Tend and Befriend

Rooted in Birth: Kelly’s Journey from Paramedic to Doula

• Deborah Herritt - Koumoutsidis

Share episode

Send us a text

What if the first, fiercest lesson in personal power began in the birth room? We sit with Kelly—licensed paramedic, yoga teacher, Reiki master, and now a doula in our agency—to trace how frontline medicine led her to a calling rooted in consent, breath, and presence. From the shift that happens when someone teaches you to ask for what you want, to the quiet courage of doing less and holding more, this conversation maps a humane way through complex systems.

Kelly shares the pivotal moments that shaped her practice: staying seven hours beyond a hospital shift to support a labouring patient, discovering that breathwork is the most reliable tool in a chaotic room, and learning that real advocacy means keeping the birthing person in charge even when plans change. We unpack informed consent as a living process, not a form; radical self-responsibility as a compass; and how a doula collective expands support, creates safety nets, and brings better referrals to families who need them. The stories are grounded and specific—home birth in Ecuador, partners who become surprising anchors, debriefs that turn hard nights into wisdom.

If you’re feeling nervous, unsure, or lost in the system, this one aims to bring you back to centre. You’ll hear how to set boundaries without burning bridges, use breath to regulate pain and panic, and build a plan flexible enough to meet real life. We also talk honestly about doula self-care—eating, writing, moving, and leaning on a team—so we can show up steady for you.

Want to connect with Kelly or our agency for birth or postpartum support? Tap the links in the show notes, find Kelly at the Voyage Collective on Instagram, or reach us at Deborah the Doula. If this resonated, subscribe, share it with someone expecting, and leave a review to help others find the support they deserve.

Support the show

🎙 Thanks for Tuning into Tend & Befriend!

🌿 Learn More & Work With Me:
💻 Visit Website for my birth course, resources, and to book a session with me.

📲 Stay Connected:
📷 Instagram: @deborahthedoula
📘 Facebook: @deborahthedoula

💡 Loved this episode? Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs it!

🔗 Find all links here: Our website

I hope to talk to you soon!!

deborah:

Hey Mamas, you're listening to Tend and Befriend, a podcast about women's mental and physical health. This is Deborah. I'm a mom of two, a labor and birth coach and birth advocate, a health professional, and today I'm your host. Let's dive into today's episode. Any information you hear or that is suggested or recommended on these episodes is not medical advice. Welcome back to Tendem Be Friend, the podcast where we dive deep into the heart of birth work, women's wellness, and everything in between. I'm your host, Doula Deborah, your massage therapist, and your birth advocate. Today I'm joined by someone whom I'm quickly starting to love and someone who is new to Pelvic Glove Doula Agency. One of our incredible doula's, Kelly Susie. Kelly isn't just a birth worker. She's someone who carries a deep, grounded presence into every room she enters. And today we're peeling back the layers. We're not just talking about doula work, we're talking about why we do it, what roots us, and what called us in. Hi, Kelly. Welcome to the podcast.

kelly :

Hi, thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be here. Awesome. So tell me a little bit about yourself. I'm obviously a doula. I'm a birth and postpartum doula. I'm a yoga teacher, and I'm the founder of the Voyage Collective, which is a lot of different skills I've accumulated over the years that I've kind of put together to offer the outside world. And I'm a new partner with Deb and a part of her new agency.

deborah:

And you're a Reiki master.

kelly :

I forgot that one. Yes, I am a Reiki master.

deborah:

And you're a licensed paramedic.

kelly :

I am that too. You're making me blush.

deborah:

Well, I love that you're licensed paramedic because a lot of people who do want a doula, sometimes they want someone medically trained. And that would be you. That would be me.

kelly :

Yeah. It's definitely a good foundation to have. Actually, being a paramedic set me down this path. It kind of opened my eyes to birth. So I don't think I would be here right now if I didn't study paramedicine. Yeah.

deborah:

