Meet Trailblazer Amanda Jones

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Jones.

So, before we jump into specific questions about what you do, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started my journey as a doula in March of 2014. Less than a year before my journey began, I found myself fighting with a doctor to validate the trauma I was feeling from my daughter’s birth in March of 2012. For so long, I felt as though something was not quite right with me and my daughter. After one horrible night, in particular, I was talking to my husband and asked him “do you ever think that some of this could be stemming from her birth…?” His response was a firm and gentle “Yes, I think what you two went through was traumatic.” That was the permission, so to speak, that I needed to start the healing process. It was a long road of first advocating for myself and my daughter to get us the help we needed. Then, I decided that I wanted to try and use my experiences in a way to help other moms try and not experience the same trauma. This led to my search for some birth doula training. I was all scheduled to take a training workshop at the end of March. I even had my first client lined up who was due the second week of April.

As the time got closer, I grew increasingly excited and my husband was a great support. With the little knowledge that we both had about what lied ahead of us, he bought me my first doula bag just two days before my workshop. I was so excited about it and I spent a bunch of time that night loading it with all the things I felt were necessary for it. I zipped it up, wheeled it to the living room to show him and my phone rang… it was my first client and her water had broke! I looked at my husband and said: “I brought this on myself didn’t I?! My excitement made this happen!” Haha! So, without so much as one hour of training and having only experienced my own traumatic birth I went to the hospital to meet my clients and help them welcome their little one. Of course, the labor was long and I remember emailing my trainers and letting them know that I wasn’t even sure I would make the first day of training! I headed home late on a Friday night and my training started at 8 am the next morning. I remember on my way home feeling like I did nothing but hold my client’s hand and tell her everything would be okay. To this day, she swears up and down that I did much more and she has been a repeat client two times over. Today, I find myself pursuing not as much birth work as I would really like but I have enough coming my way to keep me busy and oh so happy. Birth is my passion and I know at my core that I was made to be a doula. Being a part of the birth community makes me feel alive. In September of 2016, a dear friend and I decided to start up Nana’s Birth Services. We love working together in the business that we have built from the ground up!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been a smooth road but I honestly don’t know one good thing in life that is not worth fighting for. I am a strong believer that we all should operate under our own convictions and based on our own experiences. I feel like if we become experts on our own experiences, our own traumas, and our own healing and we turn around and serve others that are experiencing those same things we can do a lot to fill gaps and build bridges. People truly just need to know that someone out there understands. I have brought my own experiences, traumas, and healing right into my business in hopes that I can help many women, babies and families along the way. The things I would say for other women that are starting their journey is just to keep going. You know your passions and your interests. Life will get in the way sometimes and that’s okay but you know what makes you feel alive so get back to it when you can! I have the word “Fight” tattooed on my left ring finger. It is there mostly to remind me to continually fight for my marriage but I have had to fight for many good things in my life and it is worth it!

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Nana’s Birth Services – what should we know?
I love birth work and I love being in the birth community here. I don’t want what I do to ever become “work” so I try and stay relaxed about things and let nature take its course. Women were designed to give birth and their bodies are completely capable of it. I love the time that I spend with my clients prenatally because that is when so much education happens; for them and me! They decide what they would like birth to look like and we work together to figure out how they can best achieve their goals. It is a sweet time of watching parents claim the power that will get them through this very big change in their lives. When the power is claimed, I get to watch the fear melt away! What a thing to be a part of! A lot of parents do not know what their choices are when it comes to pregnancy, labor and birth. That is where a lot of trauma stems from. I try to squelch that by helping them learn what their choices (and rights) are and how to voice them with their care providers. As a doula, I love that I work for my client and not their care provider! In addition to guiding my clients to those decisions, I also work a lot with them on comfort measures. I utilize a rebozo frequently and I consider it an honor to introduce people to rebozos and what they are capable of. I became Rebozo certified in 2016 with Gena Kirby. She says that when a rebozo is honored and used properly you find it is no longer a tool but more an extension of you. I find this to be very true. It is hard to call my rebozo a tool… it is more an extension of me and with a little bit of guidance it can become an extension of my client’s partner during the labor and birth process. This helps partners stay connected and focused on each other during labor and birth.

Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
I didn’t have even one experience growing up that made me think for a second that I would be a part of the birth community one day. It took me a long time to figure out where my passions were and how to have a life that involved those passions. What I will say about growing up and my experiences is this: I have one strong mother and two very strong grandmothers who have definitely shaped me into the woman I am today. My mom was a single mother for much of my life and while we didn’t always get along the one thing I did take from her was the idea that I did not need a man in my life to feel like I was doing something great and meaningful. I have a man, and I love him dearly; he is my greatest support, but I feel like that mentality helped me find a man that was a good compliment to my strong personality rather than a partner who would try to overshadow or corner me in some way. I am very grateful to the strong women in my life! They are so valuable and much the reason I do what I do is because I believe we need many more strong women in this world!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nanasbirthservices@gmail.com
• Phone: 303-502-7708
• Email: nanasbirthservices@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nanasbirthservices/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nanasbirthservices/

Image Credit:
Lilo Photography

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