BOSTON BIRTH DOULAS: OUR APPROACH
Boston birth doulas at Joyful Birthing share the philosophy of supporting women and their partners to achieve a positive, empowering birthing and early postpartum experience. We are here to help you understand your choices so you can make fully informed, autonomous decisions for yourself, your birth, and your baby. We respect that this is your birth and baby, and we know that only you can determine what is best.
We have only one agenda: for you to have the most positive, empowering birth experience.
BOSTON BIRTH DOULAS: OUR PACKAGES
Boston birth doulas serve the greater Boston area, including the South Shore, North Shore, seacoast New Hampshire, and surrounding areas.
All doula packages include a free consultation, support throughout the pregnancy, at least one prenatal meeting, 24/7 on-call availability, reliable backup support by a Joyful Birthing doula, and at least one postpartum visit.
We strongly encourage all of our clients to take a comprehensive childbirth education program before our prenatal meeting, such as our HypnoBirthing Program (all Joyful Birthing clients receive a 10% class discount), to position you for the best, most informed birthing experience.
Specific packages and fees vary based on the doula. Our packages range from $2000-$3000.
BOSTON BIRTH DOULAS: OUR TEAM
Ellie Lindenmayer
Birth Doula
Ellie has supported more than 100 births as a doula since 2014 and has established herself as a leader amongst Boston birth doulas. She holds current certifications as a HypnoBirthing Practitioner, Birth Doula, Spinning Babies Practitioner, Lactation Counselor, and Pediatric Sleep Consultant. Ellie is passionate about all things birth and baby but especially empowering women and their partners to make informed decisions about their birthing, to approach birth with a sense of trust and calm, and to ultimately have a safe, joyful birthing experience- one they feel completely at peace with. In addition to managing Joyful Birthing & Beyond, Ellie also works for Cleo, a family benefit company, as a Family Guide, Birth Specialist, and Sleep Specialist, helping hundreds of families navigate the demands of pregnancy, postpartum, lactation, newborn care, sleep, parenting, and the transition back to work.
WHAT ELLIE’S CLIENTS SAY:
“I felt comfortable with Ellie the moment I met her and it was obvious that she would be an asset. Ellie has such a wealth of knowledge about so many aspects of birthing. I had my baby when COVID restrictions peaked. My husband was with me, but Ellie couldn’t be in person. So we zoomed. I can’t express how amazing Ellie’s presence (even virtually) in the delivery room was. I felt more at ease under her direction and encouragement. She and the medical professionals in the room worked as a team. It was seamless. Ellie met me right where I was in each stage of my labor. It was almost eerie how she knew what I was thinking and what I needed to hear. Specifically, as it came time to push, she reminded me that I could trust myself and instructed me to do what my body was telling me to do. Those words got me through. I was amazed as I held my baby shortly thereafter! Probably the biggest testimonial is Ellie herself: she’s a wonderful person and perfect for this job. She’s both kind and fierce, gentle and energetic, knowledgeable, yet humble and focused on you. I look back on that time with a joy that is in part because Ellie helped to make it as peaceful and empowering as possible.” -Megan B.
Jenny Putnam
Birth & Postpartum Doula
Jenny is a DONA-certified Birth Doula, VBAC Link-trained VBAC Doula, PAIL (Pregnancy and Infant Loss) Advocate, and a CAPPA-trained Childbirth Educator. Her passion for supporting birthing people goes back many years to the mid-1990s, when she acted as labor companion for a pair of close friends. The experience literally changed her life, and pursuing a career in birth support became a long-harbored dream. In 2017 she made the decision to put aside her long-standing career as a graphic designer, and train to become a birth doula. Since then she has had the privilege of supporting over 80 birthing people on their journey through pregnancy, labor, and birth. Her approach is client-focused and evidence-based, using a variety of resources and techniques to assist her clients in making informed decisions, and preparing for their ideal birth.
When she’s not supporting birthing clients, Jenny does book design for independent authors. She also enjoys kayaking the beautiful lakes and rivers near her home, knitting, exploring the history of New England, and gardening.
Jenny supports births in the greater Boston area and southern New Hampshire.
WHAT JENNY’S CLIENTS SAY:
“For me and my husband, having our first child during the pandemic was a daunting prospect, especially since the rest of our family lives on the west coast. So we decided to hire a doula to assist us since we couldn’t have either of our mothers support us in the hospital. It turned out that hiring Jenny was one of the best decisions we could have made as expecting parents! She was incredibly helpful during the weeks leading up to our daughter’s birth and absolutely invaluable while I was in labor. She soothed me while I was in pain from back labor contractions and she helped me get some much-needed sleep before giving birth. With her support, I managed to dilate to 7cm before having an epidural (which is impressive given my extremely low pain tolerance and speaks to Jenny’s ability to help me cope!). If you’re a first-time mom and you need a calming, soothing, caring person in your family’s corner, then Jenny is your woman. You will not regret hiring her!” -Alexandra T.
