Welcome

My name is Christy Parish. I am a Doula and a proud Military Spouse. We just relocated to Shiloh, Illinois in December 2010, and I look forward to helping you and your growing family in any way I can.

I am available for Labor Support at many of the hospitals in Southern Illinois and the St. Louis Metro area, birthing centers, or in your home. St. Elizabeth's and Memorial Hospital are two of the local hospitals that are close to me. I will also attend births within an hour or so away from me. Please contact me to find out if I will travel to your hospital, birthing center, or home. 

Prenatal and Postpartum Support are also services that I am able to provide you and your family. If you are not sure how I can help, please feel free to talk with me. Once you are home with your little one, things can be very stressful. This is especially true if you are not too familiar with newborns, or if the baby doesn't allow you to get much sleep. I can help!

My love for birth started before I ever even had children and I have always been fascinated by the whole process. I loved being pregnant and enjoyed the experience that I had with my own pregnancies and births, but I know now that I would have really enjoyed and appreciated the help of a doula. When I had my own babies, I was told to lay in bed. So, that is what I did because I didn't realize I had other options. Little did I know, I had many more options and would have loved the opportunity to labor in my own way. If only I knew then what I know now.

In 2002, I worked in Labor and Delivery at an Army Hospital in Germany as a Med Tech. As a Tech, I provided the support of a Doula and much more. This is where I first learned about Doulas and fell more in love with the whole birth process. In 2004, I completed a DONA Doula training course and requirements. While living in New Mexico in 2005, I was one of 19 Doulas in a Doula practice at one of the local hospitals. With the hospital, I completed many other training requirements as well. I worked there for 7 months before moving back to Germany. Once back Germany, I worked as a private Doula for the military families in the area and had the great opportunity to practice in the German hospitals, experiencing water births. In 2008, we returned to the states, where I practiced as a private Doula in Northern Virginia. I am looking forward to my new adventures and to working in the Southern Illinois area. Since 2002, I have attended over 75 special birthdays.

In addition to my DONA Doula training and Labor & Delivery experience, I birthed two beautiful children of my own. One with an epidural, and one without, and successfully breastfed both of them. In 1999, I was trained as an EMT and have also worked many years as a Medical Assistant. I also have 3 years experience in home daycare and have training in breastfeeding, childcare, and child development. I take pride in having helped a desperate mother with a six day old baby who wouldn't breastfeed (mother was feeding her with a syringe), who after my help, went on to breastfeed for well over a year. I am also currently a nursing student, working on getting my BSN/RN.

I've helped many different families of varying backgrounds and supported them through long or short labors, cesareans, water births, and VBAC! In my postpartum work, I've worked with both breast and bottle feeding mothers, and cared for singletons and twins, as well as older siblings and pets! Every mother, every baby, every labor and postpartum is different, and I am thankful to the families I've supported for all they've taught me. I am committed to giving unconditional support to laboring women and their families in a variety of settings and to help them achieve a safe and satisfying birth. I believe birth is a normal, transforming event in a woman's life; that each woman should be fully informed of her many options and have support for whatever choices she makes for herself and her baby. I look forward to assisting the parents of Southern Illinois with my knowledge, skills, and heart, to help them achieve a safe and satisfying birth experience!



As a Doula, I do not preform medical duties. Please feel free to contact me for more information.

*Having a doula to assist during childbirth is highly recommended by healthcare professionals, mothers, fathers or birth partners, no matter how much support you may have. Enlisting the services of a doula would also be a great recommendation for mother's who's spouses or partners are deployed, or if you are a single parent.