get to know your doula...
Welcome to my world of birth advocacy!
For many birth professionals such as myself, the birth stories of my children have played a major role in my journey to becoming a birth worker and birth advocate. The timing of my pregnancies, and how I was treated during labor, had an even bigger and more profound impact on that decision.
With the birth of my first child, I was going to become a teen mom. Despite my young age, I knew I wanted my body to birth my children without being medicalized, and I knew my breast were created to nourish them upon birth and for several months after. What I did not know, was the amount of shame I was going to encounter from others around me solely due to the fact that I was going to become a parent at 17 years of age.
At 21, I gave birth to my second child. I knew then that I had this passion to support women of all ages, especially other teen mamas and young parents, with a special kind of love during their journey into parenthood.
Regardless of age, everyone deserves respect, space for their voice to be heard and listened to, and most importantly, they should believe they are capable of parenting their unborn child.
Well....enough about me! Get comfy and take a look around. If you have any questions, I'm only a phone call or email away. Promise I don't bite. Only double-hip squeezes and some counter-pressure goin' on around here!
xoxo - Melinda
Melinda Morales is a full spectrum doula and certified perinatal educator, specializing in teen pregnancy and young parent support. She is a mother to 3 boys and a teen-birth advocate supporting families in Central Florida since 2006. She is the creator of lovebirth, LLC, and founder and President of Project Teenbirth, Inc. Her story has been featured in Rewire, Not Another Teen Mommy.com, #noteenshame.tumbler.com and Young Parent Anthology.
You can also connect with Melinda across all social media platforms @lovebirthllc or using #teenbirthmatters.
Come hang out with us on the 'gram!
