An expert team at the ready

Daneita is a Certified Birth Doula through DONA and has been providing both birth and postpartum Doula support since 2016. For Daneita it is nothing more amazing than seeing life being given and helping families with that transition. Teaching families that they have a voice and that they are their greatest advocate, not only for themselves but for their baby and future families. Daneita believes that families should be provided the safe-haven and community that empowers, equips, and allows them to thrive. Through her work Daneita has developed specializations supporting birth parents of all ages, families with past Infertility, those navigating substance abuse.

Daneita has a wealth of knowledge working with all types of family’s dynamic. Daneita’s objective is just not the baby but to serve the family as a unit. Daneita can value each member of the family in a way that really anchors and builds teamwork.

Prior to finding her true passion in birth work Daneita earned a degree Certificate in Surgical Technology and worked in  Customer Service in corporate America. Daneita actively serves her community and has been the connection of many community resources. She and her husband were foster parents for over 10 years, which led them to adding to their family by adopting 4 amazing, beautiful, and highly resilient kiddos.

When Daneita is not working, she loves being with her 5 children and husband creating new memories and stories. She also loves shopping and couponing. Extreme couponing is only one of her many titles but one that brings her and her family great pride.

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Giovanna started her career supporting families as a preschool teacher in Northern Illinois. After 5.5 years in the classroom, she transitioned to higher education administration for two universities over the next 15 years. After the birth of her son, her passion and interest in the fourth trimester increased as she became aware of the gap in care for new parents. She became a birth and postpartum doula in 2014 and started serving families in the Chicagoland area under Tiny Tusks Doula. Her support has evolved to include virtual postpartum support across the US. 

As an educator at heart, she is committed to continuing education to further develop her expertise. Her trainings include:

• Hypnobabies Doula
• Stillbirthday Doula
• Spinning Babies

A background in Early Childhood education also allows her to support parents during the first year with topics that include breastfeeding, introducing solids, sleeping challenges, and beyond! 

When she is not at work, she can usually be found exploring local parks and trails with her son, training for endurance cycling races, or preparing for the next marathon! Her passions include trying out new recipes, cooking for her family, and incorporating fitness into her day.

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Tia is a certified birth and postpartum doula trained by Prodoula and DONA International, two leading certifying organizations in America.  She was inspired to become a doula through her own journey to motherhood, where through two birth experiences, she saw the importance of providing support to families during pregnancy, birth and after into the 4th trimester. Prior to becoming a doula, Tia worked in healthcare as a certified medical assistant.

Tia is passionate about her own education and believes it is central to her practice with the families she supports. She prides herself on bringing an evidence based approach to her work and the families she supports. She also ensures that she approaches her work without judgment or bias.  Your goals are her goals. She is there to support you and your family unconditionally.  Her clients love her professionalism, dedication and the warmth she brings to the job everyday.  

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When not working, she spends time with her family of four. She enjoys long days at the park and playing board games at night and believes one of life’s greatest pleasures is curling up with a good book while getting cuddles from her kids.

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Jennie Meyer is an IBCLC( and postpartum doula) with more than 4 years experience helping families meet their infant feeding goals. Jennie’s career began as a La Leche League Leader volunteer, where she found her passion helping parents provide human milk to their babies. The joy she found in this rewarding work led her to first pursue certification as a Postpartum doula where she saw first hand the significant need families faced in finding expert lactation support.  This realization ultimately led Jennie to pursue her IBCLC in order to offer the highest level of lactation support possible to the families she serves. 

Jennie takes pride in collaborating with clients to develop a plan for infant feeding that works for you and your family.  She offers education support before the baby comes and continuous support after the baby's arrival to ensure you are well taken care of. It is her mission to help you meet your goals. 

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Since Alison became a physical therapist in 2009, she has worked in a variety of clinical settings, which have all informed her practice over the years. As a young clinician, she completed a year-long physical therapy orthopedic residency program, to hone her clinical reasoning and manual therapy skills, and became a board certified clinical specialist following that.