Yeah. Do you really feel like that was the step into that, into our world? I do. I actually remember being a paramedic student and being the only one that was interested in the act of birth. And I didn't realize it at the time, but you know, nobody wanted that call, but I was kind of like inviting that in. And I found that interesting. I didn't think much about it because I was young and I didn't really actually know what I wanted. Um and then along the way, I just, you know, kind of actually, I didn't even know what a doula was, which I feel like a lot of people don't know what a doula is. And somebody told me, a paramedic said you would make a really good doula. And that kind of opened my eyes a bit. But it took me, it took me many years after that to actually understand that that was something I needed to follow. So here I am.

kelly :

Yeah, it was a calling, and you were bringing it into your world, it sounds like. Yeah, definitely. It was really interesting sitting with you last week after our birth at the our induction birth at the hospital. And you told me the story about really the first birth that you were present at was actually as a paramedic. Yeah, yeah. I overstayed my shift. So I was a student and we had to do shifts like all over the hospital on all the different floors, like in the ER. And I had a shift in the OB floor, and I stayed, I think it was like seven hours over my eight-hour shift because I had been sitting with this woman, and if I remember correctly, she was alone, and we just created this relationship, and it was really cool. I wanted to see it happen, and I was with her every step of the way. So I guess I was doulaing before I even knew I wanted to be a doula. Sometimes that's the way it works.

deborah:

Yeah. So, what was it that you recognized besides those callings that you might have missed, right? What was it that finally got you to say, yes, this is where I want to be. This is what I want to do.

kelly :

I would say really wanting to make an actual change in this world. And I thought at that point in my life, it was, you know, being a paramedic, like you're doing great things and you're helping to heal people on a certain level. But I wanted more, and I didn't recognize that till years down the road. I I really want to make a root change, and I really believe that begins with the act of birth.

deborah:

Yeah, I had an interesting conversation today with a detective with the OPP, and we were talking about, you know, informed consent. That's what we were talking about. And I'm like, how are women supposed to know when they do get sexually assaulted? Like if it's after birth, when they really have never been taught informed consent, even in the act of birth, like it correlates to just accepting a certain type of behavior after you give birth because you weren't taught properly in birth.

kelly :

Yeah. I think that that goes for anything in this life. There's so much awareness that we're lacking as a society. And if you don't know, then you don't know, right? And you have all these feelings and you don't know why they're there. And I think having that awareness is the first step to creating these healthy boundaries when it comes to things like informed consent.

deborah:

Yeah. Healthy touch, healthy boundaries, right? Informed consent. What was the one thing? Like, I know you you talked about wanting to make a change, but was it a certain person like that suggested to you it's time for you to move towards this? I've heard you talk about this a little bit, but I don't really know what it was or if it was when you were away, and it's like, it's time for me to go home and set up some roots there. Was it a place? Was it a thing? Was it a person?

kelly :

Was it no so many things? Like I would say just the way I was living my life, and all of my conversations would end up back at this place of wanting to make a deeper change. And I, because of my interest in birth, I would talk to a lot of women along the way and from like all different countries, and I noticed that they all had a lot of birth trauma, and most stories were not positive stories, and that just kind of fueled my fire a little bit more. You know, I took my training of like during COVID, and I think it just I needed time to gain a lot of life experience to get to this point, but I'm at the point now where it's just like that voice in your head that you can't not listen to anymore, and you just have to like go for it.

Speaker 01:

Yeah, and you and you also sometimes get nudged on the path, and sometimes you get pushed on the path. What I'm curious about now, I in the back of my head is like, I wonder who that paramedic was that said to you that you would make a good doula, because I do have a couple of town criers here for my for my clinic and for my business that are paramedics.

Speaker 00:

She's actually one of my good friends, and she was my best friend. She was my best friend in paramedic school, and she really, really helped guide me through that program because it's very intense and I'm very emotional. At least I was very chaotic and emotional at that point in my life, and and very empathetic to the point where I thought, yeah, maybe this I would be good at this, but it can be a lot. And I think that's when she suggested, like, you're very interested in birth, and she knew me better than anybody, and she brought that up actually. Yeah.