Joy Smith
Birth Doula
Trained as a Birth Doula in 2003 by Penny Simkin, noted author and co-founder of DONA International, Joy brings a wealth of experience in birth work and has attended over 100 births. She has always had an interest in pregnancy and childbirth, but it wasn’t until birthing her own babies that her passion for helping others navigate their births was sparked. From 2004-2006 Joy completed her training in the art of homebirth through WomanCraft Midwifery School and gained further birth experience through her subsequent apprenticeship. Joy’s belief that emotional preparation is the key to a positive birth experience inspired her to become a Childbirth Mentor under the Birthing From Within philosophy so that she could compassionately guide parents on their unique birth journey. In 2014 Joy added to her birth work by becoming a Level II Reiki Practitioner and now enjoys bringing this gentle healing art form to pregnancy, birth and all who can benefit from physical and emotional healing. Joy is a mother to five amazing children, “Nani” to a sweet grandson, and a passionate homeschooler.
Joy supports births on the North Shore of Boston and surrounding areas.
WHAT JOY’S CLIENTS SAY:
“One conversation with Joy and I knew she was the one. I ended up having to be induced because I was nearly 42 weeks but Joy helped me plan the induction based on my intuition and not the doctor’s timeline. I labored for a total of 13 hours before pushing for 4 hours. I was able to do so unmedicated (even with Pitocin!) and could not have accomplished that without Joy’s suggestions and calmness. However, my doctor decided four hours was long enough, and even though the baby’s heart rate was fine, it was time to consider an intervention. After much back and forth with the doctors and my husband, we decided to allow for a forceps delivery to avoid a cesarean. Had I not had Joy’s support, I very easily could have given in to a cesarean just because I was drained and feeling defeated by my doctors. I owe our happy ending to Joy who along with my husband kept me positive, calm and never failed to remind me that my body was made for this.” -Jenna
Cheyenne Bell
Birth & Postpartum Doula
Cheyenne is a DONA International certified birth doula. Her journey into the medical field began when she was a child and witnessed her mother give birth; this experience sparked an enduring passion for childbirth and began her commitment to supporting women through the sacred process of giving birth. She has found her calling as a doula. Cheyenne values the uniqueness of each birth and believes in providing tailored support. Her approach is marked by compassion, kindness, and a deep sense of faith in the beauty of childbirth. With Cheyenne by their side, mothers can trust in her unwavering belief in their strength and resilience, knowing she’ll provide the support they need to navigate this transformative experience with confidence and comfort.
As a black woman, Cheyenne possesses a profound understanding of the specific needs and challenges faced by women of color throughout their pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum journeys. Her lived experiences, combined with her comprehensive training in doula care, uniquely qualify Cheyenne to provide culturally competent support, advocacy, and empowerment to women of color. As a Doula, Cheyenne ensures that women of color receive the compassionate, respectful, and quality care they deserve during this transformative phase of life.
Cheyenne is a VBAC-Endorsed Birth Doula and has completed training as a Postpartum Doula, Childbirth Educator and with Spinning Babies. She recently completed her Master of Science Degree in Health Information Management in 2023. Devoted to expanding her areas of expertise, Cheyenne is currently pursuing her certification to become a Lactation Counselor. Additionally, Cheyenne is a Certified Placenta Encapsulation Specialist, performs Traditional Haitian Belly Binding, and offers Traditional Haitian Vaginal Steaming.
Bonnie Rovics
Birth Doula
Bonnie Rovics is a ProDoula Certified Birth Doula. She has training and certification as a Spinning Babies® Parent Educator, a woman’s empowerment coach, a Mongan Method HypnoBirthing® Educator, a Hypnosis Practitioner, and a Breech Release® practitioner. She has made her living for over 25 years as a licensed massage and shiatsu therapist specializing in women’s health and prenatal massage. She specializes in breech support, VBAC / TOLAC support, and offers virtual doula support for clients out of the immediate area and internationally.
Bonnie’s practice began focusing on perinatal wellness in 2002 when she was hired into a practice supporting IVF clients with a naturopathic doctor, chiropractor and acupuncturist in Brookline, MA. She went on from that to advance her studies in working with pregnancy massage and began attending births in 2010.
She has been continuing her doula and birth worker education with Spinning Babies®, and loves teaching the Spinning Babies® approach for comfort in pregnancy and ease in labor to all her doula clients and other local parents. Bonnie is also trained as a Spinning Babies Aware® bodywork practitioner and a Breech Release™
practitioner.
Bonnie is passionate about working with birthing people to help them tap into a healthy body and a healthy framework for birth. She brings joy, support, knowledge, and passion to the world of pregnancy and birth. She loves working with clients to help them learn advocacy, feel fully informed about their labor and birth, alleviate suffering and trauma in birth practice, and learn from past experiences.
WHAT BONNIE’S CLIENTS SAY:
“Bonnie was our doula for the hospital birth of our first child. Going through this process for the first time, Bonnie helped us prepare for what we hoped for during the birth process, learn how to advocate for our needs, and practice exercises for the big day. When the time arrived, Bonnie joined us at our home to work through earlier labor more comfortably and then stayed overnight with us in the hospital as labor progressed. Our birth story was different than expected and I don’t know what my husband and I would have done without Bonnie’s constant reassurance, empathy, support and incredible bag of tools to help us get through the experience. She knew multiple midwives on staff who we were working with and they clearly valued and trusted her thoughts and experience as much as we did. We are so thankful to have found Bonnie and look forward to working with her now that I’m postpartum.” O E