to continuing to learn and grow ...
Ilana Kahn
Ilana (she/her) joined the Birthways Lactation Team in 2017. Ilana’s personal experiences, passion, and training have united her role as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). She also maintains an active status as a Registered Nurse. Ilana looks forward ...
Janina Shorter
Janina (she/her) is a certified full-spectrum doula, including labor support and postpartum care. She is a certified Community Breastfeeding Educator and in her 5th year as a Midwifery student, Janina is a wife of 17 years, a mother to 9 ...
Jeanine O’Toole
Jeanine (she/her) joined Birthways in 2014 as a postpartum doula. Focusing on daytime support, Jeanine brings a strong foundation and ever-deepening knowledge around women’s health and wellbeing, newborn safety and development, and lactation support. Many in her circle of friends ...
Joy Yama
Joy (she/her) joined Birthways in 2023 as a Labor Support and Postpartum Doula. Joy has extensive experience with infants and children, as well as supporting mothers through labor and the postpartum period. She is passionate about coaching women through labor ...
Leah Lemelin
As a Community Leader at Birthways, Leah (she/her) is the initial face of your care journey, supporting the doula and client experience within our embodied mindfulness-based care model. Leah recruits, hires, trains and holistically mentors Birthways care professionals to thrive ...
Maia Díaz
As an aspiring performing artist in NYC following college, Maia (she/her) made her living for several years as a nanny. She helped raise 3 beautiful girls from birth until the eldest was 8 years old, and the youngest was 2. ...
Marie Renaud
Marie (she/her) has a professional background centered around a holistic approach to reproductive health, environmental health and the transformative power of nature. She is currently pursuing her Master's in Somatic Counseling with a focus on nature-based counseling, and having recently ...
Mary Jozwiak
Mary (she/her) has been a part of Birthways since 1998 as a postpartum doula and lactation consultant. She brings decades of knowledge and experience to working with new families, with a focus on the breastfeeding relationship. With a Bachelor’s degree ...
Mary Sommers
Mary (she/her) is the instructor of our Celebrate Birth! classes. She is a Certified Professional Midwife and holds a Master's degree in Public Service from DePaul University. Mary has many years of experience and the wisdom that comes from witnessing ...
Megan Trinter
Megan (she/her) joined Birthways in 2003 and offers Labor Support and Private Education, as well as occasional Postpartum care. She has provided care to families with infants and older children since 1999, and is a mother herself! After graduating from ...
Noshaba Bhatti
Noshaba (they/she) is an experienced trauma-informed, healing- centered, and evidence-based fertility, birth, and postpartum doula. She has over fifteen years of experience providing trauma-informed, client-centered, queer and trans affirming direct services, advocacy, and education in various public health settings. A ...
Rhona Moore
Rhona (she/her) joined Birthways in the spring of 2019, bringing over a decade of community-based doula work into her care. Rhona is a Certified Labor Support Doula through DONA and completing training as a Postpartum Doula through WisdomWay Institute. She ...
Ruby Daniel
Ruby (she/her) is a certified Labor Support, Sibling Care, and Postpartum doula, who joined Birthways in 2021. Daughter of a former Labor & Delivery nurse and lactation consultant, Ruby has been learning about pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and parenting her whole ...
Susan Martinez
Susan (she/her) joined Birthways as a postpartum doula, as she recently moved to the Chicago area from Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is the mother of one amazing grown daughter who was conceived via in-vitro the first try, so she is ...
Sonrisa Hansen Parker
Sonrisa (she/her) is an IBCLC and postpartum doula focused on daytime support. She loves supporting families in their homes, whether it’s coming in for a 90 minute lactation visit, or 4-8 hour postpartum doula care shift. Soft-spoken, Sonrisa will communicate ...