East Tennessee Doula Network
About Hallmark Doula
Abigail Hallmark CD(DONA), Healthy Moms Fitness Instructor
I am an Appalachian State University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology with a concentration in woman's health. I spent a semester abroad in the Netherlands, where women’s health is the best in the world, and returned to the USA with a passion for childbirth. I am currently a RSCC Nursing Program candidate and plan to pursue Midwifery in the future.
I began my doula career working with the YWCA Greensboro’s Teen Parent Mentor Program as a volunteer doula for teen mothers. I have since gone on to attend births in Greensboro, NC and to study with the midwives at The Farm Birth Center in Tennessee. I never stop learning and frequently attend women's health seminars, workshops, trainings and certifications. Most recently I attended the Healthy Moms Perinatal Wellness and Fitness Training, the UNCG Breastfeeding Symposium, and herbal workshops at the Appalachian School of Holistic Herbalism. I have expanded my services to include perinatal health and wellness services, including diet, exercise and holistic healing techniques that extend through conception, pregnancy, childbirth and mothering. I have recently joined the Health and Wellness staff of the YWCA Knoxville as a peri-natal instructor and hope to further my involvement in the Knoxville birthing community.
My goal as a doula is to help you create the birth experience you are most comfortable with. Though I value natural, unobstructed progression of labor, I fully respect and support individual comfort levels and medical preferences. Each body is different and I and am committed to providing nothing but positive, knowledgeable support and feedback for any decision made during labor.
I currently live in Knoxville, Tennessee with my husband and two cats.
Birthing stories from the mouths of babes!
July Metro Pulse Street Talk interview.
Birth Doula
The word "doula" comes from the ancient Greek meaning "woman’s servant" and is used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth.
Studies show that a doula can help shorten labor with fewer complications, increase maternal and infant outcomes and increase the success of breastfeeding. Research evidence also shows that the quality services of a postpartum doula can ease the transition that comes with the addition of a baby to a family, improve parental satisfaction and reduce the risk of mood disorders.
A Birth Doula can:
- Recognize birth as a key experience the mother will remember all her life
- Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor
- Assists the woman in preparing for and carrying out her plans for birth
- Stays with the woman throughout the labor
- Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures and an objective viewpoint, as well as helping the woman get the information she needs to make informed decision
- Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and her clinical care providers
- Perceives her role as nurturing and protecting the woman's memory of the birth experience
- Allows the woman's partner to participate at his/her comfort level
- A birth doula certified by DONA International is designated by the initials CD(DONA).
For more information on birth doulas visit www.DONA.org
