Ridge Meadows Doula Services is a team of birth professionals that offer Birth and Postpartum Doula Support, Childbirth Education and Placenta Encapsulation. We all strongly believe that families should experience birth feeling educated and informed. Our team consists of DONA International and Wise Woman Way of Birth trained doulas, and we provide service from Chilliwack to Vancouver and all over the lower mainland.
Our Doula Collective contains 2 birth doulas, as well as two postpartum doulas and a few on maternity leave! We operate using an on-call schedule, similar to that of midwives and obstetricians. This system allows for a well-rested doula 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for your birth. We each have a vast array of experiences and specialty training which we share among the Collective to broaden our overall scope of tricks and tools.
NICOLE CHAMBERS – Local Team Birth and Postpartum Doula, Placenta Encapsulation Specialist, Childbirth Educator and the original doula and owner of Ridge Meadows Doula Services.
Since 2000, Nicole has experience in Early Childhood and Infant and Toddler Education working with children from age 6 weeks+. She then decided to take a step further and train to be Doula. In 2012 she completed her DONA (Doulas of North America) International Birth Doula course at Douglas College and in 2013 I took the DONA international Postpartum Doula course at Douglas College. In 2013 Nicole trained under Full Circle Placenta as a Placenta Encapsulation Specialist, in 2014 trained at Intuitive Childbirth for Childbirth Education and 2015 trained at the Wise Woman Way of Birth Doula Training, Hypnobabies Doula Training in 2016 and StillBirthdays in 2017. in 2018 she has taken her pre/postnatal yoga training and became a La Leche League leader.
When she’s not working as a Doula she works one day a week at a non-profit agency teaching parenting classes and has a private counselling practice that focus’ on perinatal mental health, birth trauma/loss, parenting and play therapy for children. Nicole enjoys lakes, coffee, hiking, gardening, spending time with her family and playing volleyball.
TRACEY CAROLAN – Birth/ Postpartum Doula, breastfeeding 101 facilitator
Tracey is a mother to a spirited 5 year old boy she is a volunteer leader for La Leche League and has extensive knowledge on baby wearing and dealing with sleep challenges. Tracey‘s own mother was also a LLL leader passing on the love of supporting families through those early months. Experiencing her own difficult birth with her son Tracey has become a strong advocate for birthing the way you choose and she can usually be found talking about birth or breastfeeding with who ever will listen. Tracey is trained through Bebo Mia excited to join RMDS while supporting families through her love and passion for pregnancy, birth and babies.
ON MAT LEAVE ***JULIE EVANS – Local Team Birth Doula, Group Facilitator B.O.O.B.S Volunteer
Julie trained as a birth doula in 2012 at Douglas College through the DONA doula program and 2017 trained with Still Birthday as a bereavement doula. She is passionate and fascinated with birth. She believes birth is a natural process that should empower the birthing person. Her dedication to birth encourages her to use all her skills so our clients achieve THEIR optimal birth and ensure they had a voice and choices! Julie is a mother to 3 little ones (Where RMDS attended all her births as her birth doula!) and in her spare time she enjoys camping and running half marathons.
DAWN BEAVON NEUFELD – Birth Doula, Postpartum Doula, Belly Binding Expert, B.O.O.B.S Volunteer
Dawn is an IPPA postpartum doula and a Wise Woman Way of Birth and StillBirthdays doula. With experience in birth and all things postpartum, Dawn is a doula that can truly do it all. She has first-hand mothering experience with breastfeeding, cloth diapers, baby carriers and challenging sleep behaviours. Dawn has a great presence and is always reading and educating herself in hopes to train as a midwife one day soon. She is a strong birth advocate and positive force in the delivery room. Dawn is currently on maternity leave until 2019 taking care of her 2 little ones (Nicole was the doula for her second birth!)
KATIE WALSH – Administrator and B.O.O.B.S Volunteer
Katie Walsh has been working with children, with a specialty in infants and toddlers as an early childhood educator since 2006. She is passionate about birth, child development, breastfeeding and parenting.
Interventions Katie felt unnecessary during her first birth ultimately resulted in a cesarean. This amplified Katie’s passion for birth work and she trained as a birth doula through Wise Woman Way of Birth in 2015 while she was pregnant with her second. She hired RMDS and educated herself on all things homebirth. In January 2016 she birthed her second child at home with no interventions and felt overwhelmingly empowered with RMDS by her side.
Informed choice is the backbone of RMDS, and as Katie aligned with this and has so many strong qualities Nicole has been hounding her to join RMDS forever! Katie is proud to be Administrator for RMDS and will be helping with billing, scheduling and Facebook. Who knows, maybe Katie will be joining the birth doula team one day. Only time will tell.
Katie enjoys crafting, reading and spending quality time with friends and family.
Trisha Russell- Postpartum Doula
Trisha is a mother to 3 year old boy/girl twins and a 5 1/2 year old son. After having had her own difficulties on her breastfeeding journey, Trisha wanted to give back by helping others with their challenges. In March of 2019, Trisha trained with DONA International to become a postpartum doula & breastfeeding educator and in April 2019, she completed the Breastfeeding for Healthcare Professionals course through Douglas College. She has a very heartfelt interest in helping families bond and nurture one another. She has vast knowledge on breastfeeding & its’ issues, baby wearing, twin life,the chaos of parenting and the love through it all. In her spare time she can be found hiking with her dog Evie, doing yoga, or biking with her spouse and their kids.
Cassandra Alford- birth doula
has always had a strong drive to ask questions and make an informed choice for herself and her family so completing The Wise Women Way of Birth doula course was the perfect fit. She feels passionate about being an advocate and helping to support birthers to have the birth they envisioned.
Cassandra is a mother to three incredible boys, which means life consists of a lot of coffee and a lot of minecraft! Cassandra is an attachment parent, extended breastfeeder, co-sleeper, and baby wearing expert. She’s happy to help you on any of these topics at your prenatal visit. Cassandra has supported many new mothers and supported for many newborns.
Shayla Marcial- birth doula
Shayla is a certified Wise Woman Way of Birth Doula, as well as a certified Hatha/Prenatal Yoga teacher for Conscious and Sacred Birthing. She advocates for informed choice, protecting the birthing environment and strongly values the physiological birth process.
Key to her work is boosting confidence in the birther, supporting courage, and assisting with breath work. She believes that the essence of giving birth is through conscious relaxation, and surrendering to the journey of a rhythmic dance of sensations. Shayla is also experienced in various breastfeeding techniques, baby wearing and infant sleep patterns.
Shayla is a mother of two young daughters under the age of 5, whom she birthed in the comfort of her own home (RMDS supporting one of them). She achieved her goals of all natural home births with focus, education, support and choice. In her downtime she enjoys pilates, meditating, reading, and sunny lake days with her family.