Raven Haymond, PhD
I’ll never forget the doula who supported me during the birth of my second child. Her calm, soothing voice reassured me that everything was going to be okay. Her hand massages helped me release and relax in between contractions. And her suggestions gave my partner the opportunity to step in and get involved.
A few years later, during the birth of my fourth child, I ached for that doula support. I had decided that since I would be birthing with midwives at a birth center that I probably didn’t need a doula. But I was wrong. After that birth, I decided to become a doula so that I could help birthing families feel supported and encouraged during pregnancy, childbirth, and the early postpartum period.
My commitment to birthing families led me to train and certify with DONA International and Birthing from Within. I’ve taken additional training to learn how to support survivors of abuse and families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss. I’m also a childbirth educator and currently teach a wide range of classes at Lone Peak Hospital in Draper, Utah.
My passion for supporting birthing families inspired me to pursue a PhD in American Studies. During my studies, I researched the history of childbirth in America, doula work, and the Black maternal mortality crisis. My dissertation, the capstone of my doctoral work, examined postpartum mood disorders. I was especially interested in how people perceive gaps in their medical care during the early postpartum period and the steps they take to fill those gaps with their own communities of care and healthcare choices (like placenta consumption).
My philosophy is that it’s your birth and you need to birth how and where you feel safe.
- Trained by DONA International (the oldest and largest doula association in the world)
- Additional training (introductory and advanced) from Birthing from Within
- Very familiar with Hypnobirthing, Hypnobabies, Birthing from Within, and the Bradley Method
- Advanced training in working with survivors of abuse
- Bereavement training from The Institute for the Study of Birth, Breath and Death
- Former board member of the Utah Doula Association
- PhD dedicated to examining postpartum mood disorders
