Congratulations on your pregnancy!
Welcome to your journey toward new life. I am so happy that you have been lead to my website and I hope that I can support you in having a respectful and empowered birth experience.
Doula Support
Childbirth and breastfeeding are as old as womankind. The practice of giving birth to a baby with support of a knowledgeable, committed companion, and an adequate amount of preparatory education allows the mother to remain conscious during and assist in the delivery of her child. The benefits of breastmilk are physical, emotional, and economical. Research supports that breastmilk is the most appropriate nourishment for most infants. Breastfeeding also holds great benefits for the mother both physically and emotionally.
Marlee-I Mystic attended her first birth at 12 years old and has been fascinated with the process of bringing life into this world ever since. She has attended births in hospitals, birthing centers and homes. After the successful home birth of her second child, Marlee-I received training as a doula in order to help other mothers feel empowered by their birth experience. As a doula Marlee-I provides emotional, informational, and physical support before, during and after birth for birthing people and their partners. She assist clients in creating birth plans, provides preparation for breastfeeding, prepares families for childbirth, and offers full spectrum doula services to expectant families.
My Doula Philosophy:
Every birth should be attentive, empowering, informative, respectful and full of care.
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Free Your Voice
Fuel Your Spirit
Feel Your Body
Focus Your Mind
Faith in Your Divinity
My Doula Roots
The first birth I attended was very unconventional. The client was a 26 year old black female delivering her second baby. Her water broke Wednesday, and the doctors sent her home because she hadn’t fully dilated. They were not concerned about infection or anything. Just sent her home with a broken water bag, not leaking, broken. This woman labored at home for three days, and on Friday February 5, 1982 at 11:35 am she gave birth to a healthy 8 pound 13 ounce 21 inch long baby girl. A baby whose lungs were so strong she got kicked out of the baby ward. That baby was me.
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I found it important to share my birth story because our entry into the world can make a huge impact on who we become. I am still using my voice to move from among the masses. I go against the grain but with the flow, just as my mother’s labor with me.
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I was 12 years old when I attended my first birth. It was an amazing experience and convinced me that I wanted to work with mothers and their babies. As I grew up the youngest in my family I was able to attend the births of my nieces and nephews, cousins, and community members. I provided these families with birth support and postpartum care. At that time I had no idea that there was a profession called “doula”. I just knew I loved to help families welcome and care for new life.
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After the hospital birth of my eldest daughter I felt so rushed, invisible and degraded. The staff did not show respect for my understanding of my body, my knowledge of birth, nor my hopes and desires. I never wanted to repeat that fight for respect, especially during labor and delivery. So when I got pregnant with my 2nd child I searched for an alternative to a hospital birth and was lucky to find a birth center. Here I was assigned a doula, received valuable information, and exceptional, respectful care. This support and love lead me through a very trying 3rd trimester and a transformative birth, culminating in a home birth at my doulas house, on a full moon. My healthy baby girl was born in the caul (with water bag in tact) surrounded by the people we love.
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The stark difference between my two birth experiences is a reflection of what support and respectful care can do. With this new experience of birth, I knew that it was time to return to my roots and support families in bringing forth new life.
Since 2012 I have been a trained full spectrum doula, providing support for families in hospitals, birth centers, and home births.