Speaker 01:

Do you think that it's important that that some doulas, not all doulas, be a little trauma-informed?

Speaker 00:

Oh, a hundred percent. I think everybody in the whole world should be trauma-informed.

Speaker 01:

Yes, slash everything you said, Deborah, and let's just take that. And I agree, I do agree. I think when you're trauma-informed, it changes the way you show up, it changes the way you behave, it changes the way you relate. Um, yeah. One thing that I deeply admire about you is how you show up with such clarity and intention. Can you share with me some of your core values and the beliefs that guide how you support your doula clients or your yoga clients or your reading clients?

Speaker 00:

I would say my biggest core value I hold is radical self-responsibility. And that's it for me. And I that's just you know, taking any situation in your life and kind of checking yourself in the mirror. And I I really believe in just using anything that comes your way on your path to create something better. And this to me is really the path of self-empowerment, and it's the path to taking your power back. And that is my approach to life, and it served me so well. And I bring that with me in everything I do, like you said, like yoga and do look here, like everything I do, even just how I am on a daily, maybe I'm annoying, but I'm always wanting to talk about self-growth and how can we be better, and getting away from like why is this happening to me, but rather reframing it to like why is this happening for me? That really, really switched the narrative in my life, and I I kind of came out of this victim mode to who like I'm in power now, and everything changed for me. And I think that that really comes out in it, like I said, everything I do, but especially in the birthing room, I would say like my goal as a doula is to remind you of your own power, and that's my love language. So I think that's like really it's cool that I'm at this place in my life now where I get to kind of tie everything together and I get to bring my love language into the perfect space, into my work and apply that. And I think it comes out in everything I do. I hope.

Speaker 01:

Yeah, I think for me as an individual, my core values have definitely I don't want to say changed, but they shifted as I've gotten a little older. And I think that at least one of my core values have changed the longer I've been doing this work, right? And one time it was, you know, you know, change, change the world. And now I look at it as change the situation one birth mother at the time, right? Yeah, and and we talk about that, and also I I get really bored in those rooms where people are not looking at themselves. I just yeah, I just feel like all we're doing is talking in circles and gossiping when really it's like, what can I do? What have I done? What can I change instead of you know, why me? I think I really go ahead.

Speaker 00:

Yeah, I think like like gossiping is old, like nobody wants to do that anymore. Like, let's be better. And yeah, I don't know, like I don't I don't like small talk, like it's it's a struggle for me to to small talk, and I know that can be a lot for some people, and I do have to check myself sometimes, but I just think what's the point of life if not to dive like really deep and to to make change at every second.

Speaker 01:

I think the world still, so I agree. I think that people like us, we can be a bit annoying, yeah. Right, we do want to just be shown the mirror. This is how you're showing up, and this is how I see this being different for you. Whereas most people don't want to be shown the mirror, right?

Speaker 00:

They just wanna be comfortable. Who wants to, you know, show the mirror? I mean, if you have the mindset, then show me the mirror. But like I think it takes a little time for everyone to kind of you know get to that place.

Speaker 01:

Yeah, I agree. And the younger you are, the less you want to you wanna, you know, self-reflect for sure. Definitely, yeah. So we've learned from last week's delivery, and I want to definitely talk about this a little bit, that do-la work is beautiful and incredible, but it can be so heavy at times. Tell me a little bit about how you hold space when things don't go as planned, and then what have you learned about staying grounded in those moments or not getting triggered?

Speaker 00:

So I think when things don't go as planned in a chaotic moment, again, like in any moment, I try to use my own tools. So I I like to practice what I preach. You can't tell a laboring woman to use her breath and to come back into the present moment if you can't do that either. So I like to kind of treat myself like the birthing woman. Like, what am I gonna do right now to calm down and and come back to my center? And that's always first and foremost for me connecting with my breath. Like it's something we we always have with us. It's a free tool, it's so effective. It could be the only tool. And I'm really comfortable with my breath as a yogi. I use my breath a lot, and it doesn't mean I'm like in the corner practicing pranayama, but like just that simple connection with breath really helps me to come back to the center and to um and to connect back with that present moment. And yeah, like I think I'm also really good at seeing the bigger picture. So when I'm, you know, I can get worked up, like of course, we all can, we're human beings, but I'm able to bring myself back down with you know, just my own awareness and to remind myself of the bigger picture and also remembering that it's not about me. Yeah, it's not about me. We tend to make things about ourselves and yeah, yeah, about that woman, always no matter what.

