Personalization of care for our clients is one of our main priorities. Every woman and partner we serve desires something different and unique in their birth and postpartum experience. Our team is made up of experienced, professional and passionate women who believe that your birth experience is a life changing day. There is much more to having a baby, then just “having a baby”. It is a day to build partnership with your significant other, to feel strong, to feel confident and to feel informed. Our goal is for you to leave your birth place knowing you made great decisions, and to have confidence to move into parenthood.
At Modern Mama Doula, we take all of our own personal clients. There is not a call rotation. This means your doula that you interview and bring on board in your birth or postpartum experience is your doula. The beauty of having a team of other doulas is that in the rare chance we can not be there to support you, you know you have someone just as qualified and passionate to walk beside you. We all teach the same curriculum and believe in the same missions and values. Motherhood and Parenthood takes a village, and we strongly believe that here at Modern Mama Doula. We can’t wait to connect more with you!
Michelle Ludwig ADV. CD(DONA)
Owner of Modern Mama & the motherhood co.
Birth Doula
Michelle Ludwig is a southern California native who now hangs her hat and heart in sunny Phoenix AZ. Through following her passion she discovered her calling to be a doula. She believes women are strong, smart and entitled to make their own informed decisions regarding their body during labor. Her goal is to create a safe, calm and serene place for your body and mind while you begin your journey as a parent. Michelle continually stays involved in birth advocacy and served as the DONA state Ambassador for 2 years. She currently sits on the Arizona Department of Health Doula Advocacy Board.
No matter where you choose to bring your baby into the world, Michelle's goal is to support you in the way you desire. Having worked in all the valley's hospitals, birthing centers and with many homebirth midwives, Michelle is experienced in creating the atmosphere that suits you. Maintaining professional relationships with care providers, nurses, and birth professionals is a priority for Modern Mama Doula Services to ensure you have the experience you strive for. From the hundreds of births Michelle has had the honor of attending she draws on her experiences to help you navigate your birth journey. Consider us your travel guide, guiding you through your options and presenting you with evidence based research so you and your partner can make your birth an incredibly empowering experience.
Michelle is passionate about continuing her education, skill set and broadening her knowledge through attending birth workshops frequently. Having the honor of training under Gail Tully, the founder and creator of Spinning Babies, she gained an immense set of skills to help enable good fetal positioning. These positions are an incredibly useful tool to use with clients during their delivery process. You should feel empowered, you should feel blessed and most important you should feel informed. Your Body. Your Baby. Your Birth.
Patricia Alatriste CD(DONA)
Director of Operations
Birth Doula & Encapsulation Specialist
Patricia Alatriste is an Arizona native. She has a background in nursing and through life experiences has found her passion as a doula. She loves educating, empowering and supporting families
She believes that options and education are the key to having an exceptional birth experience. Her goal is to always help her clients know about evidence based practices during their pregnancy, labor, delivery and postpartum period. Helping the laboring women’s partner know how to effectively help the mother during her childbirth experience carries through to her postpartum work when helping new families in home. She believes the “teamwork” for couples begins in pregnancy and continues into the postpartum period. Creating that team atmosphere for her couples is always a priority. From your Pregnancy, Birth, Postpartum period and Breastfeeding journey Patricia is here to help. Supporting the birth and parenting experience that you desire is of utmost importance.
Carena Stamps CD
Carena is an Arizona native and mama to three wondrous wild boys. She has a passion for serving and loving people and a deep connection to nature and the desert land that surrounds her. Through an individual journey with infertility/miscarriages, a c-section birth, two VBAC births and the transition to motherhood she was led to birth work. She believes that knowledge is power, support changes outcomes, nurturing is the magic we all need, that women are strong beyond belief and that birth is a beautiful rite of passage. She sees her greatest work as nurturing well being in a calm, consistent manner to help women uncover individual strength and softness in the journey to and through birth. She has attended multiple births at home, birth centers, in hospitals, with midwives and OBGYN's- and holds a deep respect and reverence for all who work within this realm. She believes her role as a doula is to work alongside women, their support partners and care providers to establish and implement a practice of care that allows them to feel strongly supported, informed, wholly witnessed and empowered through knowledge and choice- during birth and beyond.
