Doula Jennifer Monaghan

About Doula Jenn

I am a wife to my husband Colin and a mother to our three children Patrick, Andrew & Chloe.  I’m a dog mom to Maisy, our Labrador rescue. I am a California native who grew up in central California (Merced) until College.  I went to college first in Washington DC and then later in Northern Virginia where I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Health Systems Management from George Mason University.

My passion for helping others began in high school when my Uncle Ed was diagnosed with cancer.  I spent every moment at his side taking care of him, reading to him, helping him eat or drink and just spending time hearing his stories.  His journey led me down the path of first becoming a Certified Nurses Assistant (CNA) with the dream of one day becoming a pediatric oncology nurse. Fast forward some years later after the birth of my first son, Patrick, I realized I couldn’t handle working with children with cancer.

Because you can’t predict birth (oh how I wish you could!) and therefore I wasn’t able to have my mom (or any family) come out to be part of our birth I hired a doula to be our support person, to guide us through this journey we had never been on.  She educated us on what to expect, how to prepare my body, exercises to do and things to eat and was there for us physically and emotionally through Patrick’s birth.

When I got pregnant soon after Patrick’s birth, I didn’t think I could afford a doula again and I thought I knew all there was to know about birth (Hey, I had gone through it once before, how hard or different could the next birth be?!). Boy, oh boy, was I wrong! Andrew, my second son who was set to share a birthday with Patrick, decided to arrive 5 weeks early. With no support, a total disbelief that I was in labor and having a baby, and not a clue what it could mean to have a premature baby we went to the hospital and experienced this roller coaster called “birth.” You can read all about his birth here. It was a crazy ride that I was so unprepared for, but it ignited my birth doula journey.

I came home from the hospital and dove into all the steps on becoming a doula, reading all the books I could get my hands on and signing up for training as soon as I could. I knew that there was a woman who was just like me somewhere about to give birth that needed support. I knew that all women need emotional and physical support.  All women need someone in their corner who is watching out for them.  All women need unbiased education on pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period they’re about to embark on.

6 months later, I became a certified birth doula. I started small, giving away my services to a few friends, then slowing charging for my services and venturing out to supporting complete strangers. I continued training, educating myself and soon my business grew to where it is today.

It’s been 13 years since my journey began.  In there, I had another child, Chloe, who was my home birth baby (and she loves to tell you all about it!) and moved back to California. I’ve supported hundreds of families and have been a part of some of the most amazing births. I’ve had the honor of supporting water births, high risk births, premature births, VBACs (including a VBA3C), preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, IUGR, stillbirths, “advanced maternal age”, teens, single women and LGBTQP Families in hospitals, birth centers and homes. This journey is ever changing, and I embrace it with open arms.

I would love the opportunity to go on your parenthood journey with you.  You can go here for more information about my birth support options or click the link below to book a consultation.