We had the good fortune of connecting with Janelle Leo-Boyd and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Janelle, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
This is such a great question! I’f I’m being honest, finding balance between working and resting should be top priority for women, especially because of our cyclical nature. Just as like the moon, women are cyclical beings and we must learn to operate around our cycle and that is something that I have found to be very beneficial in running a successful business. Our bodies require different things during the different phases of our cycles (follicular, ovulation, luteal, menstruation). Because of that, I make sure to attend meetings and the social aspect of my business when my body can handle it (folliculate & ovulation), and prioritise rest, scheduling, organising and proper nourishment during my low estrogen days (luteal phase). Society as led us to believe that we should be able to operate with the exact same energy 365 days a year, and sometimes, we are even chastised for wanting a break to grow our families and nurture ourselves as women. For this reason, so many women feel the need to prioritise their careers over having a family. But it doesn’t have to be this way. We should learn to honour our body’s desire for rest and nourishment. Everything we do affects our cycle and we should only make decisions that allow us to remain healthy inside and out. For this very reason, I take quarterly throughout the year to rest my mind, my body and build up my strength in order o be fully present for my expecting clients. Before transition to self-employeed full-time, I was never able to be present for myself and that way. So I’d have to say, being able to work around my cycle and honouring my body’s request for rest is truly one of the most important things I’ve gained being an entrepreneur.

What should our readers know about your business?
My career as a birth worker came about in a very unexpected way. Prior to serving expectant families, I worked as a forensic scientist and a chromatography engineer. While my career as a scientist was interesting to say the least, I wasn’t truly passionate about my work at the time and I wanted to serve humanity in a more personal way. One might think that the career transition would be difficult but it actually wasn’t. I’ve always had a high affinity to pregnant women, even as a child, I always wanted them to have a bubble around them so that they would be protected from being harmed. Little did I know, I would eventually be helping couples grow their families through reproductive education and support.

Foi en la Femme provides reproductive services to families needing assistance from fertility to postpartum. While my services are rendered through different phases of motherhood, it is truly an honour to be of help to almost anyone along that journey. For couples seeking help with fertility, we explore holistic methods and specific lifestyle habits that can help to prepare the body to host a successful pregnancy. A big part of this service is teaching my clients how to eat, exercise and exert energy at different phases of their cycle. Most of them learn a lot about how different foods and habits can impact their cycle which in turn, helps them to eventually find the possible route cause of previous infertility issues. With couples who are already expecting, I spend a fair amount of time educating them on how to adjust their perspective on childbirth, helping them understand the stages of birth and release their fears; learn how to get comfortable labouring at home, as well as navigating hospitals when its time to go. Fathers are always encouraged to be present at all the appointments and their participation and attention is always reflected in their ability to confidently support their partners it’s need the most .It’s always good to see dads transition from not knowing anything about birth to being able to advocate for their partners during what is one of the most important times in their lives!

Another huge part of my business, is providing holistic postpartum care to new mothers. Using holistic Moroccan postpartum medicine that I learned from a Moroccan native birth worker, I have the pleasure of nurturing mothers soon after having their babies. All of the services are geared towards warming up the body with an emphasis on the womb. Starting with a warm herbal bath and a womb steam, my postpartum clients are nurtured and educated on how to reintroduce heat into their womb for proper healing. I then perform a bone closing ceremony that allows them to mentally transition from pregnancy to postpartum and to release emotions from any negativity they experienced during their motherhood journey. On a physical level, it helps get their bones realigned and releases any tension in their lower pack and pelvis. This is a favourite for alot of my clients because it always makes them feel so much better afterwards. We then move on to belly binding to trap all the heat we put into the body and to help assist moms with their posture, back pain and loose belly after birth. I usually complete the ceremony with a nutritious meal that the entire family can enjoy. This is often the dads’ favourite part for obvious reasons! All of the Foi en la Femme meals are highly nutrient dense and mainly plant based. All of the ingredients are geared towards heating up the womb and nourishing the recovering mother as she tries her best to care for her baby with barely a wink of sleep.

While operating as a birth-worker, one of the lessons I’ve learned along the way is to just be myself. In the beginning, I was very nervous about my accent and just how others would perceive me given that I’m a foreigner but as it turns out, that’s one of the things my clients love about me the most. They get to learn alot of the holistic herbal remedies and meals I grew up with in St. Lucia and they have all made me feel very proud to be my authentic self because of their warm welcoming. In addition to my strong passion for birth-work, I think what sets me apart from other doulas/birth-workers is how I much of myself I pour into my business. Sure you can read a few birth books and hire a cook to prepare postpartum meals but I’ve heard many times before that its not the same as a Foi en la Femme experience. I practice everything I preach to my clients! I teach them how to have faith in their body’s ability to go through this natural process and to nourish and nurture themselves throughout motherhood. Its not just about birth or breastfeeding, its about first caring for your WHOLE self in order to be the best mom and partner you can be for your family! That is in fact the whole movement of Foi en la Femme (Faith in the Woman), it is to have faith in our ability to birth our babies and to prioritise recovery, rest and nourishment in order to continue the journey of motherhood.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love Miami because there are just so many things to do. First of all being, that I’m from St.Lucia, having access to beautiful beaches is a priority for me so that would be number one on my list and there are so many options to have a staycation! For those who like the outdoors, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is a great place to to enjoy the beach and kayaking or biking. I’m a big foodie so Brickell Miami will always be recommended for the most tasty and creative vegan food spots.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Of course! I’d like to shout out my dear husband Sean Boyd for being so supportive during my journey! Honestly if it wasn’t for him I would still be operating my business part time while working full time as a chromatography engineer. But he saw how stressful it was for me, pouring into both jobs with almost no energy left for anything else. I’ll never forget the night I was sitting on the floor, crying in our home office, because I was just soooo tired. He found me and hugged me tight and said “why don’t you just quit your job, I know you’re not passionate about that job more than you are being a birth worker so just quit your job, I’ll always take care of us”. And honestly, if he had never said these words, I probably would still be trying to juggle both job to this day, because that’s just who I am. But I thank God for giving me such a supportive husband who has encouraged me through every milestone of this business. Having his support is truly a blessing and it really helped me to take a leap of faith and allowed my business to operate in its full potential.

Website: https://www.foienlafemme.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foienlafemme/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FoiEnLaFemme

Other: Email –> info@foienlafemme.com

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