Mckenzie Taylor CD
McKenzie is a CAPPA trained labor and postpartum doula. After attending multiple births of her nieces and nephews, McKenzie’s interest in birth work was sparked. Her desire to become a doula increased considerably while studying the disparities between expectant mothers of different socioeconomic and racial groups. McKenzie is passionate about empowering woman and serving under-represented communities. She is an advocate for families by helping them find their voice while providing the family with exceptional prenatal, labor, and postpartum support.
She is a Utah native but now calls Arizona home after living in Seattle for a few years. McKenzie has always had a passion for health care and the medical field since she was a little girl practicing CPR on her dolls. McKenzie earned her degree in radiology and spent majority of her career in breast health & breast imaging working at Seattle’s top cancer research clinic.
Amy Gable CD
Amy is a former educator who found her calling to birth work through her own pregnancy and birth experiences. After giving birth in a hospital and a birth center, Amy has the life experience to support whatever type of birth you are looking for. She believes birth is a transformational experience and is passionate about educating and advocating for families. She feels the most important factor to a positive birth is your team. Surrounding yourself with knowledgeable, supportive and kind people you trust is key and she prides herself on being part of that team. She believes that the strength of a birthing person is immeasurable and seeks to show every Mama the power they have within. Amy wants every family to feel connected and informed throughout the birthing process and leave their birth feeling empowered and ready to take on parenthood.
Amy is an Arizona native and Mama to two littles and a Bonus Mom to 3 teenage boys. She loves hiking and camping and Harley rides with her Husband.
Brigit Monahan PCD(DONA), CD(DONA), LCCE, CLC
Director of Postpartum Services
Certified Birth and Postpartum Doula, Certified Newborn Care Specialist, Infant Massage Instructor, and Breastfeeding Supporter
Born and raised in Arizona, Brigit moved back to the valley in 2018 after living in London, UK. She has been working with children and families since the age of twelve and it has always been a number one passion for her. Since 2013, Brigit has been offering emotional, physical, and practical support, traveling all over the globe, as a full time Doula and Newborn Care Specialist, to work with families from all different backgrounds and cultures.
Families need a variety of kinds of support as they start out on their journeys through parenthood. Brigit believes it takes a village to raise a baby and is here to join you on your journey into parenthood and be apart of your team. She enjoys learning and teaching and will be there to help you every step of the way with up-to-date and evidence-based information as well as practical knowledge. Brigit has experience with singletons, twins, triplets, breastfeeding routines, sleep allergies, reflux, tongue ties, postpartum mood disorders, thrush, mastitis, circumcision care, eczema, jaundice, cradle cap, weaning, traveling with infants and toddlers, meal prep and cooking, etc. She tailors each job to the specific needs of each client in order to support and nurture the mother, baby, and the whole family.
Sumaya Rahman CD-PIC, CD-L
Sumaya was born in Bangladesh, but lived in Arizona most of her life. She is a graduate from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Biology and B.A. in Global Health. After her second baby was born, she realized her passion is in doula work. She understood that having a good birth and postpartum team can have a positive impact on the family and their wellbeing.
She is certified as a labor and postpartum doula. She is experienced in cooking, meal prepping, sleep shaping, breastfeeding, and looking after older siblings. She also provides services for belly binding and henna.
Caitlin Neuman PCD(DONA)
Caitlin is from Maryland and has lived in Arizona for the past four years. She is a second generation Postpartum Doula, loves to travel and try out new experiences. She looks forward to furthering her education and becoming a Newborn Care Specialist and a Birth Doula. She has worked with children since her early teens and is a DONA trained Postpartum Doula. Caitlin has certifications and training in Infant/Toddler development, group care, Breastfeeding, and Childcare regulations. Caitlin has worked as lead teacher in Infant rooms in childcare centers and as a nanny with children from birth to four years old for the past eight years. She is comfortable in a variety of settings and enjoys meeting families, using her skills and intuition into baby's particular needs to provide what would be most helpful to each family at any given time. Caitlin loves all animals and is comfortable with pets and older siblings. Caitlin will provide families with feelings of comfort and support as they adjust to life with a new baby. She takes pride in helping each family navigate this new normal so that they feel successful and competent both during her stay and after. Caitlin will provide families with child development information, safe sleep guidance, infant care, sibling care, light housekeeping, baby laundry, light meal prep, maternal support and care, pet care, overnight and daytime support. Families love Caitlin's calm demeaner, can-do attitude and positive outlook. She looks forward to meeting you!
