Becoming a mother changed me in ways I never could have imagined. Each of my three births was its own kind of awakening — beautiful, raw, and completely life-altering. But it was the season that followed that left the deepest mark on me. After my babies were born, I walked through postpartum depression. It was heavy and lonely, even though I was surrounded by people who loved me. What I needed most in that time wasn’t advice or solutions — it was presence, understanding, and someone to remind me that I wasn’t broken.

That experience is what first led me into postpartum work. I wanted to be that calm, grounding presence for other mothers — to offer what I had longed for myself. Over time, I began to see how birth and postpartum are inseparable. The way a person is supported in birth ripples forward into how they experience early motherhood. That realization drew me toward birth work, where I could walk alongside families from the very beginning.

As I lean into the birth side of my doula path, my focus remains the same: community, compassion, and connection. I believe that birth is not something to be managed — it’s something to be honored. Every person deserves a birth experience where they feel seen, safe, and empowered.
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My hope is to help parents enter postpartum not just surviving, but deeply supported — surrounded by people who remind them that they already have what they need within themselves. That’s what I love about Athens Born: we’re a community that believes in authentic care, shared wisdom, and walking with families through the most transformative season of their lives.

​ Hi, I’m Erin! I grew up in Decatur, GA, attended UGA as an undergraduate, moved to Pittsburgh, PA for graduate school, and ultimately found my way back to Athens in 2019.
My background in student-facing roles, including academic advising and career consulting, taught me how to be an empathetic coach dedicated to helping people reach their goals and navigate major life changes. After the birth of my son in September 2024, that passion shifted directly to supporting growing families in the Athens community. 
As a queer, nonbinary person, my journey to parenthood was incredibly intentional. After months of research and planning, I became pregnant with our son. Embracing my identity as a masculine-presenting nonbinary person, I never anticipated carrying a child. I was a little worried that pregnancy might bring up issues with gender dysphoria, but it gave me an even deeper understanding and love for who I am.

While I was pregnant, I became obsessed with research: What size is the baby? What parts are developing? What is birth going to be like? My wife and I didn’t know anyone with babies, so every experience was new to us. This led to an interest in birth work, and by the time my son was born, I knew becoming a doula was the right path for me.
Although my experiences with providers were generally very positive, my wife and I never encountered anyone connected to my pregnancy who told us they were a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. We found ourselves explaining basic details to every new person we met: how the baby was conceived, that we didn’t need to discuss breastfeeding after my top surgery, and how people should refer to me or us as parents. I felt a weird contrast between the diverse Athens parenting community and the support the healthcare landscape offered.

As soon as our baby was sleeping through the night, I knew it was time to start filling that gap. I would have benefited greatly from having someone who knew what I was experiencing—someone who understood my options, what questions to ask, how to make a birth plan, and how to advocate for myself. As a "do it yourself" person, I decided I could be part of the solution. I have loved the certification process and am beyond excited to start the hands-on work of serving the Athens community as a labor doula.
Outside of this passion and my full-time career, I spend most of my time at home with my wife, our one-year-old, our cats, and our chickens. I am an avid crocheter and hope to become a great home cook someday.

I am thrilled to get started with AthensBorn. Every family deserves enthusiastic, respectful support throughout their pregnancy and birth, and I am grateful for the chance to provide it.
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All my best, 
Erin 

My path to becoming a doula has been long and winding, and so therefore this blog is as well. For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by birth. On a typical afternoon in my Middle School years, you’d find me engrossed in watching “A Baby Story” on TLC and celebrating with those TV families as they welcomed their babies into the world. I was obviously a super cool pre-teen. 

When I became pregnant with my first child in 2015, I was thrilled, but also overwhelmed and sort of lonely. I was the first person in my immediate family or my group of close friends to have a baby, and it was isolating to not have anyone to talk to who really understood what pregnancy was like. I wasn’t plugged into the parenting community in Athens yet either, and I didn’t know where to go or who to ask (or what to ask) to find resources for pregnancy and parenting. I also didn’t know about doulas! My first pregnancy was hard, and my daughter’s birth was not at all what I had envisioned it to be. It wasn’t until 2.5 years later, when I was pregnant with my second child, that I discovered the existence of doulas. I distinctly remember going to a pregnancy and parenting resource fair at ReBlossom and meeting several lovely doulas and thinking “Oh my gosh, this is a thing?!” My husband and I immediately knew we wanted to have a doula with us at our second birth (a VBAC), and I truly believe it made all the difference in the world to have her there supporting us.