Speaker 01:

Yeah, I think a lot of times we get attached to their wishes, right?

Speaker 00:

Yeah, right.

Speaker 01:

Like I think the biggest tool as a doula is learning to pivot from the plan so that the birthing person gets what they need no matter what. And as long as they stay in charge and they maintain agency and autonomy, we're gonna feel like they've gotten a birth that they've chosen, right? Definitely. But it's really hard not to get triggered at times because we are human beings. And I do actually love that you mention breath work because it is the one tool that you can practice and that you can bring out. And I've I've been in a lot of births where that's all that I do. I don't even open my suitcase. It's just all breath work, yeah. And a totally physiological birth with no drugs and no tools, just just the breath work, which is really incredible.

Speaker 00:

Yeah, it's it's I would say the best tool on the market. And I think it can be really hard to connect with your breath, you know, at the beginning when you're not familiar with it, you're not comfortable with it, but the more you work with it, the quicker you're able to like jump into that um that space with you know the ability to like fully open your lungs and just it's not such a scary act where most people unfortunately are walking around and they're not taking full breaths. So, like just the act of taking a full proper inhale and exhale five times can change everything.

Speaker 01:

Yeah. I actually teach breath work in the clinic, and it's always interesting how you know people's ideas of taking a deep breath are so it's like so limiting, right? Like they lift their shoulders like it's and it's like that actually does not make any difference. And it's just interesting that the majority of the population is walking around, not really taking a full breath. And it's funny because I teach breath work in the prenatal classes, I teach breath work in the birth consultations, and we do really practice right from early, early labor. And I have gotten asked so many times why, why, why? Well, because it's a practice skill. And in the moment when you have nothing else, you can pull out that tool at any time. And it doesn't take minutes or any amount of time, it just takes a second and you have the tool ready and to go. And so I'd like to talk about it with like in early labor or in like, you know, your prenatal visits. So I love that you're a master of it. I'm learning stuff from you for sure. Can you tell me something about a birth that has really challenged you? And it doesn't have to be a birth that you were in, it could be one that we debriefed or one that you were told. But tell me something about birth that has really, really challenged you, made you want to throw your hat in.

Speaker 00:

I would probably say one of the births that I did in Ecuador was a home birth, and she was laboring for three days, and it was a really an amazing experience, but she was very internal. So I felt like I wanted to do more. Like, what can I do? What can I do to change this for her? Like, how can I change this? And I had to keep reminding myself of the fact that it's not about me and it's what she needs. And yeah, it was a really beautiful process, but it was a big learning curve for me because I think as a doula, you feel like you need to be doing something the whole time, and it's like almost more uncomfortable to just not do anything. Yeah, and it's like you don't need to prove yourself. Maybe that's where it's coming from. Like, I need to prove that I'm you know, here for a reason, but just letting a woman go through her own process at her own time is that's been challenging, but holding space, hold yeah, yeah, essentially, yeah.

Speaker 01:

Which is one of the biggest challenges in life, just holding space, right? You know, and there are women like that that just want to crawl into a corner and just get through birth, but they hire doulas, they want someone who stands next to them and just holds space. They don't need to be touched, they don't need to be told they that they're great or amazing, they just want someone to hold space and to be there if they need someone. And I love that, and I'm that type of person. Yeah, you know, like I'm that type of person, I just get it done. Um, we're very hire on people, both of us.

Speaker 00:

So, you know, yeah, not that like physical.

Speaker 01:

But I I hired doulas for both of my births in my second birth. I had two doulas, and I really didn't feel like I needed them to do something specifically, I just wanted them there just in case.