Alison has been passionate about working with pregnant and postpartum patients from early on in her career. After the birth of her first child, she experienced first hand the challenges that come with recovery from these changes. As someone who worked in the field, she was astounded by the lack of information and resources available to new moms about recovery and rehabilitation after giving birth, about the pelvic floor and musculoskeletal system in general. This has driven her practice since.

 Alison strongly believes that movement is medicine and physical therapy can be a powerful force in returning a person to his or her optimal function. She especially enjoys working with recreational athletes and mothers (which she notes is also a form of athleticism).

Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, strength training, chasing her kids around for  “cardio,” meditation, traveling, and spending time with family.

Laura has been a Physical Therapist since 2005. She enjoys treating a wide variety of diagnoses and takes pride in her individualized approach to caring for each patient. She earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Saint Louis University, later completed an orthopedic residency, and became board certified in orthopedics (OCS) in 2011.

Laura has a special interest in treating pregnant and postpartum people and has taken extensive coursework in the area. She is passionate about helping her patients regain strength needed for motherhood and return to activities they love. She is a member of the Global Pelvic Health Alliance and is a Postpartum Certified Exercise Specialist. Laura also specializes in treating runners and is skilled with Video Gait Analysis.

In her free time, Laura enjoys spending time with her husband and two young daughters, instructing fitness classes for moms, and teaching small group programs to provide guidance and support to postpartum people through her company, Beyond the Bump Wellness.

Samara is a registered dietitian with a passion for nutrition education. She holds a Masters degree in nutrition science from the University of Illinois and she received additional education in integrative and functional nutrition through the Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy’s board certification program. She combines her background in dietetics, nutrition science, and integrative nutrition, offering patients a truly holistic approach to their care.

Samara loves supporting families throughout their prenatal and postpartum journey as she has experienced first hand from her own pregnancy and that of her patients, the profound impact that food and nutrition can have during these significant stages. She has experience working with pregnant mothers and families to address a variety of concerns including adequate intake, nausea and/or other common GI alterations, prenatal supplement brand review, low energy, food aversions, meal planning tips for postpartum recovery, blood sugar instability, dietary interventions for management of gestational diabetes, optimal nutrition for breast milk supply, and others.

When Samara isn’t working with patients, she enjoys cooking and taking neighborhood walks with her family.

Andrea is a licensed clinical social worker with over a decade post-graduate experience.  Prior to private practice, she worked in a variety of settings, including primary health care clinics, hospitals and schools.   In these settings, she worked with individuals at all stages of the life cycle including children, adolescents, young adults and adults.  She has experience in a wide range of behavioral and emotional concerns, particularly anxiety, acute and complex trauma, depression, behavioral problems, relational problems, transition to parenthood and parenting. 

She is certified in perinatal mental health by Postpartum Support International, and has completed trainings directive and non-directive play therapy, as well as various parenting programs.

As a therapist, Andrea believes that first and foremost, the therapeutic relationship is collaborative.  She combines CBT strategies with a strengths-based and solution-focused approach.  Andrea places value on interpersonal relationships as well, and guides clients to improve their personal relationships through productive communication and setting healthy boundaries.  Together, she will work with you to create a plan that will help you flourish as an individual and a parent.

Allison is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has over 10 years of experience working in various medical settings. Much of her career has been focused on working with new parents, first as NICU social worker and later with Early Intervention providing in-home services to the families of the 0-3 population. As Allison’s career shifted from inpatient medical settings to outpatient counseling, she remained engaged and interested in the journey to parenthood, supporting hopeful, expectant, and new parents through the changes, challenges, and joys that many encounter. 

While Allison’s career progressed, she was met with her own complex journey to motherhood, experiencing infertility and pregnancy loss before welcoming a healthy baby in 2019. This personal experience has affirmed her passion to support families as they adjust to parenthood and face both the joys and uncertainties that come along. 

In her work with clients, Allison utilizes a patient-centered, holistic approach, drawing on theories of CBT, ACT, and DBT to create individualized plans for each patient.  She has completed advanced training in Perinatal Mental Health through Postpartum Support International and is certified in Yoga Informed Psychotherapy.