Jen Walts owns Wind & Water Doula Care in Western Massachusetts and is a certified birth doula and hypnobirthing® childbirth educator. She made a bold move and dove headfirst into the realm of birth after more than ten years of teaching. Because of this, she has been able to assist families with everything perinatal and even create private childbirth educations curriculum! I had the opportunity to learn out more about Jen and her services, and I’m so excited to share the interview with you.
What is your name! How should people address you?J
Jen Walts (she/her)
What is the name of your business? Do you own it, co-own etc.?
Wind & Water Doula Care (Business Owner, Birth Doula, HypnoBirthing® Instructor, Childbirth Educator)
Where are you located and what areas do you serve?
West Springfield, MA (Serving Western Mass and families within an hour radius)
And what inspired you to open your business (or get into the field)? How long have you been active in this field?
I had an incredibly empowering labor & birth experience at Seven Sisters Midwifery & Community Birth Center. My postpartum doula was such a vital part of our support team after our baby arrived, and I soon started to realize that I felt quite a strong tug toward birth work. I was a high school teacher for 10 years and have my Masters degree in education. I swiftly pivoted to all things labor, birth, & postpartum and became an educator of what I think has the potential to be a really positive and powerful transformation for all families.
What products/services do you offer?
My main offerings are:
-birth doula care
-HypnoBirthing® group classes (in person & virtual)
-virtual postpartum support
-private childbirth education & labor and birth prep sessions
-birth photography
-yoga & meditation
-Community Circes (postpartum support groups)
-business coaching (especially for birth professionals)
And you can find a full list of services here
What’s your favorite thing about your job?
I love meeting families where they are on their journey and seeing what transformation takes place along the way. I especially love seeing families at the center of their birth experience- their voice at the center of really informed decision making.
What is the most rewarding and most challenging part of your job?
One of the most rewarding parts of this work is witnessing- seeing the birther move through their birth experience with a power they didn’t know how to access before it all began, seeing a birth companion confidently support their partner through the process, seeing families move through labor & birth with confidence and a sense of calm knowing that they can meet each twist & turn together.
The most challenging part of the job is the unknown timing of labor & birth (always making sure I have childcare situated for my own little one) and the sleep deprivation that sometimes results from supporting multiple births in a row.
What Inspires you? What do you want to achieve in the future?
I’m inspired by the miracle, magic, wisdom, power, and awe that is birth. It is a transformation unlike anything else and it captures the strength of the human spirit in such a tender and powerful way. I’m also inspired by women who birthed before me that shared their positive stories so that I could know what was possible when it came to birth.
I hope to continue supporting families in Western Mass through birth doula care and HypnoBirthing® classes. This year, I’m hoping to focus more on building community & connection among current and future clients. There are so many powerful healers (energetic & otherwise) that I’m hoping to highlight and collaborate with in my future work with families. My ultimate hope is that each family I work with sits on the other side of their birth experience knowing that their voice was at the center of all of it. A wild, and yet achievable dream, is to host an annual conference in Western Mass featuring birth professionals, healers, wellness practitioners so that we can learn from each other’s expertise to best support families moving through a sacred transition.
Tell me a little about yourself so I can get to know you better!
Well, I start each day with coffee and my busy toddler. My husband teaches high school, and we are both incredibly passionate about the positive experience we had bringing our son into the world. I love being outside, firepits, crafting, eating all the food my husband cooks or bakes. I love connecting deeply with people, and I’m super into the brain. I’m trained in early childhood Montessori, and a lot of these teachings inform our parenting approach. I am a certified Yoga Teacher, and I love leading guided meditations. My guilty pleasure is watching reality shows like The Bachelorette, The Bachelor, Love is Blind, and Married at First Sight. I love writing poetry and reading short stories. I used to teach literature & research, and these two topics are still of great interest to me/ find their way into my teachings of childbirth.
What do you do for fun in your down time?
Nature walks, trips to local coffee shops, playing with my son in our backyard, eating homemade pizza, watching silly shows, hanging with my sister-in-law and her kiddos, making to-do lists, dreaming, researching anything my clients are interested in learning more about
Do you have a favorite quote or mantra to live by?
My son is named after Ferris Bueller- so pretty much any quote from that movie will do 🙂
Anything else you would like to share?
Wind & Water Doula Care all started with a journal entry, and it’s blossomed into a community of loving families that just keeps growing. When I meet with families for the first time, there is usually something that just clicks. It has to be a good fit on both ends. What makes this business unique is that it was born out of a positive, empowering, confident birth experience…born out of a birth that took my breath away and taught me my own strength- introduced me to one of the coolest humans I’ve ever known AND to all of the families I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to hold during such a layered transformation. Wind & Water Doula Care is nonjudgmental, empowering care that keeps your voice at the center of it all – plus, I’m a pretty rad educator who works with families to help them understand their options in an interactive, engaging way!
Thank you so Jen for letting us get to know you and telling us more about the Massachusetts Holistic Childbirth Services & Education that you offer.
You can learn even more about Wind & Water Doula Care on their website, facebook or instagram page!
If you are interested in Maternity or Newborn photos I would love to talk to you more!
