Dr. Sarah Winward, ND
Five years ago my classmate, Olivia, convinced me to do a doula course because she thought I’d really enjoy it. I hadn’t heard of ‘doulas’ before but students got a discount and I had been enjoying our maternal and newborn care class, so I figured why not? It was so fascinating and I was eager to get my feet wet so Olivia and I signed up for our schools’ doula club and we co-supported our very first birth together. We were both in complete awe of the whole process. And I think we were both hooked right then and there.
Your Downtown Doula was started at a computer hub at the clinic where Dr. Olivia Chubey, ND, and I, did our clinical internship. I knew I wanted to support pregnant parents, but I also knew that I didn’t want to do it alone. So, I asked her to come on board so we could back each other up in our doula work.
I got pregnant with my first baby literally the same week we signed those papers. I got my ND license the same week my son was born. Somehow, Olivia and I managed to keep it together in the first few years. Most of our meetings at that time had a baby involved. But we kept growing and soon we were a collective with multiple practitioners all with a passion for helping new parents!
Dr. EeVon Ling, ND, joined our leadership a few years ago, and Olivia and I could not have been more excited! EeVon has kept us heading in the right direction, and helped to steer the ship while Olivia was having her first baby and I was having my second.
The last 5 years have been quite the wild ride of starting a business, having 2 new babies on our doula team, adapting to a pandemic all while striving to give the best support possible to our clients.
We are so grateful to everyone who has joined us on this journey and we are excited to see what we’ll build together next!