Speaker 00:

Yep, yep.

Speaker 01:

Um, and I guess that my next question was like, you know, a moment where presence was more powerful than words, but we just covered that as well. And this is really important to me as a doula, and it's something that I talk about a lot with people that you know are close to me and that are in my family and my direct circle. And it's like, how do you care for yourself after your birth? Like, what is it that you you know, your self-care routine after a birth?

Speaker 00:

I would say eating a really, really good, well-deserved meal first thing, you and the birth person. Yeah, yeah, big time. And I process by verbally speaking with people that I trust. So, like, for example, with you, you know, and somebody that understands who's in that world, like a doula friend or something like that, verbally processing and just like venting about it is my best way to release everything that I went through in that moment. And then I like to write about it. I I like to write about everything, and it becomes more of like a personal thing, and going to yoga, going to yoga, yeah. That's and just literally sweating it out.

Speaker 01:

Yes, that's awesome. I love that you write it out because it's important that becomes your perspective of that birth story. And I don't know if you've ever heard me talk about Ainsley Winter. She's a practitioner here, and she does art therapy. Yes, and so she does this therapy where she gives you a magazine and you go through all these magazines and you pick out all these pictures and then you put them together on one page, and it's like how you feel. And so I love that. I think it's really important for women in the postpartum phase when they can't articulate how they feel because they're the the feelings are so contradicting and the emotions are so contradicting to be able to just put it on paper with a photo and say, This, this is how I feel. Right. But it's a really cool way. I haven't started incorporating it into my life yet, but I really, really love that idea. I love that that made me feel excited.

Speaker 00:

Like when you know, like when you're a kid and you're doing like a project or something. Yeah, or like when you're putting together your Christmas list, you would just like cut the picture and I don't know, I used to do that.

Speaker 01:

So like a vision board for Christmas, yeah, exactly. Yeah. But I I think that would be really cool also for moms to process how they feel because there's so many things that happen in a birth, right? Like we're really, really excited to be a part of it. We're really, really excited to be with this person and to help them advocate and go after the things that they want. But there's also things that happen in the birthing system that really, really kind of puts us, I guess, in our place or you know, makes us really feel that we can't give them everything that they want. And after birth, you know, processing that is really, really important. And I would love to have a picture of every single one of the births I've ever done. Whoa, like of how I felt about it. Yeah, it would wallpaper my whole house. Yeah, it would wallpaper my whole house, but it would be cool to have them in a collection, that's for sure.

Speaker 00:

Also, to add, I think writing out, like, or even just thinking about what you could have done differently, because obviously we're always learning and you know, getting better at what we're doing, and there's there's always something to learn. You'd like we're not perfect, so to process like, okay, what would I do for the next woman now that I know the bigger picture and what was actually going on, right?

Speaker 01:

And I think that's a that's it's a great spot for us to bring out what we're doing in the agency because that's a part of being a part of a team, is you get to go to that team in that moment where things might have stalled or things might have been going a different way than planned. And you, you know, you call one of your doula colleagues and say, Listen, here's where we're at. What am I missing? Is there anything that I'm missing? What can I do? What are my options? You know, whether you're tired or you're emotionally into it, or the system is pushing against you, it's always nice to have someone else to be able to say to you, yes, yes, yes, how about this? How about this? How about this? And I think the more people that you talk to, right, and your team, the more options or more things that will come to your mind. And I also think, right, when you're debriefing, which is something that we've done for every birth that we've taken part in, debriefing it and saying, yes, at that point there was nothing we could do because of a medical risk or this or that. And it gives us perspective so that we feel like we've done everything that we could, or for the next time, how about we do this? And so that's a perfect point to bring up that now you're part of something a little bit bigger than you've been before. How are you feeling about that? And what's it like being part of a team versus being alone?

