The NICU journey is unique for every family, and there is no such thing as having too much loving support along the way. My care is deeply rooted in the belief that YOU are your baby's best medicine — and the best parent for your child💞

As your postpartum doula, I’m here to offer encouragement, advocacy, and gentle support for every parent on their NICU journey — rooted in dignity, respect, safety, and your own agency. I am here to support you — not to replace your medical team, but to walk beside you through it all.

Here are some ways that I can support you & your family while baby is in the NICU:

Before birth. If you already know your baby will need a NICU stay, we'll plan ahead — so you feel prepared, understood, and less overwhelmed from day one, whether the stay was expected or not.

Building your support team — from helping you coordinate sibling care, meal prep/meal trains, to making sure you get sleep, pumping time, and a moment for yourself — so you can keep showing up for your little one. Instead of fielding "What can I do?" from family & friends, we set it up so you can share easy tasks with others who want to help, but may not know where to start, so your community's help is already built in — no extra mental load for you.

A calm space in a busy place. The NICU can be overstimulating and scary — and it's also where your baby gets the best care. We will find quiet, unrushed space to process the medical information, procedures, and daily ups and downs. We'll unpack conversations with your care team, untangle unfamiliar terms, and use tools like the BRAIN framework (care of the NICU Translator ) to support your decisions — giving you time to balance information with understanding. ALWAYS on your terms, centered on what feels most needed to you each day.

Your mental health, a priority from day one. Resources to keep you afloat, support your nervous system, and give you cushions — so you can heal right alongside your baby.

Your body, too. Helping you stay hydrated and eat nourishing food (not just granola bars), and find real moments of rest — fresh air, a walk, or connection with other NICU or community parents.

Feeding and connection. Support with pumping (and what comes with it, like cleaning pump parts, storing milk, coordinating transportation of pumped milk to the NICU), bottle feeding, guidance for non-birthing or non-lactating partners, and evidence-based practices like skin-to-skin and scent hearts.

Advocacy, on your terms. Is there a way you wish you felt more heard or supported? We'll work through it together, in a safe space, at your pace. Unfamiliar medical terms? Let’s unpack them in easy-to-understand, clear language, in whichever ways you learn best. Honoring & centering your cultural and spiritual practices, so you can surround your baby with love your own way. Even in the NICU, we can find small ways to make it feel more like home for your little one.

While still finding ways to celebrate the "firsts" — the first feed, first bath, first outfit. It may look different than expected, but you still deserve every milestone.

Preparing for discharge — Need a provider who truly gets NICU graduates — a pediatrician, lactation consultant, mental health professional, or parenting support link or group? Instead of handing you a long list, I can assist with doing the legwork to find people whose care feels right for you- and am also available to help you navigate complex care coordination, so you're not tracking & managing every appointment alone.

*A special note for Dads & Partners/Non-Birthing Parents — You're not just a support person on the sidelines. You're essential. So every conversation includes you, centers your experience, and honors the many ways you show up — because the way you care is unique to you, and it makes a real difference. And you don't have to carry any of this alone. The more held and heard you feel, the more you can pour into the special care that only you can give.

And after discharge from the NICU, when the next part of your journey continues at home…

You're home now with your NICU graduate — fewer monitors (or maybe none at all), no medical teams. Just you, your baby (s), and a lot to figure out. You deserve support with every part of it.

Offering you calm, loving, non-judgmental support for the transitions — so you can focus on bonding and settling in together. Making space for your own healing, too: the physical and emotional recovery for birthing and non-birthing parents that too often gets put on hold while baby is in the NICU. When your needs are met, you have more to give — and that helps everyone you love thrive.

Support around things like:

• Who to call — and when.

  You know your baby better than anyone. Trust what you see and feel. If something seems urgent, you don't want to be hunting for a number at 2 in the morning. So we'll make sure the right resources and phone numbers are right at your fingertips — easy to grab the moment you need them.

  And for those moments when you're just not sure? We'll talk through all of the discharge plans and clarify who to call and when, so you’re never stuck without a lifeline. There's no substitute for a parent's intuition, AND you are not alone.

• What feeding looks like now.

  Feeding might feel different now than it did in the hospital — and that's completely okay. As parents, you're the ones watching, learning, and guiding it all along.

  You already have amazing instincts and skills. Let's build on those, so you can feel confident and connected during this special time with your baby. Are you navigating G-tube, NG-tube, pump feedings, tummy troubles? Non-medical, neuroprotective support to help return to some of the feeding basics for baby, so you can reconnect with the joy & connection of feeding.

• Sleep

  Your baby’s sleep space at home looks different than the NICU isolette or crib where they started their journey. Let’s find small, safe, sustainable ways to help you and your baby get the rest you need.

• The medical system can feel like a maze -

  Specialty and pediatric care, therapy, lactation, early intervention…with years of experience coordinating care in outpatient pediatric settings, I'm here to help you sort it all out: who your baby's medical home is, who can help provide the referrals you need, and who to call with questions between visits. You don't have to figure it out alone.

• ALL the emotions-

  As your doula, there will always be space for you to share ANYTHING you’re feeling. Mental health referrals & resources ready for you, when you’re ready. If you are sitting with loss and grief right now, I see you, and honor you exactly where you are. Sitting with the “Yes, and’s…” — there’s no right way to do this-only YOUR way, in YOUR own time. Here for you no matter what.

All with the goal that you feel seen, supported, grounded, and empowered — in the NICU and long after you leave it.

I'd be honored to walk alongside you as you prepare to bring your little one (s) home. Please reach out anytime, and let's plan together - at your pace, in your space, with support that works for your family. Always here to answer any questions or if you would like to learn more about care:

~Call/Text (206) 715-7661

~Email: laura@safespacedoula.com

~Fill out the contact form on this website