Latisha Alvarez
Latisha is a multicultural, Chandler, Arizona native. A mother of 5- 2 boys and 3 girls. She loves to explore with creativity in crocheting, painting, and jewelry making! When it comes to being creative and crafty there is no activity that does not capture her heart. Her interest in birth and postpartum started as a teen mother who struggled with postpartum depression. Being a teen mother first and then later in life experiencing motherhood again in a different light truly helps her provide well rounded and experienced care for all the families she serves. Throughout the years she has worked in behavioral health and has helped with many families and women with their experiences with birth and postpartum. From her extensive experience personally and professionally with maternal and postpartum wellness and health, doula work quickly became her passion and she sees it as an honor to walk with families through their new journey of parenthood. Her goal is to help her families hone in on their own instincts and learn their new baby in a way they can understand and succeed in. Latisha is bilingual in Spanish.
Wendy Kaneshige
Wendy is an Arizona Native, growing up in the border town of Yuma. She has two children of her own, son and daughter. Slow mornings with a book in hand and tea bring her joy, as much as being outdoors growing her garden. She comes from over a decade of classroom experience as a Montessori Guide.
Wendy holds her AMI diploma in Montessori education from birth-6 years of age. Following the natural path of development and truly understanding the whole child is what guides her to support parents and caregivers. Wendy was seen as "the toddler whisperer" when in her school communities. To move outside the classroom and pursue more in depth in helping the whole family is what guided her to be trained through DONA as a postpartum doula.
Wendy has a love for learning and is always seeking new knowledge. She is aiming to pursue lactation consultant training in the near future. Working with women and families during the postpartum period is a very important work and she knows it is a sensitive time frame for both the child and parents. The first 6-8 weeks of life are the foundation of the newborn and she wants to be there to support the families to make this transition as smooth and beneficial as possible.
Courtney Hess
Courtney is a trained postpartum doula with training in lactation education as well.
She is a certified medical assistant and have been for the last 6 years. Her medical career was pediatric focused. Prior to becoming a medical assistant Courtney, nannied for families in her area frequently. These years of experience led to her to the calling of becoming a postpartum doula. Courtney also has a passion for American Sign Language. She has taken two college courses and hope to become fluent within the year.
Her goal now is to put my knowledge and education to work in the lives of new parents. The postpartum period is so special and sacred, and she is truly honored to be a part of her clients lives. As a postpartum doula, she comes to each clients home to educate, care for, and support new parents in their way. Courtney wants to be there for you and to support you in a new exciting journey in life. She hopes to radiate positivity into these homes and leave them prepared, confident and ready for success with their new little one. Courtney and her wife love living in Phoenix and currently have 3 fur babies.
Kristen Feuerstein CD-PIC
Kristen's life goal is to nurture the joy and wonder of having a baby in the home. She has over 20 years of experience supporting families as a certified postpartum doula, infant and toddler teacher, and nanny. Kristen has a vast knowledge of the care of newborns and their families. She obtained her postpartum doula training at Simkin Center for Allied Birth Vocations where she also trained as an Infant massage teacher. Kristen has multiple certifications including Prodoula Infant feeding Specialist and Gentle sleep coaching. Kristen has facilitated newborn support groups for PEPS and has completed RIE, Respectful Infant Educator foundational training. She would be honored and humbled to be invited into your home during this sacred and transformative time in your new family’s life. Kristen is a knowledgeable, compassionate, and nurturing postpartum doula and enjoys helping families find their strengths and abilities. She’s a great listener… she would love to answer all your questions about caring for yourself and your baby
Kristin DuBoce CPPD
Kristin is a CAPPA-certified postpartum doula. She is an Arizona native and mama to four girls. She is a graduate of Arizona State University with a B.S. in Nonprofit Leadership and Management. Working in the nonprofit sector for years, Kristin's heart changed through her personal motherhood journey. She began working at a local breastfeeding office to support families administratively and after her second birth, had the calling to enter the doula world. She enjoys empowering families to thrive in the early waves of parenthood. Kristin supports families during the day or night with baby care, safe sleep guidance, breastfeeding support, light housekeeping, organizing small spaces, laundry, meal prep, and maternal support. When Kristin is not hanging with her girls and husband or supporting families, she enjoys taking care of her ongoing plant collection, reading a good book, or organizing a new space in her home.
