Experience & History

Judy Eastman, B.A., DONA Certified Postpartum Doula

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Get to Know Judy..........

Although I was born on Long Island, in New York, I am a Southern California girl at heart.  Beaches, lots of time out of doors, and most of all sun-shine are necessities!  Life is too short to sit inside and veg..

Having lived in Southern California since the age of two, I consider this home.  My familiarity with the area gives me a foundation of confidence in serving families locally.  My university education was in Santa Barbara and Irvine (UCI).  My degree is in counseling.  This gives me a great foundation in people skills and discerning the needs of others.  

I am a certified doula, meaning I keep my training and education current according to the qualifications required by the agency I serve through.  The Doula Organization of North America (DONA) is the oldest and most respected certifying group in the country.  It has recently advanced doula training in to numerous other countries, renaming itself DONA International.  Every three years I am required to spend many hours improving my education and skill set.  I am infant CPR and First Aid Trained through the American Heart Association.  My TDAP, MMR, & Flu shots are current.

A large part of my responsibility as a doula is awareness of each member of the family with whom I am working.  I seek to meet the needs of siblings in listening to their conversation with and about their new baby.  Making an effort to hear the concerns of extended family members helps me understand family dynamics.  Often new moms and dads simply need someone to listen to their anxieties.  Some how this makes their fears less daunting.  

More, if you're up for it......

Becoming a doula has allowed me to hone my natural skills and learn many others.  The Doula Association of North America, DONA, provides intensive training, rigorous qualification standards, and accountability.  Completing their certification process offered an even more extensive foundation from which to draw knowledge.  Whatever comes up with the families I serve I have already seen and experienced it somewhere along the line.  It is such a privilege to participate in the first few months of bringing a baby home.  Time and time again moms express their gratefulness at having a supportive calming influence present.

I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with families of many nationalities, belief systems, and service needs.  My responsibility, as your doula, is to bring a wealth of information and experience into your home to help you and your family acclimate to your new baby.  Services will be customized to your individual situation. My training and experience have equipped me to serve you in areas of baby care, breast feeding, sleep training, sibling acclimation, bottle feeding/formula, surrogacy, adoption, baby wearing, infant equipment, use of pacifiers, nursery set up, postpartum depression, infant loss counseling, referrals for other services and more...........