Welcome to
Change is on the horizon, and I’m here to help you powerfully integrate your innate primal physiology and tradition with this fast-paced world.
Going into my 17th year in childbirth consultancy, I have supported hundreds of families like yours, thrive amidst change.
Hi, I ‘m Serena!
I support others as they pivot themselves towards their ideal outcomes.
I am your Community Doula: Working with me is an opportunity to dive in and access my traditional trainings in birth, life & womb care. Together we’ll hold space for your specific, clear visions for your matrescence journey. Within the time of getting to know you, we’ll deep dive using meditation, journaling, seasonal & embodied connections and holistic peer counselling. I am simply here to nurture your innate trust in yourself, birth and your power flow.
I am also host to the Birthing Freedom podcast which you can find on your fave listening app. I share deep inspirations and showcase the importance of vulnerable transformation, reclaiming traditional practices and interviews with healing leaders. Showcasing the importance of loving ourselves in our own rad and sovereign ways, the Birthing Freedom Podcast is about birthing new ideas, projects and ourselves.
I know that birth can be both painful & pleasurable
I’m the mother of two sweet powerhouse boys. I’m a herbalist, instructor and animal lover. I love hiking and everyday surprises. As a recipient of two open heart surgeries before the age of 6, I have a deep appreciation for the many modalities of healing and wellness that are available to us. My direct lineage is from the regions of India, Ireland, and France.
I’ve been facilitating weekly postpartum groups since 2016. Meditation & yoga have been a part of my life since I was a child. I find joy in the simple things like jumping in the ocean and walking barefoot.
In 2013, after experiencing a pleasurable and joy-filled birth, I was invited to host my first workshop about my vocational & personal experiences around childbirth. What started as the headliner for my talk became the namesake for my profession.
My Offerings
Every doula is unique. Using the power of your many senses, you could say that I’m here for providing comfort measures.
But it’s much deeper then that...
If you spend time with me, learning what worked for your ancestors, embodying practical tools and practices, you’ll stay connected to your intimate womb and your authentic, radiant self.
Massage and energy work are an essential part of my toolset. I believe in the power of touch for relaxation while treating you with profound compassion in a space of grace and ease. Including manual therapy using my hands and Rebozo, allow you to feel soothed, energetically clear, informed and encouraged throughout your entire experience.
Birth is one of the most transformative and awe inspiring times of your life. The experience that you will never forget, with glowing, gorgeous moments that are completely embodied. As a Doula I listen with both my hands and through the lenses of intuition through photography. It's not uncommon that I will be massaging someone's leg, breathing with them all the while discreetly capturing the timeless expansion that is childbirth.
I am honored to celebrate your baby and love story through the power of visual storytelling.
I help to integrate tools. So that you can best harvest your own wisdom with clarity and confidence, I wear both hats of Doula & Coach. Have a look at my FAQ page to learn the difference.
I’ll show you ways to embrace any hang-ups or fears, doubts or shame, as important messengers of how to best explore your ascension and attunement as a parent.
Through my specific comfort measures, resources and holistic practices , I’m here to help you to embrace calm and even find joy in the stretching of uncomfortable sensations.
Community Collaborations
Just like how we provide you with a solid support system, our broader community does the same for us. We are proud to partner with the following organizations:
- The Town of Comox:
Facilitator: Postnatal Group Baby & Me ~ Every Thursday 1-2:30pm (September -June)
- The Maloca
- Mamacentric
- The Birthing Families Foundation
- Doulas for Aboriginal Families Grant Program
- Doula Services Association of BC
- Doulas of the Comox Valley
A strong support system makes magic happen.
What my clients say
Serena is a natural. I am so grateful she came along. She helped me to deliver my daughter, who is now 16 years old. It felt so easy and natural. No drama, no fuss. Things fell into place naturally. Having opted for a home birth, all I wanted was peace and quiet and the room to be dark.
-Magda
Without Serena, I think I would have felt way less in control when I did eventually end up being a hospital transfer.I remember her rubbing my back and pushing my hips and thinking how perfect the pressure was and it was exactly what I needed. When I looked at her she just smiled knowingly!
With her help, I transitioned from my ideal situation to one definitely less than ideal but still feeling very focused, cared for, and advocated for.
