Meet Lauren Reid | Birth Doula and Placenta Encapsulation Specialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauren Reid and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
When I first got pregnant with my son, who is now four, I had a birth doula. I wanted to know everything I could and be as prepared as possible for my pregnancy and birth. Having her was one of the best decisions we made for myself and my husband. We felt so supported and I strongly felt that every woman needed a doula when pregnant. For my second birth with my daughter at home, we had the same doula, Trudie. I realized after that birth that I wanted to be able be that support for other moms to be. When you become a mom, you take on a different role in life and you tend to lose your old self. I wanted so badly to find and do something for myself again. My passion for birth, supporting moms, and helping them know their rights in birth led me to starting my doula business. I began supporting moms at the end of 2020 and though it was difficult to start a new business in the middle of a pandemic, it was not impossible and I was driven by my desire to guide moms to have the best birth that they could. Through this business I have been able to support so many moms achieve the birth that they wanted and to communicate with their providers exactly what they wanted for themselves and their babies. It’s a beautiful and empowering moment to see moms birth their babies in the power that they were born with.
Aside from my doula work, I also added placenta encapsulation to my offerings. This is a process where the placenta is dehydrated, ground up, and placed into capsules for consumption during the postpartum phase. The benefits are wonderful for postpartum healing. Some benefits include preventing and lessening the risk of postpartum depression, replenishing your iron from blood loss during birth, helping establish your milk supply for breastfeeding, and replenishing B vitamins and energy levels. Adding this offering was a wonderful addition to my business that mothers love for their healing process after baby has arrived.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a birth doula, the work can be challenging. The on-call life is not for everyone. You must be commited to these women who depend on you to be there. I think that is one of the most challenging parts of this job when you have your own family to attend to. The mom guilt has been one of the challenges that I had to overcome to do this job that I love. It still gets me sometimes, but knowing that I am helping and guiding another woman to the mom role really makes it all worth it. I think that everyone can find a doula that they connect with. I don’t think it’s about being set apart from others, I think that we all have unique qualities that connect with certain people and it’s just about clicking with the right client that is meant to work with you. I do tend to attract like-minded individuals because I am very outspoken on my instagram and I think this is something that many women enjoy about my brand and work.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have had so much guidance through different people in my life that have supported me along the way. I definitely felt called to this birth work because of the experience from my own doula, Trudie Jones. She was heaven sent and inspired me to be the supportive doula I am today. I would also not be able to do this work without my husband and my mama. They take on the hard job of staying with my three kiddos while I have my prenatal and postpartum visits and long, long births to attend. My husband has been amazing and always encouraging me to do this work because he knows how much I love it! I also want to give a special shoutout to Eyla Cuenca. She trained me in placenta encapsulation and her work as a doula, freedom keeper, and outspoken mama is inspiring. And lastly, Jesus because without Him none of this would be possible.

Website: www.herbirthdoula.com

Instagram: @herbirthdoula

Image Credits
Kallie Caton