About Nelia
I am a mother of 2 children and I have been married for 11 years. I have personally
experienced both a home birth and a cesarean. Both experiences taught me to trust
my instincts, my abilities and of course, my baby! I also learned that there is
not only one way to birth a baby. I am passionate about life and I thrive on supporting
families during the birth of their children. My highest priority is to support each
family in having the birth that they want and being present in a calming, nurturing
way that they can rely on throughout the process. At the end of the day, I keep
the focus on the prize – your beautiful new baby.
My Background
I have been supporting women and young families in various roles since 1997 including
private practice and new parent support. I received an Honor’s Degree in Psychology
and have continued to do training in various counseling techniques as they relate
to pregnancy and early parenting. As a labour doula I received my training through
CAPPA Canada. I continue to receive on-going training in pregnancy and labour support.
I have spent the past 6 years working with organizations to develop innovative programs
to support employees and family members throughout their lifecycle. I also volunteer
locally as a support person for pregnant youth.
As a
labour doula and counsellor, I use my training in music, writing and yoga to
help my clients thrive emotionally, physically and socially throughout their pregnancy, labour and beyond.
My Philosophy
You can do this! We can do this! Pregnancy and birth are natural and beautiful.
However at times, the pressure to have the perfect birth and be a perfect mother
can be overwhelming. My philosophy is that the mother knows what she needs and given
an open, non-judgemental and well-informed space, she will make the best possible
decisions for her and her new baby. In my experience, when a woman is given too
many “rules” on how to care for her baby, they just interfere with her enjoyment
of this special time. The process of becoming a mother, is one where a woman trusts
her own wisdom and begins to learn what her baby needs, by connecting with her baby,
not by being told what she “should” do. My motto is “happy mom equals happy baby”.
I help families thrive during this challenging, magical time by fostering self acceptance,
facilitating lots of practical support and, when all else fails, reminding them
to laugh! Most of all, I know that time flies! Remember this when you hold your
new baby and she curls her little fingers around your hand. Take it all in!
