Meet Darlene MacAuley - Birth Doula, Reiki, Empowerment Coach

Meet Darlene

My own birth experiences

After the highly medicalized birth of my son in 1999, I knew that when I had another child, I would make changes to ensure I had a more empowering experience. During my second pregnancy two years later, I learned more about my options, found a midwife who understood my goals, and I hired a birth doula to help me at the birth of my daughter. With my sights on the goal of a healing, empowered birth experience, I was well-supported physically and emotionally, and my second birth experience was powerful and joyful.

Practical Training

In the years that followed I focused on my growing babies and a business with my husband. It was not until 2007 that I decided to enter the childbirth profession and support other women as a birth doula.

With Great Appreciation

At each birth I attend, I am humbled by the power of a woman's body, working in sync with her child within, to bring that child who is within her, out. I am fascinated that a baby only needs the warmth and nourishment of his mother to be happy and grow. I treasure the opportunity to witness my clients' transformation from Woman to Mother, and I am honored that these women allow me into their circle and trust in my presence and abilities to support them during this very sacred time in their lives.

Taking Prenatal and Labor Support to a New Level

I bring an eclectic array of interests and experiences to my doula work. As a Reiki practitioner I offer an added modality of physical support that during labor and birth. My interest and experience in macrobiotic nutrition and homeopathy, and my familiarity with other modes of holistic healing methods helps clients seeking non-medical alternatives for diet and health matters. In addition, the skills I've acquired as a Business and Life Balance Coach have been extremely valuable and helps me support a woman emotionally and mentally in a gentle, objective and loving way.

Reaching Out to More Women by Supporting Other Birth Professionals

As an experienced business owner, I found myself helping other doulas by offering practical tips for running their practices. I felt it was an especially comparable exchange when I was able to share business tips for wisdom from more experienced doulas.

I thought it was a natural progression for me to extend business coaching services to birth professionals. Through this work, I am able to help even more women by supporting the doulas and midwives who support them during the childbearing year.

Whether you are a woman seeking help for your own labor and birth, or you are a childbirth professional who needs support while building a business, I look forward to helping you achieve your goals.

Training

Reiki I, II, Advanced & Master Training, Tess Sullivan (Mar. - May 2006)

Fundamentals - Cooking for Disease Prevention and Reversal, The Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts (Feb. -Mar. 2006)

Doula Training Workshop, Association of Labor Assistants & Childbirth Educators (Feb. 2007)

Childbirth Preparation Class, Family Connections (Feb. and Mar. 2007)

Personal Renewal Group Facilitator Training, Renee Trudeau and Associates (Mar. 2007)

Breastfeeding Management Mini Programs I & II, Texas Dept of Health (Mar. & Apr. 2007)

Audit of Hypnobabies Childbirth Preparation Series, Marianne Calvanese (May & Jun. 2007)

Introduction to Pregnancy Massage, Luna Wood (Jun. 2007)

Hypno-Doula Training, Hypnobabies (Aug. 2007)

Birth Arts International Birth Doula Training, Birth Arts International (Aug. 2007)

Happiest Baby on the Block Certification Program, The Happiest Baby (Aug. 2007)

Parents of Newborns Project Volunteer Training, Family Connections (Oct. 2007)

Life Coach Training, International Coach Academy (Currently in progress)

Introduction to Neuro Linguistic Programming, Texas Institute of NLP (Feb. 2008)

Advanced Doula Training - Physical Comfort Measures, Jessica Atkins (Apr. 2008)

Advanced Doula Training - How to Use a Birth Ball During Labor and Birth; How to Support a Woman With an Epidural, Jessica Atkins (Jul. 2008)

Certifications

Reiki I, II, Advanced & Master Certification, Tess Sullivan (Mar. - May 2006)

Certified Happiest Baby on the Block Instructor, The Happiest Baby (Aug. 2007)

Memberships and Affiliations

Association of Labor Assistants and Childbirth Educators

La Leche League

Founding Member of the Central Texas Birth Network

Volunteer Work

Parent Educator with Parents of Newborns Project, Family Connections

With Heart and Hands

Empowering Women During Pregnancy and Birth