Margaret McKinley Owens

I live in Coon Rapids with my husband and four children. I love birth, babies, helping new families and new mothers. I am a birth doula and a postpartum doula. I enjoy working in hospitals with OBS, and CNM's as well as assisting in families who choose to birth at home with a traditional midwife. My favorite hobby is newborn photography, and learing about the miracle of birth. I love assisting and empowering women through their birth process and during the postpartum (4th trimester) time.

Do you need a strong shoulder to lean on during labor and delivery? Someone to advocate for you if you’re birthing alone? Support during those first difficult weeks at home? You’re not alone! Mothering is a wonderful but difficult time. I am here to help.

Lana Anderson-Kuchynski Passion! That’s right - Passion. Trust! Trust in the laboring woman. These are the two key things that have motivated me to become the doula I am today. I absolutely and positively love working with expectant and laboring women. I have two children, both boys. I have a Master’s degree in Counseling and Psychological Services, which has immensely helped me with my work as a doula. I also am a certified hypnotherapist and offer hypnotherapy for pain management during labor to my clients if they choose. Yoga is another interest of mine and I received a certification as a yoga instructor. And yes, of course, one more important certification, I am a certified doula through Doulas of North America (DONA).

I love learning about other cultures and languages, so with this love I know a little bit, and I do mean little bit, of Russian, Spanish, French, German, Farsi, Swahili and American Sign Language.

I am currently on the Board of Directors for a new development in Haiti that will serve the underdeveloped and medically-lacking Haitian community. Specifically, I have developed a manual to train other woman to become doulas to their fellow sisters and also to the nurses and doctors, which there are few of.

Some of my hobbies are Martial Arts (Tae Kwon Do), reading, swimming, bowling, playing miniature golf and traveling.

I have been a doula since 2002 and attend approximately 2 births per month. My style is relaxed, reassuring and focused. I may sound busy but not really, it’s just good time management and I always have time for an expectant mom who goes into labor!

Pati Kester

Pati Kester is a born and bred Minnesotan. She has been advocating for children for over thirty years in a variety of capacities. Pati began her working career as a Licensed Practical Nurse and has also worked for Head Start and with Family Child Care. She has actively lobbied the legislature on behalf of children's issues. Pati was drawn to the work of a birth doula by her love of children and her belief that supporting mothers as they bring their babies into the world would be an effective way to promote healthy parent /child attachment. It is her belief that our community depends on the health and well-being of our children and that we need to begin supporting them and their parents as soon as possible. Pati has one daughter and a recently born grandson (01/04/06), her life's joys.

Maria Gonzalez

I have been a Certified Doula through Dona for the past two years. I was born in Mexico and am fluent in both Spanish and English.

I am also a WIC Peer Counselor for breastfeeding and lacation and will soon start teaching for WIC in the Clinics.

Carisssa Scanlan

Marisa Harder-Chapman

I am the mother of a three year old daughter, and became very interested in birth after she was born at home. I have been a doula since the beginning of 2005. I am currently working on my Masters in Holistic Health at the College of St Catherine, making lots of playdoh and reading Little Bear, repeatedly. I am especially interested in working with moms to appreciate and develop the meaning, importance and sacredness of pregnancy and birth. I also have experience with breastfeeding and postpartum support. I live just north of North Branch.

Raquel Guillen

Raquel has been working with families since 1993 in many capacities. She is originally from Mexico and is fluent in both Spanish and English.

Raquel has a BS in Psychology and a Masters in Education. She is a Certified Doula through DONA and a Certified Lamaze Childbirth Educator.

While living in Mexico she worked as a Midwife, Psychotherapist and an Executive Director for a Nonprofit.

Since living in the United States she has been deeply involved in the Spanish speaking community, coordinating support groups, breastfeeding education, grief and loss support and childbirth education along with her Doula work.

Patricia Durkin

I am originally from Peru. I have two children. The oldest, Fiorella, is 16 years old and the youngest, Billy, is four. I have studied Political Science in Peru. In the United States I have taken classes in prenatal care, fetal development, Lamaze, lactation, child development and childcare. When I had my youngest child, I had a doula that was with me through every step of my pregnancy. During labor she gave me emotional and physical support as well as information about childbirth and resources about the community. After this wonderful experience, I decided that I would provide the same support for other pregnant women. Now I have been a certified doula through DONA for three years. I am bilingual in Spanish and English. Currently I'm working Hispanic families through the Early Childhood Family Education Program in the Twin Cities.

Heather Jelinek

I live in Minneapolis with my two young sons. Being a doula is fulfilling and exciting work for me and I look forward to every birth I attend. I feel that a good doula must first be a good listener. In this way, I am careful to hear and advocate for the unique wishes and concerns of each mother. I make sure her voice is heard and that she has every resource she needs to succeed.

