Support that lets you exhale.
Guiding families through the childbearing year in Canandaigua, NY and the Finger Lakes.
Hello, I’m so glad you’re here!
My name is Cris. I’m a birth doula and Birthing from Within mentor based in Canandaigua, NY.
My practice is grounded in curiosity and creating space for your exploration to lead the way. I help balance your three ways of knowing: intuitive knowing, personal knowing, and modern evidence-based knowing; provide reliable and steady guidance during labor and birth for both the birthing parent and partner; and offer presence throughout the fourth trimester.
Whether you’re looking for a conversation about local resources, on-call doula support, or are drawn to birth classes and community gatherings, I’d love to connect. I’m committed to making support as accessible as possible, and offer a range of options from free community classes to personalized one-on-one care.
How can I support you?
PRENATAL SUPPORT
Prenatal support is available to help you prepare for the childbearing year with curiosity and creativity.
Private Prenatal Sessions explore childbirth education topics, practice coping skills, uncover feelings with birth art, and build personal maps with your birth and postpartum wishes.
Each session is 1.5 - 2 hours long, online or in person, and costs $199 (sliding scale) or is covered by Medicaid.
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Visit Community to learn more about my low-to-no cost community classes.
DOULA SUPPORT
I came to this work after the birth of my first son, when I found myself wondering if other new parents were struggling (like me) and if they had people to talk to about the realities of birth and postpartum. That questioning led me to train as a doula in 2018, and I’ve been supporting families through birth and early parenthood ever since.
I support births across the full spectrum. From unmedicated hospital births to planned cesareans and everything that falls between. I am currently working with families who live in Ontario, Seneca, Yates, and Wayne counties.
My full rate for on-call birth doula support is $1,000.
I am credentialed as a NYS Medicaid Doula Provider. HSA is accepted. Payment plans and sliding scale rates are also available.
What is included?
Once hired as your doula, I am available to you and your partner through pregnancy, labor, and into the postpartum days that follow.
During pregnancy, we will meet multiple times to navigate your birth preferences, discuss the many ways birth may unfold, practice comfort techniques, and create your maps for birth and postpartum. When you reach 37 weeks of pregnancy, I will go on-call until I join you in labor.
During labor, I flow with your needs until you birth your baby. I provide hands-on guidance with comfort and positioning, take candid photographs (if you wish), offer encouragement to you and your birth partner, and collaborate with your care team.
After birth, I stay with you to support your first hours postpartum, your baby’s first latch (if you choose to breastfeed), and help you get settled into recovery.
Postpartum, I will visit you within a week of your birth to discuss your birth experience, answer questions, support your early postpartum adjustment, and then, keep checking in through six weeks postpartum. And when our time together “officially” closes, I remain a resource whenever you need one.
Trainings & Credentials
Birth Doula Training
Carriage House Birth
Postpartum Doula Mentorship
Birdsong Brooklyn
Childbirth Educator Training
Birthing from Within
Breastfeeding for Doulas
Beautiful Birth Choices
Pediatric & Adult CPR Certified
American Red Cross
Foundational Workshop
Spinning Babies®
Medicaid Enrolled Doula Provider
New York State
READY TO CONNECT?
Whether you're just starting to explore support or you already know exactly what you’re looking for, I’d love to connect with you.
Use the button below to schedule a call.