““Birth is not only about making babies.  Birth is about making mothers – strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength.”
— Barbara Katz Rothman

Contact the Manhattan Birth Doulas by clicking on their photos

Sarah Anne Lovell is a Certified Holistic Doula, Certified Lactation Counselor, Childbirth Educator, Homebirth Assistant and she is voracious in her desire to deeply understand birth and how to support birthing people and their families. Sarah has completed the Holistic Doula Training as well as Tending the Postpartum Psyche through Whapio and The Matrona, studied Neonatal Resuscitation and completed additional courses in Comforting Touch (massage), Acupressure for Pregnancy, Labor & Postpartum, The 4th Trimester, Homeopathy for Pregnancy, Birth & Postpartum, Advanced Doula Training with Penny Simkin, Supporting LGBTQ Families in Birth & Postpartum and most recently a workshop on Homeopathy for Birth & Postpartum. She also has nearly a decade of experience working in natural health clinics with chiropractors specializing in the Webster Technique, pediatric and perinatal care. She feels her work is centered around the whole family, connecting deeply with them while supporting, empowering and protecting their choices and desires for their birth. Sarah has an unwavering belief in the process of birth, no matter how it unfolds. “Our society bombards us with such negative images of birth, it has been such a blessing for me to be able to tell someone, ‘I know you can do this.’ and see them do something they never thought they could.” Sarah has been teaching with Manhattan Birth for 3 years, lives in Inwood and supports births in hospitals, birthing centers and at home in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and parts of New Jersey.

Emilie Rodriguez is a DONA trained birth doula (via Rina Crane) and a Birth Mama trained holistic postpartum doula (via Mama Ma’at) that addresses mothers' nutritional, physical, emotional, and spiritual well being. She believes every woman should have the birth she desires, the information needed to see it come to fruition, and be an advocate for herself and her family. She believes that giving birth is one of the most sacred, yet normal, experiences in a woman's life and I want to help women/birthing people stand in that power. She takes a holistic approach to help get them to the other side of the mountain we know as birth, using plant based medicine, aromatherapy, low guttural vocalization, rebozo, counter pressure, guided meditation, breath, etc. depending on the needs of the birthing person. Her interests first started in medicine where she worked as a veterinary technician for years before becoming interested in the influences of culture on women's bodies. She received her BA in Medical Anthropology from the City College of New York, with a focus on reproductive health in the United States. She did her first ethnography on doula work in Brooklyn, shadowing Chanel Porchia from Ancient Song Doula Services, and then another exploring birth experiences in the US and abroad. She was also a Colin Powell Fellow for Health Justice, advocating with Health Leads in Harlem Hospital's OB/GYN Unit to give low-income families access to resources they needed to stay healthy, as well as writing health policy to advance equality and civil rights at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. Emilie always knew she wanted to work with women and children, but did not know in what capacity. It wasn't until she experienced labor and childbirth myself when giving birth to her son at home that she realized how transformative and empowering it could be.

Yiska Obadia-Gedal is a NY State licensed acupuncturist, prenatal and therapeutic massage therapist and birth doula. As a massage therapist since 1995 and friend, she attended her first birth in 2001. Awed by the power and beauty of that experience, she attended a doula training program to learn more about the ways she could support mothers and families in the birth process. ​ Bringing together her various skill sets has been an integrative experience, enabling Yiska to serve her clients in a variety of ways, inside and outside of birth. Most recently she has been teaching other doulas and partners how to provide the kind of comforting touch she uses during birth to make birthing women feel most deeply supported and soothed.

Jenny Langbehn is a Certified Advanced Holistic Doula, Lactation Counselor (CLC), Childbirth Educator (Lamaze), Midwifery Assistant ( The Farm Midwives in Tennessee), and Certified Prenatal Yoga Instructor. Jenny supports home, birth center, and hospital birth. Her particular passion is supporting New York City families in a complex- and often overwhelming- hospital system. Meanwhile, she's in school on track to Midwifery, and is honored to be a part of the Manhattan Birth community. Jenny is the (very) proud mother of a certain redheaded boy named Robby, born unexpectedly at 29 weeks. Robby escaped his "life pod" after 10 weeks in the NICU, and has amazed his mother ever since.

Maggie Rosenfeld is a birth doula in Westchester County who provides services in the Tri-State Area. She completed her DONA training and is working toward her certification. For years she has served people as a mental health counselor, crisis counselor, and organizational psychologist. Maggie views life as an ongoing opportunity to express her strengths, creativity and passion through her work. Her desire to use her hands and build intimate relationships has led her to the birth world. She comes from a large family with six adopted siblings and Maggie being the seventh is the youngest. This upbringing allows for a celebration of the diversity each family holds in her eyes. ​She supports women and their families through the birth journey whether at home, in a birth center or a hospital. Maggie values building lasting bonds with families and supporting them as they make informed and instinctive decisions during pregnancy, birth and postpartum care.

Working with women in labor and the birth of her son in 2005 inspired Annette Perel to focus her studies towards becoming a midwife. Growing up bilingual in two different cultures, New York and Panama City, Annette draws from a time-honored tradition in which supporting women is an integral part of community life. Annette has a great enthusiasm for babywearing and Diaper Free Infant Hygiene (“Elimination Communication”). She has a respect for and interest in exploring different parenting styles and traditions. Annette is honored to be a new parent mentor helping new moms and dads make the transition confidently into parenthood.

Grace Veras Sealy is a birth and postpartum doula, and a certified lactation counselor. She offers labor and birth services for home births, birthing center, hospital births, and planned cesareans. Her aim as a birth doula is to support parents in labor and birth so that when they look back on the moment can remember that they felt strong, knowledgeable, respected and joyous. By providing postpartum services she offers continuity of care after the birth and early breastfeeding support. Her approach to postpartum doula care is hinged on helping to building the new parents' confidence while providing practical support to them and their new baby. ​Grace lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters.

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