When I am not working as a doula or playing with my children, I am busy studying to be a nurse. I have an especially fond appreciation of Latino culture, music and arts; I speak Spanish. Yo hablo Español.

I am a mother of a son and daughter, ages 12 and 9. I love to work with women, children and families! I am a DONA International trained Birth Doula and a Childcare Provider. I earned a Bachelor’s in Social Work degree at the College of St. Catherine. I worked as a WIC breastfeeding peer counselor from 1995-1999.

My passion for birth began with my first pregnancy. I had beautiful birth experiences. I believe that women helping women through the childbearing year helps us become the best mothers we can be. I love to help women through pregnancy, labor and beyond during this exciting transformation. Four and a half years ago I attended my first birth and was hooked. Every birth is a great honor to attend as another precious baby is welcomed into the world!

My hobbies include enjoying family and friends, walking, pilates, music, dancing, canoeing, reading, and on occasion, scrapbooking.

Updated bio coming soon.

I have two children, one boy and one girl (Jonathan and Jazmin 8-10 years old). I have lived with my husband for 11 years and I’m so happy to live with them.

The reason I want to be a Doula is because I had a bad experience during my first pregnancy and childbirth. I was 17 years old and had no experience on how to be a mom. Waiting for the baby with no experience, no English skills and no support was hard, but it taught me to take each day as it comes. I realized the importance of having support from a Doula during my second childbirth. I had a friend with me during childbirth, and while she was not a Doula, she taught me a lot about how important it is to have someone with you to support and help you.

Two years after I had my second child, I began attending school. One of the programs was about how to become a Doula. Because of my own, experience with childbirth, I was very interested in the program and I took the course.

I want to be a Doula because I feel very strongly that support during childbirth is very beneficial for mothers. I really enjoy helping them and I hope that I can help make sure no woman has bad experience like I did.

I was born in Guatemala, Central America, I speak Spanish fluently. I have been a Doula for about 6 years. I have two beautiful children. My goal in life is to make a difference in the life of a woman, one woman at a time. I believe that each one of us has the knowledge deep within ourselves on how to birth a baby and I am there to support that knowledge as well as to support the woman's partner by bringing them closer together in that special time of their life.

I was born in Puebla, Mexico and moved to Minnesota in 1996. I am the mother of three wonderful daughters. Becoming a mom has opened my eyes to the wonder of the natural process of giving birth. Becoming a Doula has given me the realization that even the simplest of gestures can be the strongest support for an expectant mother.

En Español: Nací en Puebla, México y movido a Minnesota en 1996. Soy la madre de tres hijas maravillosas. Llegando a ser una mamá ha abierto mis ojos a la maravilla del proceso natural de dar a luz. Llegando a ser un Doula me ha dado la realización que aún el más sencillo de gestos puede ser el apoyo más fuerte para una mujer encinta.

How are you? Como estas? Oli otya?

I am native born Uganda, and have lived in the U.S. for 19 years. I love to learn about different cultures, speak Spanish proficiently and Luganda fluently. I went to the University of San Diego where I studied Ethnic Studies, Spanish, and Biology.

I decided to become a Doula after my experience of having a very understanding, helpful, and supportive Doula during my pregnancy and birth. I believe every woman deserves to be fully supported and encouraged throughout her pregnancy and birth because the process is such a sacred part of life. I believe with the right resources and great support a mother can be the mother they want to be, and be happy.

I live in Minneapolis with my beautiful daughter, who I love to spend time with. The best thing about being a mother for me is being able to experience what my mother experienced with me, and knowing that one day my daughter may feel the same.

I have been doing doula work for several years and truly find it an honor to help women find their inner strength during labor. In addition to being a Certified Doula, I am also a Childbirth Educator, Personal Trainer and a mother of four.

I live in Richfield with my husband and 4-year-old daughter. My background is in costume design for theatre, but I am finding my life's calling as a doula. My own terrific doula helped me tremendously during my daughter's birth, and I so enjoy being able to do the same for other women. I love being a shoulder to lean on during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. I have birth and postpartum training through DONA International, and I am experienced with breastfeeding. I also enjoy praying for and with my clients if they so choose. Recently, I gained new insight into single motherhood while my husband was deployed to Iraq. I believe we as women and mothers have been gifted with deep wells of strength. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, "A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she is in hot water!" I would be honored to work with you as you welcome your new baby into the world.

Since I can remember, I have been deeply passionate about pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. From countless visits to the labor and delivery unit where my mother worked as a nurse, to attending childbirth classes that she taught, to years of babysitting, into my own experiences as a mother, and now as a certified doula through DONA (Doulas of North America) and a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator, I just can't seem to get enough! I absolutely love sharing in the experiences with those embarking on this incredible journey into parenthood.

