Meet Valerie
Postpartum Doula, Lactation consultant, childbirth educator, bsn, former L&D, Postpartum and mother/baby couplet RN
Valerie brings her wisdom and years of experience to the west side of PDX as she has relocated from CA to Raleigh and finally to Oregon to be near her daughter. After becoming a nanny for premature twins 5 years ago, and recently watching them start school, Valerie decided she had more love to give to others and their tiny humans, she decided to add doula work to her extensive resume.
Valerie especially enjoys caring for new parents and young babies, and loves to nurture families as they begin in parenting and recover from the massive shifts after birth, including breastfeeding and pumping. She is available for both days and limited nights.
More About valerie
Valerie has been just about everything in the birth and postpartum world. She has been a mother/baby RN at hospitals, a childbirth educator, and an IBCLC, helping families begin, build and breastfeed. When a beloved family she knew welcomed twins, she was able to use all her skills with her most devoted little fans, and now that she has some free time with them in school, she has applied herself to working with other tiny people and their appreciative parents as a postpartum doula.
In Valerie’s words:
It gives me deep personal satisfaction to be able to help a new family through the inevitable changes a new baby brings. I understand that the family is a unit comprised of individuals who will have differing needs and am able to meet people respectfully where they are.
Valerie started with a BA social work and sociology and moved on to achieve a BSN. After struggling with breastfeeding her first baby, she decided to add IBCLC to her credentials, wanting to support others as they desired to breastfed their babies. She went on to work Labor and Delivery, as well as Postpartum and mother/baby couplet as an RN. After her nanny family had a preterm delivery and their babies were in the NICU, she was able to support their infancy and growing family for the first several years. She has extensive experience as a nanny, household helper and lactation support for multiple families on the east coast before relocating back to the west coast and making SW PDX home.
A mother to 2 grown daughter, Valerie understands the support that is needed when a new baby arrives and, as a lactation professional, she is passionate about helping families reach their goals. Working with new parents to gently support and to bolster both their knowledge about their baby, Valerie seeks to work herself out of a job by helping to create parents who are healed, rested, and confident that they know their baby well.
Currently Valerie can work a few days a week or a couple nights, and she lives in Beaverton so prefers to work on the west side if possible.
Valerie’s free time is spent with her daughter’s family, getting to know the PNW and exploring new places, things and adventures. She also has a younger daughter she now shares a coast again with who lives with her husband in San Francisco. Mothering and nannying has been a joy in her life, and has provided the inspiration to help others as they start their lives with little ones.
If you have imagined a wise woman to support you as you welcome your new baby, a gentle soul who will come alongside to guide and nurture while keeping the focus 100% on your needs, Valerie might be the perfect fit for your family. Valerie knows that great postpartum care means better breastfeeding outcomes, faster healing, and better bonds, and is excited to meet you and see if she can be the one that makes everything feel safe, warm and loved during your early postpartum.