Speaker 00:

Well, before I was a part of this agency, I did feel a bit lonely on this path. Um, I wasn't very well connected. Obviously, I've I've been in and out of Windsor for a few years, but I didn't know of many doulas, and it just, you know, I felt lonely. I felt like it was kind of this big thing I was taking on without any support of anyone that understood what I was going through. And I think that this agency already has opened up a lot of doors for me. You've already given me the ability to teach yoga in the clinic, which has been so cool. And I'm so connected, I'm so well connected by being a part of an agency, already like connected with the midwives and so many more doulas doing the same work. And I think, yeah, being a part of an agency offers me this feeling of like safety, I guess you could say, that I didn't really have before. So that feels really good, and it makes me feel braver to go out there and to offer what I want to offer because I know I'm not alone. And I think you're I feel like you're just able to go farther in life when you have the support of a team because you can rest more, you know, like I can rely on you guys, I can any question in the whole world, if it's stupid or not, I can ask you or Natalie or whoever, you know.

Speaker 01:

And that's like invaluable. And I also think I also think when you're working either in an agency or in a collective, every single person has connections, right? Obviously, I've been in this world in Windsor and Essex County for 20 years, and I can't say that I know everything and everyone who's in the birth world because that's not true. Every single day I learn about someone new that is in our world, whether it's pregnancy, whether it's birth, whether it's postpartum. But I show up with all of my connections. You show up with all of your connections because my connections are all professional. I don't have a lot of personal connections here because I didn't grow up here. Right. And then Natalie has her connections. And that means that we have a stronger and better chance of finding the right need or person for birthing families, and we're able to support birthing families a lot bigger, which is really why the agency started, right? And also my impact was small. We make bigger ripples with more individuals, right? Yes, yeah, sure.

Speaker 00:

Yeah. Do you can help more people? It's heavy work, like you said, and it's therapeutic to have people to lean on. So when we do show up, we're a hundred percent, you know. Yep.

Speaker 01:

Yep. And if we're not, we can say, I need help. Yep. I need you to show up for me. I need you to back me up. I need you to come relieve me. I need a coffee. I need a coffee. Bring me a sandwich. And do you think that doulas like a hundred percent? I mean, it sounds like you're saying that, but do you think that doulas need each other?

Speaker 00:

Oh, yeah. I mean, yeah, yeah. Uh for me personally, it didn't feel like it was working out like that well until I was connected with other people. I'm a big fan of having a team to support you. And I do everything alone. Like, I'm a lone wolf, I've done like most things in my life on my own, but I'm really feeling myself healing through this agency because I'm learning how to lean on other people that want to support me.

Speaker 01:

Yeah, yeah, exactly. I I absolutely feel that doulas need each other. And if they don't have other doulas to support them, they need to find a community of birth workers. It doesn't have to be a doula. Like one of my strongest supporters right now is a midwife, and we bounce stuff off of each other, you know, a couple of times a week, and then we might go two weeks and not speak to each other. And sometimes we show each other the mirror. And I find that that for me is is so different than I've ever had here. It makes me feel more powerful.

Speaker 00:

Yeah, you're stronger in numbers. Yeah, exactly. When women support other women, man, we're unstoppable. Like that's that's what you don't want you to know.

Speaker 01:

Yeah, that's important to know. All right. So, talking about that, if a pregnant person was listening right now and she was feeling nervous, unsure, maybe even a little lost in the system, what would you want her to know?

Speaker 00:

Ooh, it's a good one. Yeah, that is a good one. I I always say that I hope that a woman can recognize that she already has everything she needs within her. And I know that can feel like maybe that's a little triggering to some people, and maybe seems unhelpful, maybe a little corny, but I think it's so true. And you need to just help yourself get to a place of uncovering that. And you know, this is totally possible with the proper support and the education and preparation. And that's the space you want to be in going into birth is just trusting your own abilities. I think it's normal to feel lost in this world, you know, that can be scary, but I do believe that's the key to getting the birth that you desire. Yeah, I agree.

Speaker 01:

Your go-to comfort item for a birth. My hands or a hug. A hug. Love it.

Speaker 00:

A quote or mantra that you love. Can I swear? Yeah. I am fucking powerful. That's mine.

Speaker 01:

Woo! Love that. The most underrated postpartum tip.

