About Michelle
.jpg)
Hi there! I'm Michelle, aka "Mama, Wife and Birth Advocate". I have 3 wonderful kids and a sweetheart for a husband. I naturally found my passion for pregnancy and birth during my own first pregnancy in 2004 when I began teaching prenatal yoga in a little maternity store in Jacksonville Beach. From that point on, I was hooked! My love of all things birth-related continued to grow with each of my three unmedicated, natural births... one hospital birth, one birth center birth & one homebirth. My birth experiences helped shape my life as I realized how empowering and life-changing birth can be for women. Because of this, I love supporting families and helping women achieve the birth they desire by assisting as their Doula, through Prenatal Yoga and with Hypnobabies and other Childbirth classes.
Peace & Blessings!
Michelle
Pregnancy & Birth Education/Certifications:
• Certified Prenatal Yoga Instructor, Discovery Yoga of St. Augustine, 2004
• Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth 12-Week Course, 2004
• Began working as a Birth Doula, 2009
• HypnoBirthing 5-Week Course, 2010
• DONA trained Birth Doula, 2011
• DONA Breastfeeding Workshop, 2011
• Certified Hypnobabies Childbirth Hypno-Doula, 2016
• Certified Hypnobabies Childbirth Instructor, 2016
• Hypnobabies 50-hr. Hypnosis Course, 2016
• Hypnobabies Power of Birth Language Course, 2016
• Hypnobabies Becoming Dad Certification Course, 2016
• Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) Provider, 2016
• Spinning Babies 2-Day Workshop (with Creator, Gail Tully in North Carolina), 2016
• PPD and Perinatal Mental Health 1-Day Workshop, 2017
• Evidence Based Birth course "Due Dates and Advanced Maternal Age", 2017
• Certified Lactation Counselor, Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice 2018
• Completed the "Prenatal Physical Health & Labor Prep" course 2019
• Part-Time Birth Doula 2009-2016
• Full-Time Birth Doula & Childbirth Educator, 2016 - Present
Health & Wellness Education/Certifications:
• Certified AFAA Personal Trainer, 1995
• Certified AFAA Group Exercise Instructor, 1995
• Experience teaching - Yoga, Spin, Step, Strength, Core, Kickboxing, Bootcamp & Water Exercise
• Bachelors Degree in Health Science & Exercise Science, University of North Florida, 1997
• Masters Degree in Health Promotion and Health Education, University of North Florida, 1999
• Director of Country Club Fitness Center, 2001-2002
• Certified Yoga Fit Instructor, 2004
• Adjunct Health Professor, Florida State College Jacksonville & the University of North Florida, 2003-2016
Personal Experience
• 3 Natural Births - one homebirth, one birth center birth & one hospital birth
• Breastfeeding - 10 years experience (Nursing each child 2.5-3.5 years)
• Baby Wearing - experience with slings, wraps & soft-structured carriers
• La Leche League Member (Breastfeeding Support Group) - 10 years
• Member of many online local Natural Birthing & Parenting Groups
• Cloth Diapering - 10 years experience
• Experience with Homeschool & Waldorf Education
• Experience with Safe Bed-Sharing/Co-Sleeping
• Experience with Attachment Parenting, API
• Pregnancy Loss - 3 miscarriages
• DCIS/Early Breast Cancer Survivor with Double Mastectomy & Reconstruction
Here are a few of my birth pictures...
