Frequently Asked Questions

A doula is a trained support professional who provides emotional, educational, and practical support during pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and other reproductive experiences.

Doulas do not replace your doctor, midwife, nurse, or other medical providers. Instead, I work alongside your care team and focus on helping you feel informed, supported, prepared, and heard.

Depending on the type of support you choose, this may include birth preparation, comfort measures, help understanding your options, partner support, postpartum planning, newborn care education, feeding support, and connecting you with additional resources.

A birth doula supports you before, during, and shortly after birth.

Before labor, we can talk through your preferences, questions, comfort measures, birth environment, and ways your support person can be involved. During labor, doula support may include reassurance, position changes, comfort techniques, coping strategies, information, and continuous emotional support.

A doula does not perform medical procedures, diagnose conditions, make medical decisions for you, or speak over you. The goal is to help you understand your options and feel supported in making your own decisions.

A postpartum doula supports your family as you adjust to life after birth.

Support may include newborn care education, infant feeding support, recovery and comfort support, helping you understand normal newborn behavior, light practical assistance, emotional support, and helping your family develop routines that feel manageable.

Postpartum doula care is individualized because different families need different kinds of support.

No.

Midwives are healthcare professionals who provide clinical care in pregnancy, birth and after birth.

Doulas provide non-clinical support. I do not perform exams, diagnose medical conditions, prescribe treatment, monitor fetal wellbeing, or deliver babies.

A doula can work alongside a midwife, physician, nurses, and other members of your healthcare team.

Not at all — but many families choose to have both.

A doula does not replace your partner. Instead, I can help your support person feel more confident and involved by suggesting comfort techniques, explaining what may be happening, offering ideas for how they can help, and giving them opportunities to rest when needed.

The goal is to support the whole team around you.

Mycelia Birth Co. offers support across pregnancy, birth, postpartum, infant feeding, and early parenthood.

Birth & Pregnancy

• Birth Doula Support
• Birth Planning Session
• Private Birth Preparation*

Postpartum & Newborn

• Postpartum Doula Support
• Postpartum Planning
• Postpartum & Newborn Preparation*

Infant Feeding

• Lactation Counseling*
• Infant Feeding Basics

Additional Support

• Baby Safety & Home Preparation*
• Infant Massage*
• Abortion Doula Support
• Bereavement Doula Support

*Some services and credentials are currently in development. Availability may vary.

See the full list →

My current professional credential is as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). My CNA background is part of my broader clinical healthcare experience, including work in pediatric and hospital settings.

However, Mycelia Birth Co. services are non-clinical birth and family support services and are separate from my CNA scope of practice. I do not provide nursing or medical care through Mycelia Birth Co.

I have also completed or am currently completing professional training toward additional birth-work credentials, including:

• DONA Birth Doula certification — in progress
• DONA Postpartum Doula certification — in progress
• Working toward the Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) credential through ALPP — lactation counseling training completed through the Healthy Children Project, credentialing in progress. I am not yet a CLC, and I am not an IBCLC.
• Working toward Certified Educator of Infant Massage (CEIM) certification through Infant Massage USA — training completed, practicum and certification in progress

I believe in being transparent about where I am in each training and certification process. My website will be updated as credentials are officially completed.

No. Doula services through Mycelia Birth Co. are non-clinical.

I can provide education, emotional support, comfort measures, planning support, advocacy tools, and help you prepare questions for your healthcare team.

I cannot diagnose medical conditions, provide medical treatment, prescribe medications, interpret medical testing, or make healthcare decisions for you.

When something falls outside my scope, I will encourage you to contact the appropriate licensed healthcare professional.

A doula does not diagnose, prescribe, perform clinical procedures or exams, interpret test results, or make decisions on your behalf. I don’t replace your physician, midwife, nurse, IBCLC or therapist, and I don’t speak over you to your care team.

What I do instead is help you understand your options, prepare your questions, and say what you want said — and stay with you while you do it. Being clear about the edges of that is part of doing it well.