Speaker 00:

Uh, have everybody that wants to support you and love you just cook for you and drop it off on your doorstep.

Speaker 01:

Yes. Don't even ring my bell. What do you wish more people understood about doulas?

Speaker 00:

That we're not all like hippy dippy and it's like all about essential oils. I mean, some of it can be, but I get the feeling that a lot of people think doulas are, you know, a little bit like woo-woo, which okay, fair, but it's so much more than that. It's yeah, like, yeah, you need to be a strong human being to be able to navigate through the system that we have to navigate through.

Speaker 01:

So yes. Yeah. So there's a need for hippy-dippy doulas too, and there's a need for doulas like us, which, you know, we're mat trucks.

Speaker 00:

I feel like we're a nice balance of both, though. You know.

Speaker 01:

Yeah, no, obviously. I mean, everybody, it's interesting because you got to go into birth with me last week, and everyone thinks that I'm like a bit of a bulldozer. And I am, I am. I'm going to say I am a bulldozer when a bulldozer is needed. Yeah. Yeah. But in a birth space, yes, I'm I'm not who I am in my in my my clinical practice, and I'm not who I am on Instagram.

Speaker 00:

Yeah.

Speaker 01:

I have multiple personalities. Don't tell people that. Yeah, I do. I have multiple people, people that show up for you at different times when needed. So I think that that's a great answer. What do you wish more people understood about doula's? And there is education. We are actually educated. We can do a weekend course, but most of us do way more than a weekend course.

Speaker 00:

Yeah, because you don't really feel prepared after you do a weekend course. You have to take matters into your own hands if you want to be the best doula, right?

Speaker 01:

Yes. Yeah. All right. Your favorite thing that you have witnessed at a birth so far. Like the funniest thing, the greatest thing, the most powerful thing, what is it that you've seen at a birth so far?

Speaker 00:

I love when a partner who's like nervous and unsure, just in the moment dives in and becomes the doula. That is to me the best thing ever.

unknown:

Yeah.

Speaker 00:

Just full support. Okay, I'm just gonna step back and let you do your thing. Yeah. You want me to get you some water? Yeah.

Speaker 01:

Yeah. I love that. Yeah. I I love that. I love that. That's your most powerful thing because think about what that underlying means. You love giving somebody else power.

Speaker 00:

That's my love language, like I said. Yeah.

Speaker 01:

Yeah. It's beautiful. Full full circle right here in our podcast episode today.

Speaker 00:

That's right.

Speaker 01:

Is there anything that you would like to add to let people know about who you are and how you plan on showing up for Windsor and Essex County as a birth and postpartum doula and a yogi and a Reiki master?

Speaker 00:

Well, I'm just really excited to get started because this is a deeply personal journey to me. So I just can't wait to support anybody that comes down my path. And I'm feeling really aligned and excited to support any woman that that comes my way that's in need of doula care, of yoga, of breath work, of all the tools that have helped me get to this point in my life because it's been a long journey. And I know the journey of birth can be long too. So um, yeah, I'm just really excited and feeling like full of life right now. And you're ready to support.

Speaker 01:

Totally ready. Kelly, thank you so much for sharing your story and your heart with us today. It's doula's like you who make this work more than just a job, it's a calling, and you answer it with so much grace. Please tell us how my audience can find you.

Speaker 00:

Um, so you can probably best reach me on Instagram at the Voyage Collective, or you can send me a personal email at the Voyaged Doula at gmail.com. Or if I see you in passing, you can have my card and I can give you my personal number and you can really text me at any time.

Speaker 01:

And also, Kelly is going to be hopping on to our doula debra on demand every couple of weeks. So you can also get to meet her there if you like. And if you'd like to learn more about Kelly or connect with our agency to find out if we are the right doula's for your birth or your postpartum journey, head to the links in the show notes or find us on Instagram at Deborah the Doula. And as always, take care of yourself, take care of your body, and we'll talk to you next time. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you, Kelly.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Deborah Herritt

Host
Head Shot

Lily Faye

Editor