Katie DiBenedetto

My name is Katie, and I am an absolute birth junkie. The general public and the media sometimes do not give us the best impression of pregnancy, birth, and beyond – I was duped by this for years. Knowledge is power. Fear is natural, especially fear of the unknown. Simply learning about the process of pregnancy and birth can alleviate many of our common fears. Pregnancy and the postpartum period are wonderful times of self discovery, and it is my great pleasure to support women and their families during these transitions.

    In 2006 I had a very powerful dream that prompted me to google birth and everything related to it. It was at that time that I first read the description of a doula and knew instantly that was what I needed to be doing. Shortly after I put in notice at my corporate job and dove into birth work, where I have been swimming ever since. I have been actively attending women in the birth and postpartum period since April 2007. I have experience with first time moms, single moms, hypnobirthing, hypnobabies, inductions, epidurals, C-sections, postpartum depression and more.
      Through my doula work I discovered a more holistic way of living in general. I stopped using chemicals in my home. I started eating locally and organically. I looked at my body as a whole being – mental, physical, spiritual, emotional – for the first time. I believe that everything is connected. I believe we have the power to heal our minds and bodies. I believe that we bring everything to ourselves. I believe we, as humans, are mirrors for each other. I believe there is room for gratitude in every experience.
        When I’m not knee deep in placentas, I enjoy throwing the frisbee, cooking, blogging, swing dancing and scrapbooking. I travel whenever I get the chance. I first went to Europe in 2007 and fell in love with Italy and England. I returned in 2010 and spent the entire summer between the two countries. I had the opportunity to go back again in the spring of 2011, and added France to the itinerary. I am a native of Phoenix, AZ, aside from living in New York City for the year in 2005.

          Danielle Haines


          Danielle started working in the “alternative medicine” field 13 years ago.  Her understanding of alternative medicine evolved over the years and eventually lead her into the area of natural childbirth.  She quickly realized that she had a passion for working with pregnant women and assisting with childbirth.  This ultimately led to her becoming a doula.
            Three years ago Danielle found the BodyTalk System.  This technique proved to be very helpful in her own healing journey of the body-mind complex.  As result of the amazing improvements she saw, she was compelled to share her experience with others by becoming a BodyTalk practitioner herself.  She has now combined her doula knowledge with her BodyTalk knowledge, and is passionate about incorporating it in her doula practice.
              After working as a doula for the past 8 years, Danielle has recently taken it to the next level.  This logical progression has led her into the field of midwifery.   As her apprenticeship progresses, Danielle looks forward to both leveraging her current knowledge as well as learning from her future experiences.

                Danielle & Katie: 2 Doulas on a Mission

                2 DOULAS ON A MISSION: How we were born

                Danielle and I met at a doula meeting in December of 2009. I often can’t attend every doula meeting, but this is one I could not miss – the doula Christmas party. Danielle had never been to a meeting before and had just found out about our doula group earlier that day. She checked out the website and it turned out that the monthly meeting was that very night. She stood out that night to me because she was new, she was the only other doula there (besides myself) that had no children, and she was offering free first time BodyTalk sessions.
                After that first night we didn’t see each other again for another month or so, until we finally connected and I scheduled my free session. The session was amazing and afterwards she had a last minute cancellation and ended up with the whole afternoon free. We had lunch and talked for hours and connected on multiple levels.
                Over the next couple of years we grew closer and closer personally and professionally. We started to meet each others clients and back each other up for births. We coordinated attending meetings and community events together. Then we had several life changing experiences unexpectedly tag teaming clients together. Each time we would work our magic on a family we would be so grateful that we weren’t alone, that we had done it together. We would exclaim, “Wow! We were really on a mission today!”
                Thus, 2 Doulas on a Mission was born naturally and organically in the spring of 2011.