Meet Lauren
Hi there! I’m Lauren, a mother of two and passionate advocate for helping moms navigate their journey into motherhood.
I care deeply about supporting moms as they uncover and unlock their inner intuition, and I know just how hard that can be in our isolated culture where moms are celebrated and idolized while pregnant, then almost immediately ignored once the baby comes. New moms are left to figure out this season of life by themselves, both physically (stuck in their homes alone with a new baby!) and metaphorically (stuck in their minds, wondering if they’re doing anything right, ever!)
I’m a huge believer in bringing back the village for new moms and families. We all deserve a network of people who have our backs, and I’d love to be a part of yours.
A few more things about me:
I take this work seriously.
I’m a ToLabor professionally trained birth doula and am working toward becoming a Birth Arts International professionally trained postpartum doula. I live in Richmond, Virginia, and find immense joy in giving back to my community.
Supporting new moms as they figure out how to reconcile their pre-baby and post-baby identities, especially when it comes to their external professional lives, is one of my biggest motivators.
After the birth of my first child, I realized my values had changed so much, my job was no longer a fit for me, or my family. This is a more common situation than we think, and it’s one I’m uniquely situated to support in my postpartum care work.
I was a founding member of an employee resource group dedicated to the parents & caregivers of a Fortune 100 company. Along with a crew of other dedicated folks, I helped connect parents with valuable resources, workshops and events designed to equip them with helpful tools. Some of these included: lactation workshops for working moms; monthly parenting support circles; seminars with parenting specialists on how to stay grounded and connected to your kids; and more.
I have personal experience with pregnancy loss and traumatic birth PTSD.
In between my first and second children, I experienced three miscarriages. I deeply understand how confusing and painful these moments can be, especially in a society that doesn’t make space or room for this kind of grief. (I even tried to go back to work the day after my first miscarriage.)
Due to COVID, I ended up giving birth to my second child without my partner. My son was then admitted to the NICU, where I experienced the hardest two weeks of my life.
Following this experience, I was completely isolated for nearly 4 months–at home with a new baby and a three-year-old. I 100% get what it feels like to feel alone, confused, enraged and alone, while simultaneously feeling the awe-inducing magic of caring for your babies.
I’m a writer at heart and believe stories are one of the strongest medicines we have available to us.
As a way to process my grief, I wrote a poetry collection chronicling my own matrescence journey, donating all proceeds to postpartum support organizations.
I’m on a lifelong journey to actively deconstruct internalized systems of oppression.
We give birth to, and mother in, a racist, patriarchal and capitalist culture that is deeply entrenched in violent structures and harmful narratives that our lives can be better if only we try harder. I believe strongly in understanding how the systems outside of our control affect our day-to-day lives and view my work through a liberation and decolonization-focused lens. I believe building communities that prioritize the wellbeing of ALL mothers is an important step in creating much-needed equity.
