Angela Bailey, CLD, CPD, CBC, CBEd Trainee As a doula and childbirth educator, I accompany women in the prenatal, labor, and postpartum progressions to help ensure a safe and satisfying birth experience. Each family has different needs and desires, and you (the mother) determine my role. I have called South Florida home for 12 years, though I was born in Central Pennsylvania. My husband and I met in his birth state of New Jersey where we lived for a couple of years. We have 3 wonderful children, each birthed in various settings; two in the hospital attended by OBs, and one at home, in water, attended by a midwife.

My mother path and my life path have led me to the doula and birth educator path. It is a calling that I enjoy answering immensely.

I am a Proud Member of Birth Network National (BNN,) Florida Friends of Midwives, International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN,) and a Member of the Expert Community on Breastfeeding.com.

My qualifications are as follows:

• Saint Leo University
  Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts Degree
• Gentle Birth Choices in a high Tech World by Barbara Harper RN
  Certificate of Attendance
  Barbara Harper is the Founder of Waterbirth International, the Author of Gentle Birth Choices (2005,) producer of Gentle Birth Choices & Birth Into Being video
• Childbirth International
  Training for Labor/Postpartum Doula & Breastfeeding Counselor Certification
• Birth Arts
  Training for Childbirth Educator Certification
• Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University
  Trained in the Standard Days Fertility Method® (SDM) and CycleBeads®
  Natural Family Planning
• The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp
  Certificate of Attendance
  Happiest Baby and Happiest Toddler Professional Development
  Dr. Harvey Karp is a nationally renowned pediatrician and child development specialist. He is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the UCLA School of Medicine. He discovered "the newborn calming reflex" and "Toddler-ese."
• American Heart Association
  BLS CPR Certified
  CPR and AED for the Adult & Child
  CPR for the Infant
  Rescuing the Choking Adult, Child & Infant
  

I offer antepartum doula care to women who are on bed rest or having difficult pregnancies, and birth doula care to women who plan to birth at home, in a hospital, or in a birth center setting. I also offer postpartum doula care for as long as you would like me to care for you and your family. I will soon offer private childbirth education classes that are convenient for your schedule.

My philosophy of childbirth is that it is a normal, healthy, and natural state of being and life experience - not an illness or medical condition. When a woman is comfortable and feels safe, relaxed, and secure, her wise body will respond favorably. Birth is a biological function like breathing lungs and blinking eyes. Women have safely birthed for centuries with the support of other women.

Most women have normal, low-risk pregnancies and births that do not require intervention. When medical support is appropriate for the mother, I will be there to reassure her that her birth is equally special. I attend women with various needs including those who are choosing hospital vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC,) home birth after cesarean (HBAC,) as well as those who will require cesareans.

My goal is to offer a safe, sacred relationship and honor your journey.

The mother's birth partner, or the father, is an integral part of the circle who can give valuable support. The partner is encouraged to participate as much as he or she is comfortable doing, and I can offer ideas and examples for him or her. Dads and birth partners benefit from doulas too!

I am an independent doula. As your doula, I work for you - not your caregiver or the hospital. I believe that you are in charge of your own birth and that I am the invited guest. I am there to serve you to help you have the type of birth you have envisioned for yourself.