About Marianne Jacobson, Sleep Coach & Doula
My Journey: How I Became a Doula
My first encounter with a doula was in 2003 during the birth of my nephew. Shortly after that I found myself in a birth doula training class and I was hooked! It was obvious I had found my calling and I am so thankful to have found a career that is both fulfilling and so beneficial to my clients.
Experience
Birth Doula: As a birth doula, I worked with pregnant women, educating them on their birth options and helping them prepare for their birth event. Whether they chose to have their birth at home, at a birthing center or at a hospital, I enjoyed being their advocate, coach and support.
Postpartum Doula: It wasn’t long after becoming a birth doula that I was introduced to the specialization of postpartum doula services. I was intrigued by the idea of helping families transition into their new life together and quickly started to focus on providing postpartum doula services. I joined the board of directors for the Northwest Association for Postpartum Support (NAPS) to further support and promote postpartum doula services in the Greater Seattle Area.
Multiples Doula: Interestingly enough, in my role as a postpartum doula, 90% of my clients have been parents of multiples. Multiples create a variety of unique challenges and are more prone to sleeping and feeding problems. It was the exposure to these needs that led me to obtain greater training and education in the areas of lactation and sleep support.
Sleep Doula: As a result, for the last five years I have focused on and specialized in sleep coaching and consulting as a very essential piece of the postpartum experience. I enjoy utilizing my postpartum doula experiences to provide a comprehensive and flexible approach to each family’s experience.
Comprehensive Experience: Sleeping, feeding, habits – all work together and impact each other. As a result, an imbalance in one can adversely affect on the other. My varied experience allows me to provide my clients with a very well-rounded perspective and I enjoy being able to bring a variety of skills and perspectives to each individual situation.
Favorite Quote
“For as much as I know about Child Development, I didn’t realize that I was the one getting in the way of what my child was developmentally and physiologically capable of doing.”
