Nervous-System-Informed Birth Doula and Childbirth Educator. Pronouns: She/her
Read testimonials from past clients here
Check out Jeanelle's class offerings:
Embracing Childbirth (group prenatal class) Private Prenatal Classes (customized prenatal education) |
I am a settler on Treaty 6 territory, Amiskwaciwâskahikan. I appreciate the beautiful lands that I practice on that First Nations people cared for and continue to care for.
Working with birth is a constant source of inspiration for me. I began my journey back in 2016 shortly after I birthed my first child and have served nearly 100 families in preparing for birth & through the birth experience. What started as an additional hobby quickly became one of my life’s biggest passions - I am so lucky to call birth work a career and to be doing what I love! I am a mother of two incredible kids, and I am also a loss parent having lost two of my pregnancies. While pregnancy loss was easily one of the most traumatic experiences of my life, it has shaped me as a doula, a parent and a human being and I see my experiences with grief as tremendous periods of growth. As a doula and childbirth educator, I come across many parents who have suffered in the same ways as me, and while I wish so deeply that people could be spared from this type of pain, I’ve found solace in knowing that I/we are not alone. A part of what makes me special as a birth worker is my compassion and empathy for those who are pregnant after a loss, and I strive to continually give back to the community by grounding, holding space and educating clients about loss and grief around pregnancy. While I do believe that the births of my children unfolded in the most divinely appropriate way, they were not the births that I had envisioned. Both my daughter and my son came into this world via unplanned cesarean, after dreaming of very physiological birth experiences without the use of western medicine. I struggled with birth trauma/postpartum grief due to the extreme disappointment I had from not getting my dream vbac. Fortunately, I have been able to draw from these lived experiences to support parents who need to grieve the loss of the birth they hoped for. I am a huge fan of VBAC births and preparing people for them, but I also thrive in helping families heal from grief that stems from their birth experiences. I believe in advocating for and ensuring informed consent takes place at every birth I attend. I strive to facilitate healthy boundary setting and lines of communication between birthing people and the care providers they seek out, with the overall goal of shifting the power dynamic away from the medical industrial complex and into the hands of those using their body to give birth. I am a nervous-system-informed doula having studied under local trauma expert Jennifer Summerfeldt in her program Sacred Storykeeper. I have a great understanding of the nervous system’s responses to birth and how to assist in grounding the system in environments of threat. I am a social justice enthusiast and am constantly working to be a safe ally for expecting parents in the BIPGM and 2SLGBTQIA communities. I am neurodivergent (ADHD), which I see as a superpower and a gift that I am constantly working to hone. I ran my own podcast for two years and it was all about birth, dance and feminism. It was a very inspirational experience - catch all the episodes here. Along with being a doula I am also a dancer, and when I am not supporting families I am pole dancing, teaching pole or performing pole/burlesque numbers around our city! I am incredibly honoured to be able to maintain the sacred practice of holding space for birthing people. |
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