-Amber
Serena helped me think through my options in a serious way, never ignoring tough topics but always leaving me feeling bigger than before.
I ended up having a very long labor and Serena re-harnessed my energy when I felt like I had no more to give and helped facilitate decision while letting me remain in the state I desired.
-A.
Here are some important gems
that I want to share with the world
I love celebrating and bringing to light the timeless expansion that is childbirth.
I believe that we do this best through the healing of intuition alongside our womb power.
Birth goes beyond making a baby. Birth is about breathing new life into your relationships, into love. It’s a rising of strong competent capable parents who know their inner strength and desires, the deepest parts of ourselves that we can be curious about and learn to understand and care for. An inner guild for creation, a dear old friend.
Birth is a transformation. Trusting that you have exactly what you need can be a revolutionary process.
While on a journey with so many different directions and unknown outcomes, what does it mean to “open”? Staying curious to your own connection to your womb as an ancestral body of knowledge, your primal bestie- can help you tap into and gather a well of strength, clarity, stamina and confidence.
To heal as a culture from the impacts of historical uprooting and loss of complex traditions, and the fast cadence of new technology, we need to explore the social, sexual, political and spiritual ecology of ourselves. How do we bring balance to traditional and modern technologies? In addition to the integration of technology we need to dance between what we’ve inherited as a culture and the deep inner wilderness within each of us.
A deep reclaiming of our ecological connections helps us to feel whole in ourselves.
I’m here to best prepare you and to nurture grounded collaborative flow with your own inherited body of wisdom, for your ideal birth vision using everything that’s already within you to get there.
If you are curious about how I got here, I’d love to share with you…
During my teens, I was terrified about the power of my womb. I carried a lot of responsibility and began learning about alternatives to drug-based birth control when I connected the dots between my mental health, hormones, nutrition and how whole and beautiful I was in my power. In my 20’s, my curiosity grew when I started to practice fertility awareness, herbalism and a deeper connection to my cycle.
In university, I studied anthropology and began my full time research in matriarchal societies. I learned more about ancestral healing and the legacy of my grandmothers in India and remote northern Ontario. While I learned alot in my studies, it wasn’t until some hitchhiking travels that I learned about doulas- when one gave me a ride!
I was looking for answers, and over tea and a short drive in the Rockies, I knew there was something real for me in this vocation. I chose not to become a midwife because I wanted to remain fully present for the emotional, energetic and physiological dance of birth.
From the get go, birth did not freak me out. I learned everything I could and had plenty of mentorship. My first immersion was when I was welcomed to learn alongside traditional birth attendants in Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc territory. With many wonderful, lightning-flashy moments, I knew: “This is exactly what I need to be doing…” and I haven’t stopped since!
My Education
Trauma Informed Herbalism: Seed Soil Spirit School * 2021
Birth Becomes Her Birth Photographer Certification * 2020
Institute of Somatic Therapy Certifications: * 2000
Fertility Massage
Massage Doula Support
Prenatal Massage
Hot Stone Massage
Research - Reflexology
Reflexology for Feet and Hands
Ethics - Communication
Pathology - Edema
Birth Coach Method Certification * 2020
International Placenta Specialist & Postpartum Doula Training * 2016
The Bold Method for Birth Facilitator training with Karen Brody * 2014
Hatha & Iyengar Yoga student * 2000-present
The National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) Certification * 2014
Holistic Peer Counselling for Birth & Parenting with Nekole Shapiro * 2013
Midwifery 101 with Gloria Lemay * 2012
Wise Woman Way of Birth Doula Certification with Gloria Lemay * 2009
POC Womb Wise Traditional Birth Attendant Immersions 2007 & 2008
Herbal Medicine Immersion with Sheelagh Mackenzie *2007
Theater of the Oppressed Immersion Workshop * 2005
Sociology & Cultural Anthropology, Kwantlen University * 2002-2004
Your are a parent, a mother, daughter, a partner.You have a visceral responsibility to listen deeply to what you ultimately want to bring forth. You have the courage to birth new life and to birth yourself, in freedom.
Freedom to bring forth your vision of care and love for the next generation of wonder-makers!