I believe that knowledge is the key to a positive experience during pregnancy, birth, and parenting, which is why I developed Enlightened Mama. I serve as a resource for expectant and new parents through my doula services, childbirth education classes, a website, and personal consultation. "Nurture Your Mind, Nurture Your Child"--that's the Enlightened Mama slogan. With the endless choices to make, it is so important to gather all the information that you can, and then make whatever decision feels right for you and your family. Trusting your instinct is essential in this entire process.

I am so excited to share my talents and love for birth with such an incredible organization as Everyday Miracles. Every woman deserves to have a wonderful, empowering birth experience and needs good support to make that happen.

My husband and I are the proud parents of an incredible 3-year-old boy and a vivacious 1-year-old girl, with Abbene baby number three on the way next summer.

Bio coming soon.

I believe every woman has an innate strength and ability to give birth. My goal is to support you whole-heartedly so you feel comfortable trusting your instincts and body along the way.

I moved to the Twin Cities in 2006 after spending time in South Africa as a volunteer for an organization that mentors HIV-positive pregnant women and new mothers. I spent time with mothers in the townships outside Cape Town and attended my first birth there, which inspired me to become a doula. I have been working as a doula since May 2007.

I believe that positive support during your pregnancy, labor, and birth, can make a world of difference in your confidence to birth and positively mother your child. I feel lucky and grateful to spend time with women such as yourselves during this transformative time in your lives.

Bio coming soon.

Hello! I live in South Minneapolis with my son, Salaam who is 4. I was inspired to become a doula by the presence of my own doula at my son's birth, which enabled me to have an empowered birth experience despite medical interventions I wasn't expecting. I have been working as a doula for a little over two years and am currently a student at MCTC working towards a nursing degree. After achieving that goal, I plan to attend the Frontier Midwifery School, to become a certified nurse midwife, and also be trained in attending home births.

I have traveled extensively through out the world, most recently carrying out a mural project in Chiapas, Mexico and human rights work in Iraq and Palestine. My passions outside of doulaing are learning languages, creating art, designing and painting murals, dancing and cooking.

My philosophy as a doula is that a positive birth experience not only helps babies into the world in a more gentle way, but also creates strong, capable moms, and solid families. Each birth I attend is a gift to me, and helps me to become a more skilled birth professional. I look forward to meeting more incredible moms through Everyday Miracles.

I live in Anoka, MN and am I proud mother of six children. I believe that every child/baby deserves a chance at life and every mother a chance to have that baby in safety, comfort, and the best of support. Me and my husband, Dave, have three biological boys and also three adopted girls. Our hope was to give more than our own children a chance of their own. These children are almost all grown up, and we are anxiously awaiting the birth of our first grandchild.

I was trained as a Medical Assistant and have been working at PACT Charter School for eleven years as a Health Para managing the school's health office. This keeps me busy and I see an average of thirty to fifty kids a day.

While I am not fluent in other languages, I have a passion and desire to understand, aid, and learn from women of other cultures. My cultural experience comes mainly from my own family, with four different nations represented! I am not a globe trotter by any means, but I may be considered a world traveler. My visits include, Malawi (I worked with AIDS orphans for several weeks), England, Ecuador (where my second son was married), Ethiopia (we traveled to pick up our youngest adopted child), and Hong Kong (where my oldest daughter worked abroad).

I have been trained by DONA as a Doula and desire to assist women from all backgrounds and all ways of life through pregnancy and delivery. I am excited to see women experience the miracle of birth and the great privelege of motherhood. It is an honor to be a part of Everyday Miracles.

Hello! My name is Alia Salim, I am the mother of six children ranging from 2-22 years old. I have been a practicing doula for 8 years, and have been working for Everyday Miracles for two years. I have attended almost 80 births, and am currently studying to become a Certified Nurse Midwife. I am currently enrolled at MCTC, working on my RN degree. I enjoy my work as a doula, and I look forward to working with the mothers I meet through Everyday Miracles!

Bio coming soon!

I am so excited to be a Postpartum Doula with Everyday Miracles! Over the next year, I will also be earning my DONA International certification to become a Birth Doula as well. My belief is that every new mother deserves to have an advocate and be taken care of to ensure a positive birth and postpartum experience.

I am a graduate from the University of North Dakota with a BA Degree in Public Relations. Advertising and Mortgage were the industries that I worked in for many years, but after the birth of my 3rd child, I realized how much help I needed physically and emotionally. I believe that being a doula is my calling, I am passionate about helping others!

My husband and I live in Maple Grove, MN with our three children: Lauren, Mikey and Tommy. In my spare time, I enjoy my family and friends, playing ice hockey (crazy isn't it?) and cooking.

I am looking forward to making your postpartum days relaxing, comforting and enjoyable!