Student Postpartum Doulas
Below is the list of Birthingway student postpartum doulas. If you came straight to this page from a search or other site, you might want to read our Postpartum Doula FAQ first.
In the practicum portion of the training, our students offer their services as student postpartum doulas to families for free or at low cost. The purpose of this free/low cost service is two-fold. First, it is our hope that families who could not otherwise afford to employ a postpartum doula will get the support they need. Second, it allows student postpartum doulas an avenue in which to acquire the experience they need to be certified as a postpartum doula through Birthingway.
Before you peruse the following list of Student Postpartum Doulas in search of someone to assist you in your upcoming postpartum period, please read the following statement:
Birthingway College of Midwifery does not supervise student doulas and is not responsible for their conduct in their role as postpartum support for the mother and/or her supporters. Birthingway makes no claims regarding these students, other than that they have completed the classroom portion of their training. These students are now volunteering or charging low fees for their services in order to complete the number of births required for certification as a postpartum doula by Birthingway College of Midwifery. The students are not supervised when providing doula services to clients during this practicum period. Therefore, anyone contacting and engaging the services of the student doulas listed below do so voluntarily, and hold harmless Birthingway College of Midwifery for the conduct of these students. If you choose to work with a student doula, you are entering into a relationship with that doula, and not with Birthingway College of Midwifery.
Rebecca Guron
Greater Portland Area
Phone: 805-680-6768
Email: rebeccaguron@hotmail.com
I am the mother of two amazing boys and also a student Labor Doula. I am extremely passionate about supporting and nurturing new families in the early postpartum weeks and months.
Susanne Cook
Greater Portland Area
Phone: 503-956-1094
Email: susannemc.78@gmail.com
I have spent the past 12 years working with infants at St. James CDC. I love watching the babies grow and develop. I look forward to being involved with families on a different level and in a new environment.
Renata Austin
Greater Portalnd Area
Phone: 510-295-7912
Email: renata.austin@gmail.com
Speaks fluent Spanish and conversational Portuguese.
Renata Austin, a native of Berkeley, CA, is a recent Portland transplant. She became interested in the work of doulas and postpartum care through her experience as a teen reproductive health educator, and her volunteer work with traditional midwives in rural Mexico. She is interested in all aspects of women’s health, and each stage of the birth/ reproductive cycle.
A mindfulness practitioner, Renata strives to maintain presence and bring a sense of calm into all situations. She is passionate about supporting new mothers, providing them with what they need to take care of themselves and feel confident. She appreciates and recognizes that each woman’s experience is different and unique. Growing up in a multiracial community, living abroad, and working with California immigrant populations have all contributed to her experience with diverse cultures and ways of living. A lover and performer of folk music, she is interested in the effects of music during pregnancy, labor and the postpartum period.
Renata completed her postpartum doula training at Birthingway last spring, and is eager to begin working with new mamas, babies, and their families during this important transition.