Jessica Pruznak CD-PIC
Originally born and raised in Texas, Jessica has called Arizona home since 2015. Although the heat is brutal, she prefers that to Texas or the cold any day. She loves to spend time in nature and go on hikes and enjoy the beauty of the world around her. For the last 5 years she has owned and operated a residential cleaning business. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in business in 2022 while pregnant with her 4th daughter. She and her wife share 4 beautiful daughters whose ages range from toddler to teenager.
Jessica is a certified postpartum and trained birth doula who has been supporting families since 2016. Her journey to this work started 5 years after motherhood began, when her new provider for her second pregnancy told her she was a great candidate for a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC). After taking a childbirth education course and meeting her first ever doula, her mind was opened to the education, choices, and options there are when being pregnant, in labor, and freshly postpartum.
Jessica is passionate about helping others access that knowledge and feel confident in combining education, intuition, and support to make the best decision for their baby.
As a postpartum doula, her goal is to respect your sacred space and provide daytime or overnight support to help ease your transition from pregnancy to motherhood (or adding an additional family member). She uses her experience servicing clients homes, her education and training, and journey raising and caring for her own children, to lovingly support families whatever way that enhances their experience the most.
Jess Marinos CD
Jess has been supporting families as a full time postpartum doula since 2021. DONA and Best Doula trained, she is certified through Expert Rating as a Postpartum Doula. Becoming a postpartum doula was a natural progression for her. Witnessing the unique challenges that new parents face during the postpartum period, she felt compelled to provide compassionate and knowledgeable support. Jess’s own experiences with childbirth and the early days of motherhood, 10 years ago, also played a significant role in her decision to become a postpartum doula. She wanted to offer families a calming presence with practical assistance and reassurance as they navigate the transition into parenthood. Furthermore, the opportunity to empower and educate new parents about infant care, breastfeeding, and self-care motivates her every day.
Jess is devoted to providing invaluable support to new parents during the delicate postpartum period. Whether it's assisting with newborn care, offering breastfeeding/feeding guidance, or simply providing a listening ear, she is there to nurture, educate and guide families through this pivotal time. Jess has experience with babies who are full-term, premies, NG-tube fed, breastfeed, bottle feed, singletons, and twins as well as support with same-sex couples and babies born from surrogacy, and she has a background in and can support families with nutritional guidance. By alleviating the pressures of everyday tasks, Jess empowers parents to rest, recover, and embrace the joys of early parenthood. Gain the peace of mind and expert guidance they deserve by welcoming a postpartum doula into their family's journey. Jess can help you cherish every moment as you navigate the beautiful path of new parenthood.
Lori Greene CPD (CBI)
Born and raised in Southern California, Lori has called the Valley home for over 30 years. She has six children - four sons and two daughters in a vast age range. Lori travels when she can and gets to the lake as often as possible. Reading great books, hanging out with her husband and children and cuddling her grandson round out her time. Personally experiencing caesarean section, vbac, multiples, infant loss as well as adoption gives her a relatability not common.
Lori earned her certification from Childbirth International after encouragement from a birth doula and midwife who saw her nurturing qualities as well as a desire to support and lift up women. Becoming a postpartum doula is the realization of a desire to care for families sparked when she had babies in the NICU back in 1997 and saw volunteers holding and rocking babies.
With a passion to connect with women and support them as they grow into their role of mama - be it the first or fourth time, Lori is honored to share the vulnerable, sacred and wondrous space with families; bringing care, wisdom, and a mother's intuition to the fourth trimester.
Madelynn Oglesby CD
Madelynn was born and raised in Phoenix and attended the University of Arizona. She spent over 3 years living on the East Coast where she attended her Physician Assistant program in Delaware. She became a board-certified PA in May 2020, and her first job was in Orthopedic Surgery in New Jersey. After becoming pregnant with her daughter, she, her husband, and her dog moved back home to Phoenix to be close to their family and support system.