I can help you advocate for yourself, but I do not make decisions or speak on your behalf.

We can prepare before birth by discussing your preferences, questions you may want to ask, informed consent, and ways to communicate with your care team.

During birth, I can remind you of questions or preferences you previously discussed and help create space for you to process your options.

You remain the decision-maker for your care.

No.

Doula support is for people planning many different kinds of births, including:

• Unmedicated births
• Epidural births
• Inductions
• Cesarean births
• VBACs
• Births where plans change unexpectedly

There is no particular way you have to give birth to qualify for support.

You can reach out at almost any point in pregnancy.

Some families connect with a doula early because they want ongoing education and preparation, while others begin looking later in pregnancy.

For birth support, reaching out earlier generally gives us more time to get to know one another and prepare together. Postpartum planning can also begin before your baby arrives.

Yes. Lactation Counseling is one-to-one feeding support, in person or virtual. It is launching soon: it opens for bookings once my credentialing is confirmed, and you can join the interest list on its page.

I completed lactation counseling training through the Healthy Children Project, and my CLC credentialing is in progress through the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice. I am not yet a CLC, and I am not an IBCLC.

I am working toward the Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) credential and am not yet a CLC. A CLC gives feeding education, counseling and support within the scope of that training. An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) holds a clinical lactation credential with more education, supervised clinical hours and an exam (IBLCE; ALPP).

Other titles, like CLE, CBC or “lactation consultant,” vary by program, so it is fine to ask anyone what training they hold. When something needs a clinical eye, I will help you get to an IBCLC or your own provider.

Call your baby’s doctor, your midwife or OB, or an IBCLC promptly if: feeding pain is not improving or there is cracking or bleeding; your baby has too few wet or dirty diapers, seems very sleepy or yellow, or is not gaining weight; or you have a fever, spreading redness, red streaks or severe breast pain. If you feel panicked, hopeless or have frightening thoughts, reach out to your provider the same day. Use urgent care or 911 for anything severe (CDC).

Yes. Infant Feeding Basics is a 90-minute class, virtual or in person, for any feeding plan, including if you are still deciding. It covers the first days, feeding cues, latch and positioning, bottles and paced feeding, formula, pumping and hand expression, and when to ask for more help.

Most U.S. health plans must cover a breast pump and breastfeeding or chestfeeding support (the law calls it breastfeeding support). Your plan decides the type of pump, the supplier, the timing and whether it is a rental or yours to keep, so call your insurer before you order (HealthCare.gov).

Under the federal PUMP Act, most employees have the right to reasonable break time and a private space that is not a bathroom to pump for up to one year after birth (U.S. Department of Labor). Pennsylvania law also protects your right to breastfeed or chestfeed anywhere you and your baby are allowed to be (Pennsylvania law says 'breastfeed').

Freshly pumped milk keeps up to 4 hours at room temperature (77°F or cooler), up to 4 days in the refrigerator, and about 6 months in the freezer (up to 12 is acceptable). Use thawed milk within 24 hours and never refreeze it. Finish leftover milk within 2 hours of a feeding, and never microwave milk (CDC).

Screened, pasteurized donor milk comes from nonprofit milk banks. In Pennsylvania, start with the Mid-Atlantic Mothers’ Milk Bank, and ask your hospital, NICU, pediatrician or WIC office. Informal milk sharing does not go through the same screening and safety steps (FDA; HMBANA).

Mycelia Birth Co. offers birth doula, postpartum doula, and lactation support for growing families — walking alongside you through pregnancy, birth, and the fourth trimester. Support is grounded, connected, and dependable, the same way a mycelial network quietly feeds a forest from below.

Every relationship starts with a free Introductory Call — no commitment, just a conversation about what you’re navigating and what kind of support could help. From there, we’ll talk through which services fit and what it would look like to work together.

Book a Free Introductory Call →

FieldNotes is a private companion in your client portal, included for my doula and lactation clients. It isn’t part of classes on their own.

