COURTNEY BYERS, PLACENTA ENCAPSULATION SPECIALIST, DOULA
Courtney Byers is a labor and postpartum doula as well as a placenta encapsulation specialist. The births of her own two daughters (one in Pennsylvania and the other in Vermont) and the continued journey of parenthood inspired her to enter the world of birth workers. She began by leading La Leche League meetings and supporting mothers as they breastfed their babies and toddlers. In 2013, she completed training as a placenta encapsulation specialist. Following her training has a labor and postpartum doula, she began attending births in 2015. Foundational to her work with birthing families is her spirit of calm, non-judgmental support and belief in the transformative nature of birth and the postpartum journey. For Courtney, she sees too many families go through this powerful transition without the full support they need to thrive. She believes now is the time to create a culture of nourishment, sacredness, and care surrounding birth and babies.
Courtney lives with her husband, two daughters, cats, and ducks on their family homestead in midcoast Maine.
To contact Courtney about placenta encapsulation services you can reach her at courtneylbyers@gmail.com or text/call her at (207)205-2515.
LeAnne Dunham, Certified Doula, Childbirth Educator
LeAnne is the owner of Adventure Awaits Birth Services, is a certified doula, midwife's assistant, and childbirth educator. She has been a doula since 2017, supporting birthing families through their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journeys. Underlying LeAnne's work is an emphasis on empowering people through education and community connections.
At Holly No. 7 Birth Center, LeAnne teaches childbirth education and big sibling classes several times throughout the year.
She lives in Columbia, Maine with her partner, four adventurous boys, and a sweet old dog. She loves to cook, garden, and homeschool. When not at home, she can be found exploring the woods and waters of Downeast Maine!
Connect with LeAnne through her Instagram or Facebook page(@adventureawaitsbirthservices), or by email: doulaleanne7@gmail.com
Elana Beal, Birth Photographer, Doula
Elana Beal is a DONA-trained doula and fine art photographer specializing in photographing home births, birth center births, and hospital births in Downeast, Maine.
Her goal is to capture the whole story and raw beauty of birth in every form. Her mission is to document all the small details of your your birth journey. She takes the “fly-on-the-wall” approach, and is a silent support person in your birthing sphere.
Connect with Elana on her website birthingdowneast.com and on Instagram and Facebook
Angela Laferriere, Birth Photographer, Doula
Angela, owner of MyMaine Photo and MyMaine Birth, is a certified birth photographer, podcast host, childbirth educator, and experienced doula based out of Old Town, Maine. Utilizing her profound passion for the art of storytelling through imagery, combined with a deep understanding of the birthing process, she artistically documents each emotion, connection, and milestone throughout labor and birth. She is committed to delivering a collection of photographs that will become cherished heirlooms, allowing you to relive the beauty and significance of your child’s birth for generations to come.
As a mama of 3, she understands that birth is a sacred journey, and is honored to bear witness with sensitivity and discretion, she navigates the birth space with utmost respect, seamlessly blending into the background while capturing every fleeting moment of joy, strength, vulnerability and connection.
You can connect with Angela by phone (207) 401-8329 or on her website www.mymainephoto.com.
You can also listen to her weekly podcast MyMaine Birth wherever you normally stream podcasts or right here www.mymainephoto.com/mymainebirth
RACHAEL HOLLINGER, POSTPARTUM DOULA AND CHEF
Rachael received her associate degree in culinary arts from Kendall College in Chicago IL and since that time has worked with food through avenues such as personal chef work, private parties, restaurant work, and recipe development for restaurants and cookbooks. Since having children of her own, Rachael became a certified postpartum professional with Newborn Mothers Collective Postpartum Training, a program with heavy focus on food as medicine, and women’s brain science. She has self-studied nutrition and Ayurveda medicine giving her a full picture of food as medicine, and has been blending the world of food and mother care in this capacity for over six years.
Rachael works with all kinds of mothers and birthing people to achieve a more peaceful postpartum through food, breast/bottle feeding support, sleep solutions, massage, herbal care, birth processing, and much more.
In addition to working with her clients, Rachael teaches online, and in person workshops, writes and speaks about mother-care, facilitates mothers support groups and gatherings, and is the author of the E-Cookbook NOURIS(her) : using food to heal the new mother.
Rachael is the co-founder of The Pause: hosting elevated yet grounded retreats for the creative mother.
She lives a happy, cozy life in Midcoast Maine with her husband and two children.
Connect with Rachael on her website, Nouris(her): www.nourisherdoula.com or instagram: @nourisherdoula