After having her daughter in May 2022, Madelynn and her daughter had a difficult start to breastfeeding, but with the right support and care team, they were able to successfully breastfeed for over 2 years. Through this experience, Madelynn became passionate about breastfeeding and helping other moms with their journey. She enrolled in the ASU Academy of Lactation Programs to become an IBCLC and is currently doing her clinical hours in a variety of settings (clinic, home, & hospital). After having many long talks with new moms who were seeking breastfeeding help, she realized she was passionate about supporting new parents in all aspects of postpartum, not just breastfeeding, which led her to pursue becoming a Postpartum Doula. She looks forward to helping parents with this huge life transition and find confidence in their ability to be the best parent for their baby.
Britney Tanner CD
Britney is a Fourth Generation AZ Native, nature lover and mother of two. Before starting her doula journey, Britney lead guided meditation at the Phoenician Spa. She uses that background to help clients achieve enhanced relaxation and calm during this sacred transitional time. Her personal experiences with birth and postpartum help her to offer relatable care for clients experiences, wherever and however they have given birth.
As a Postpartum Doula, Britney believes in honoring and respecting the parents’ needs and goals while offering educated, evidence-based ideas and practices. She helps support the family’s transition into their new normal by inspiring confidence, structure and a sense of peace during a time that can seem overwhelming. She’ll be an extra pair of hands, listening ear, and calming presence as she navigates with families through their new home life dynamic with baby.
Outside of MMDS, you can find Britney near a body of water, hiking, thrifting, reading or enjoying time with her daughters.
Ashley Shouse LCCE, CD
As a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator and BEST Certified Doula, Ashley believes that it is important for families to be able to combine evidence-based practices with their own personal preferences, values, and cultural traditions, and sees childbirth education as a way not just to learn about the process of birth, but as a basis to explore what they would prefer their own birth experiences to be like. Her goal as a birth worker is for families to feel informed, prepared, and supported, however and wherever they choose to give birth.
Outside of birth work, Ashley spends her time with her husband and three kids, often running between various kid activities, always with an iced coffee in hand for fuel and a good book for entertainment.
Brittani Curtis CD(DONA)
Brittani is a Minnesota native who has lived in central Phoenix for over 10 years. While she's gotten used to wearing flip flops at Christmas, snowflakes still make her heart skip a beat!
Brittani is passionate about empowering women and their families. Before training to be a doula in 2015, she spent 8 years working worked for an international non-profit that equips women and their families to combat extreme poverty around the world. Today, as a childbirth educator and a DONA certified birth doula, she loves advocating for and supporting women in her community.
Brittani believes that evidence-based decision making, and an amazing birth support team, are key to a positive birth and postpartum experience. She loves birth education because she loves to learn! Over the years, she's attended trainings on Spinning Babies, Massage for Birth, TENS unit use during Labor, Infant Loss, and Lactation Management for Doulas. During birth education classes, Brittani focuses on values-driven, evidence-based, empowered decision making. As a wife, and mother of three, Brittani knows firsthand the importance of this special time in your life!
Dr. Aynsley Babinski
Aynsley Babinski, Psy.D is a graduate from the Arizona School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University, Phoenix with doctorate in clinical psychology. During her training, Dr. Babinski worked in community mental health at Southwest Behavioral and Health services in their school based counseling program, private practice at Wooten and Associates and at a substance use treatment facility for women, the National Council on Drug and Alcohol Dependence (NCADD) in Phoenix, AZ. Throughout her training, Dr. Babinski has worked with clients experiencing perinatal depression, anxiety, OCD, postpartum psychosis, and birth trauma.
Dr. Babinski helped establish and create the Postpartum Support International-Arizona (PSI-AZ) chapter, connecting Arizona women and their families with perinatal and postpartum mental health resources. Dr. Babinski passionately advocates for family-centered maternity care, and the empowerment of women through pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. Dr. Babinski works with women and families in the childbearing years within the Southeast Valley. She also has a special interest in collaborating with and supporting the providers who serve them.