After my second pregnancy, I began feeling a powerful draw to birth work. I discovered a whole community of providers who supported me in various ways during my pregnancy and postpartum journeys. I knew in my heart that this was where I fit and that these were “my people,” and I wanted to use my experiences to help other parents the way they had helped me. It quickly became clear that my heart was being called to become a doula, but it was still a few more years before I officially began my doula certification coursework. During the time between the birth of my second and third child, I helped start Athens Parent Wellbeing, a local nonprofit that strives to create programs that support and improve the mental health and wellbeing of parents in the Athens area. This felt like a natural stepping stone on my path, because I wanted to help ensure that other parents didn’t have the same isolating experience that I had during my first pregnancy, and I wanted to help build that “village” for parents that everyone talks about, but seems so hard to find in our culture.

My interests in pregnancy and birth continued to call to me though, and about a year after my third baby was born, I was honored to serve as the doula for my sister as she welcomed my darling nephew into the world. After that, I was hooked. All the pieces started falling into place, and I began to see how all the experiences through my life and through my parenting journey had led me to that point. I feel strongly that parents need extra support and care during the big transition of welcoming a baby into the world, whether it’s their first time or their sixth time. When they have that support network, the parents’ mental health is better, and the whole family is better too. Parenting isn’t always easy, but no one should feel alone on their journey. As a doula, I want to walk with you, support you, and be part of your village. Helping to support and encourage people as they navigate their individual paths to welcoming their babies brings me such profound joy. Birth is one of the most powerful, awe-inspiring experiences in existence, and it is truly an honor to care for and support families during this sacred, vulnerable, intimate time. As a doula, I strive to nurture a nonjudgmental space where I can help educate parents, connect them to resources, empathize with them, help them welcome their babies into the world, and help them process their birth experiences. And of course, laugh with them, because it’s imperative to have a sense of humor when you’re a parent!

When I’m not nerding out about birth and mental health, I enjoy spending time outside in nature as often as I can. I love hiking, exploring historic sites, splashing in creeks, swimming, water skiing, and gardening. My favorite food groups are coffee, wine, dark chocolate, and popcorn. 

My family is my world. My husband and I met in Athens in the early 2000’s when we were both in the Redcoat Marching Band at UGA, and we enjoy raising our family in the Athens area. We have three daughters, ages 8, 5, and 2. I’m an animal lover, and my husband has jokingly forbidden me from ever fostering puppies again because we are known to be “foster failures.” I enjoy reading, especially historical fiction and mystery novels, and my favorite podcasts are birth stories.

If you’d like to chat, I’d love to hear from you!

I have always known that my calling in life was to help people, but I was not sure how until I discovered what a doula was. Since then, it has been my desire to guide people through birth and postpartum.

My experience as a nanny has been profound in developing my skills as a doula and is the reason I became so passionate about birthwork. My favorite thing about being a nanny is forming deep connections with families, and I strive to do the same as a doula. Throughout my years of working with parents, I had the honor of listening to their birth stories. Hearing them made me realize how truly incredible birth is. I carry their stories in my heart because they have taught me so much and inspired me to work toward becoming a doula.

I know the thought of giving birth can sometimes feel overwhelming and even scary. However, that is why I am here. My goal is to provide evidence-based care to help you feel empowered, educated, and supported throughout your entire reproductive journey. I never want a lack of knowledge or support to be a source of stress when you are giving birth. I am here to listen to you with an understanding heart and provide a safe, compassionate space for all. Most importantly, I want to honor your birthing experience in whatever way feels comfortable for you.

When I am not obsessing over birth, you can find me spending time with my wonderful family or my adorable puppy. I love to read fantasy books, paint, and go on nature walks. A big dream of mine is to travel to other countries and explore the world. I am excited to begin my work as a doula and make an impact! It would be such an honor to be able to support you through this amazing life transition.

