Untitled Document

	Brattleboro Birth and Doula Services

Christine Kierstead
Birth and Postpartum doula

Christine Kierstead is a birth and postpartum doula and mother of two young children. After her own birth experiences, the second one being with a doula, she learned that when women are informed and made to feel respected and safe that they can have empowering and life enriching births. The presence of a loving and experienced woman at her birth made such an impact that she knew she wanted to do the same for other women. Christine trained with the first group of volunteer doulas at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and has also received DONA birth doula training. For the past three years, she has been assisting women and their families through the hospital's volunteer doula program and her own practice as a labor and birth doula. Christine's team approach, whether at a birthing center or at a homebirth, helps everyone involved to have a healthier and happier experience.

Lucinda McGovern
Birth and Postpartum doula

Lucinda McGovern has been an ALACE-certified childbirth educator for ten years and teaches group and individual classes. She is also certified by ALACE as a labor assistant and has provided labor and postpartum doula support in the area for about eight years. She works as a birth assistant at homebirths in practices in Massachusetts and Vermont, and is working towards taking the certified professional midwife exam.

In the past, Lucinda has been a family daycare provider, homeschooled her three children and certified as a teacher. She currently also provides emergency and respite foster care.

Taury Anderson
Postpartum Doula

My interest in birth originates in my family roots. I was born at home with a midwife, as were my siblings. The midwife at my birth caught me and exclaimed, “she is in the caul! She is going to be a midwife!” (whether this is true or not, has yet to be proven.) I was raised in as household where children were included in all aspects of life, and so I was present at my younger brother’s home birth.

I became more actively interested in woman’s health issues in college where I participated actively in campus and nationwide movements for women’s rights and the Vagina Monologues. While in a woman’s studies class in college, I became reacquainted with the midwife who caught me and my siblings, as she was a guest speaker. She spent some time talking with me about her career path and the challenges and rewards, and my interest in birth assistance grew from there. Since then, I have set out on a path towards becoming a doula. I am now certified through the organization ALACE, and have also received training through the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.

I believe that birth support training is important, but a doula also needs an investment of heart and soul that cannot be learned. Every birth I have attended has been a completely individual experience and one that requires an open mind and unconditional support. The unexpected challenges, intense emotions, and amazing accomplishments of birth are my reward each time I assist a mother in labor.

My goal is to help inspire families in their journey of empowered birth. I believe that childbirth is a natural, normal event in a woman's life and every women has the right to a complete understanding about their pregnancy and birth care options. Every woman should feel supported, understood and heard during her pregnancy and birth. I look forward to accompanying and supporting you through your birth experience.

Annique Sampson
Birth and Postpartum Doula

Annique Sampson, CPM, holds an Associates of Science degree in Midwifery and is nationally certified by the North American Registry of Midwives. She has had the great honor and pleasure of attending over 130 births since 2003. Her midwifery training included homebirths in New England, water birth in free-standing birth centers in New Mexico and Florida, and a special volunteer opportunity serving low-income women in an out-of-hospital birth clinic in the Philippines. She has also volunteered as a labor support doula in several hospitals around the country. She is strong advocate of evidence-based care and informed choice, providing information and support for couples as they navigate through the labyrinth of choices in today’s maternity care. Annique believes birth is not only a physical event, but an emotional, mental and spiritual rites of passage. She is passionate about helping women and couples heal fears around the birthing process, and supports them in discovering and strengthening their inner resources. Annique is a Childbirth Educator in the Birthing From Within philosophy as well as an avid birth photographer. She lives on a small homestead in Putney, VT with her husband Thomas.

Julie Bingham
Postpartum Doula

I have lived in Brattleboro for about ten years. The birth of my first son lead me to the path of wanting to be involved with pregnancy and birth and the postpartum time for women and their families. Each of my children's births has given me a new experience from a cesarean with my first to a VBAC at a birth center with my second child and another cesarean with my third, along with nursing to tandem nursing. I believe having the care and support during this very special time for women and their families is important and helps pave the road to a healthy happy beginning.