Before birth it has a countdown, a week-by-week guide and a contraction timer. After birth you can log feeds, diapers, pumping and sleep, read guides for your baby’s age, and print a summary for your baby’s doctor. Its Logs are where you track feeds, diapers, sleep and the rest, day and night.

Your logs are private to you. I see them only if you switch on sharing, and you can switch it off at any time. It’s a place to keep track and to learn, not medical advice, and it isn’t watched around the clock. Please bring any worries to your provider, and call 911 in an emergency.

Current rates are listed on each service’s page. A few newer offerings are still being finalized, and those are marked Launching Soon.

Browse services →

Insurance coverage for doula services varies by plan and provider. Some private insurance plans may offer doula benefits or reimbursement, so it is always worth checking directly with your insurance company to see what may be available to you.

Pennsylvania Medicaid (Medical Assistance) does offer coverage for eligible doula services. Mycelia Birth Co. is currently working toward becoming eligible to provide Medicaid-covered doula services in Pennsylvania, but I am not yet able to bill Medicaid directly.

You are welcome to contact me regardless of your insurance coverage. During your Introductory Call, we can discuss current service and payment options, and I encourage families to explore any doula benefits that may be available through their individual insurance plan.

Doula care may be eligible for HSA or FSA reimbursement, depending on your plan, so please check with your plan administrator. I can give you a detailed receipt for every payment.

Yes. Every feeding method, birth setting, family structure, and parenting choice is welcome here. My role is to listen, respect your autonomy, and provide care without judgment or pressure.

My care is evidence-informed. I stay current with research and professional guidelines, and I’ll always tell you plainly when something is preference rather than fact — no folklore, no fear-based advice. You’re the expert on your body and your baby; I bring information and steady hands, and you make the decisions.

Good information, offered so you can make your own decision — not a set of rules about what you should choose.

Mycelia Birth Co. is based in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. In-person support covers Philadelphia, Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks and Chester Counties, plus Dauphin County (the Harrisburg area) and its surrounding counties, including Cumberland. In person, travel is free within 25 miles of Aston or Harrisburg, and 80 cents a mile beyond that. Most classes and planning sessions are also available virtually everywhere. Not every service is available in every location. Online and virtual support is available more broadly for qualifying services.

Yes — several services are available virtually, in person, or a mix of both, depending on what fits your family best. These can happen by video call:

• Birth Planning Session
• Postpartum Planning
• Infant Feeding Basics
• Lactation Counseling (Launching Soon)
• Postpartum & Newborn Preparation (Launching Soon)
• Baby Safety & Home Preparation (Launching Soon)

Each service’s page shows its current rate, or whether it’s still launching. Where a virtual session is priced differently, both prices are shown.

Sessions happen by video call on Google Meet. The link comes with your booking. Partners and support people are welcome to join. Online and virtual support is available more broadly than in-person care, for qualifying services. That includes families outside Pennsylvania, and in some cases outside the United States.

Yes. I’ve been a Certified Nursing Assistant on Pennsylvania’s Nurse Aide Registry since 2017, and I’m also certified in North Carolina. I have close to a decade of experience in pediatrics, NICU/PICU and emergency departments, and I hold AHA PEARS and CPR/BLS certification.

That background means hospital routines, terminology and rhythms are familiar, which can make it easier to help you navigate them. It does not change what doula support is: doula care is non-clinical, and it is offered alongside your medical team rather than in place of it.

Your inquiry arrives in the Mycelia Birth Co. inbox and is read by a real person. It isn’t sold, and it’s used only to reply to you. Inquiries that don’t become work are deleted three years after you last get in touch.

Only your name, email, general location and the service you’re interested in are required — everything else on the form is optional, so share only what feels comfortable at a first contact. My privacy policy sets out the whole picture, including what I can and can’t promise — and please don’t assume HIPAA applies to what you send me. I treat it with care regardless.

The fastest way is my contact form, or you can email me directly at contact@myceliabirth.com. You can also find me on Instagram and Facebook.