Wishing you all the best,
Haley

AthensBorn is thrilled to welcome our newest apprentice to the team! Grace is going to be an amazing doula, and we can't wait for her to start working with Athens families. Here's a little more about her, written in her own words, and shared with you all :)

​My journey to birthwork started when I found myself pregnant at 18. While I had family support, I still felt wildly out of place and alone. I stumbled through pregnancy, second guessing every decision I made, feeling burdened by a lack of resources for parents like me, and ashamed of my lack of preparation.  Everything about the ordeal felt gendered and inauthentic to my experience as a queer teen, but I wasn't yet able to articulate why.  With six years of perspective, I now see how expectation was at the root of my experience in pregnancy- the expectation that my experience would line up with that of all other mothers, and if it didn't, my experience wasn't valid. Now, as a doula, I strive to hold space for people without expectation or judgement.  Grace is always my birth philosophy (no pun intended!)- grace for the birthing person, for the life entering the world, for the partner(s) supporting.  Grace for the process of birth itself, in all its unpredictably wondrous, precarious ways.  In this grace, I hope my clients feel the space to create the birth experience they desire.  I see pregnancy and birth as a metamorphosis into parenthood.  It is my job as your doula to assist in this with support and resources while you direct the transition in the way that best honors you.

    Another part of my path into doulaing is my recovery from substance abuse and bipolar disorder.  These experiences give me a passion for advocating for parents who are in the position I once was: parents who must put their own needs before their children’s in order to show up for them. I believe few truly understand this paradox and strive to offer support and space to parents in that position.  My experience inspired me to get training specifically for birthing people who use drugs or are in recovery from drug misuse.  

When I'm not geeking out over birth, you can find me curled up with my cats and my cards; tarot is my other passion. I look forward to incorporating tarot into my birthwork and helping parents ground themselves through this transition into parenthood. I love really trashy reality tv (particularly early 2000’s celebrity dating shows :), and hate vegetables.  I’m happiest when I’m taking walks with my daughter and the sun through the leaves makes the trees look like stained glass windows.  My skin crawls at the thought of cleaning but fresh sheets are ecstasy.  I’m mostly just a quirky human who is insanely passionate about reproductive health and eager to start a career as a doula! I am so extremely humbled and grateful to do this work now.  It's a privilege to help you create and hold the space around your birth.  I hope in reading this you have a better idea of who I am, but mostly I hope you feel inspired to hold space for yourself and your loved ones throughout your pregnancy and birth.  

With love and grace,

Grace 

There's a lot of information available on how breastfeeding can act as birth control in the early postpartum weeks and months. But, what about parents who are ready to get pregnant again, but still have a nursling? For these parents, the delay in return of fertility can be frustrating...but, they may also struggle with the idea of weaning their little one. But, it doesn't always have to be one or the other. There are strategies that can help bring on the return of ovulation without completely weaning. Lots of great info on this in the book below...

"Adventures in Tandem Nursing: Breastfeeding During Pregnancy and Beyond" by Hilary Flowers.

Other parents may feel that the time is right to say good-bye to nursing. For these parents, we offer support and information on how they can create a weaning process that is gentle on their bodies and their hearts. There are lots of different tips and tricks available! 

kellymom.com/ages/older-infant/ttc-while-bf/

Let us know if you have any questions! And, if you've successfully nursed through pregnancy, tandem nursed, or weaned your kiddo, we'd love to hear about your experience! 

We're often asked what it means to be a doula. It's such a wildly varying experience every day, it's hard to put into words. But, we've tried to express what life is like for us over here at AthensBorn.

We hold hands and rub shoulders.
We whisper in ears and cheer loudly for milestones.
We teach and we learn.
We give back to our community.
We’re activists, we listen, we support, we protest, we vote.
We’re small business owners. We work from home, from coffee shops, in waiting rooms, our cars, wherever we find the minutes.  
We miss special occasions.
We leave our homes in the quiet of night.
We witness birth in awe. Every time.
We marvel at the strength of people.
We celebrate with our clients.
We grieve with them, too.
We make mistakes. We hate that. But, we’re learning to forgive ourselves.
We’re nerds. We love science and research and learning new things.
We talk loudly about placentas in public places. Oops.
We laugh together. Really hard. Like shushed in the library kind of hard.
We still get excited every time we're hired.
We meet the very best people and feel so grateful for it.

We know how lucky we are to be living this doula life. Thank you to our AthensBorn Families for making it possible. We love  you all!