Shannon from Sweet Stella’s Birth and Postpartum Doulas

05/25/2018

Welcome to Feature Friday!

Over the course of the summer, Mommy Connections will be interviewing a variety of local businesses. We would again like to thank Shannon for taking the time to help us with this process and for contributing to our virtual interview.

Shannon is a Doulas from Sweet Stella’s and this is the information she decided to share.

How do you help people?

I own Sweet Stella’s Birth and Postpartum Doulas, so we help parents transition through the phases of pregnancy, birth and postpartum. I specifically train and mentor doulas so they can thrive in their roles as emotional and physical support people!

What’s your favourite part about what you do?

Oh geez. I have many! First and foremost, I love seeing a family come together and thrive. It’s really incredible when you coach someone through birth and see them blossom in postpartum. It’s not always easy and it is many times emotional as I deal with things like postpartum mental health concerns, miscarriage and stillbirth; but knowing I’ve helped one person adjust and thrive in their role as a parent is incredible.

Secondly, I love training and mentoring! It’s so amazing to see someone really dig into the role of a doula and hone their skills so they can confidently help others. I love showing my students just how knowledgeable and strong they already are!

What are some of your hobbies?

I work out a lot, so I would say weight lifting and running. There’s really nothing that a loaded Barbell and some deadlifts can’t solve!

I also really love to write. I’ve been writing poetry since I was an angsty teenager and have returned to it over the past year as a means to process my thoughts and emotions.

What do you do to unwind after work?

My job as a doula and doula trainer is super non-traditional – no set work hours and oncall a lot of the time. So when I unwind, I like to go to the gym, for a run, yoga, journaling, and singing! Yes, I sing! It might be in the shower or my kitchen, but it’s a great release!

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Oh gosh. I’ll be 40! That’s a tough question because I really like to stay in the present moment and soak it all up, but in five years I would love to have the flexibility to travel more. There is so much out there to see and experience, and so many more people to mentor in their roles!

Is there anything else you would like to say?

There are so many incredible, beautiful, emotional things that I’ve been able to witness in my role as a doula. Families being built, thriving, growing, grieving, healing. It continues to be an amazing journey for me and I’m so fortunate to be now sharing this experiences and that knowledge with my students, and the doulas that I mentor. Truly, this is a role I was meant to fill.