Debbie celebrates World Doula Week 2025 with labor doula Eleanor Prado, postpartum doula Mackenzie Droll, and Carleigh Joseph, who does both labor and postpartum work.

Eleanor Prado, Mackenzie Droll, & Carleigh Joseph

Interview with Jackie Grigg, CNM, and Andie Wyrick, CNM, DNP, MSN. Also, joining us are Samantha Ranck, RN, SNM, and JacQue, Holistic Doula, Student Midwife and Student Herbalist. They will tell us about maternal and infant mortality in the US and how it compares to other countries who use midwifery care more productively and how the midwifery statistics compare to medical statistics. We will hear the different types of midwifery and we will hear the different educational pathways and the certification and licensing of midwifery. They will help us to see the advantages of midwifery care with empowering informed decision making. Don’t miss this show!!!

Happy World Doula Week! My co-host Debbie Hull has a great show for you to celebrate World Doula Week. We celebrate doulas and their work every year March 22 – 28. This year, we are celebrating a week late. We postponed our World Doula Week show in light of the recent events in Houston concerning midwifery. Listen in on Monday March 31 to celebrate World Doula Week with us!!

Jackie Griggs,CNM, Andie Wyrick,CNM,DNP,MSN, Samantha Ranck,RN,SNM & JacQue,Holistic Doula

Julie DeNofa, Addition Defined

Julie DeNofa dives deep into defining addiction, what to do if someone you know needs help, where to go to get help, and what treatment looks like. Excellent information for us all, especially if we are worried about a loved one.

Julie DeNofa is a President of Positive Recovery Centers. Julie has over 30 years of related work experience in medical, clinical, operations, and creating a culture of success.

Julie began her career in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the early 1990’s as a Certified Addictions Registered Nurse (CARN) with her specialty in substance use disorders and psychiatry. Her extensive clinical background, coupled with her business acumen, have been a large part of her ability to developing and implementing high quality programs across the country. Her dedication is also evidenced by her volunteerism with Addiction Policy Forum, Houston Area Treatment Providers and is an advocate for the Texas Peer Assistance Program for Nurses (TPAPN) and a community partner with numerous other entities. Julie is also a former board member for the Texas Association of Addiction Professionals(TAAP).

Julie is dedicated to helping others heal, nurtures growth and self-awareness and will tell you her biggest joy is being Mom to her three adult children, Chelsea, Gia and Desi.

Learn more about finding a midwife or birth center and about the Heal Texas Act and other midwifery favorable legislation. We will also hear about the distance midwifery program and how midwifery clients, supporters and advocates can support access to midwifery care in Texas.

Jackie Griggs. CNM, and Erin Sing, CNM

Planning your birth, in English AND Spanish, with Natalie Guzman and Debbie Hull.

Natalie Guzman and Debbie Hull (In Spanish & English)

Encouraged to support women after the birth of her own daughters, Catrice Harris has been helping families with labor & birth, childbirth education, postpartum, and lactation support since 1992. Her initial Lactation training was through the University of Texas Health Science Center and City of Houston WIC Programs. She continued to embrace caring for women and children by becoming certified as a birth and postpartum doula.

After observing many challenges faced by women who did not feel enabled to advocate for themselves during childbirth, it seemed that the only next step was to pursue midwifery. Taking the leap away from Corporate America in 2012, she embraced birth work full time. Growing into a midwife has been a journey that constantly presents new opportunities for growth in many beautiful ways.

Currently, with a solo home birth practice, and as a staff midwife at a local Houston area birth center, Catrice also trains and mentors doulas with a focus on serving under-served areas of Houston, TX. She currently serves as the Treasurer on the board of the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM), always seeking ways to extoll the virtues of midwifery and help society see the value CPMs bring to our communities. Having supported hundreds of families on their birth journeys, she is truly grateful that this work found her.

Catrice Harris, CPM, Birth and Postpartum Doula

Sherry Duson, founder of The Center for Postpartum Family Health, and Dr. Lauren Pasqua, new owner of CPFH and founder of Connections Child and Family Center, join us to discuss mental health in the perinatal period, as well as their vision for changes to the services they will provide to support healthy families in the postpartum period.

Sherry Duson & Dr. Lauren Pasqua

Dr. Marissa Gray, DPT, CAPP, and Dr. Molly Poenitzsch, DPT, COMT, co-founders of All Things Maternal Physical Therapy, tell us so much about pelvic floor issues for both women and men, plus all the services they offer like, pelvic floor therapy, dry needling, therapeutic taping, birth prep, and nutritional counseling. You don’t want to miss this information…

Dr. Marissa Gray is a pelvic floor physical therapist and co-owner of All Things Maternal Physical Therapy. Dr. Marissa is a former college athlete, playing basketball at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, TX, where she also earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy in their accelerated DPT program. Dr. Marissa trained through the American Physical Therapy Association to obtain her Certification of Achievement in Pelvic Health (CAPP) and is also a Certified Orthopedic Manual Therapist (COMT). She has additional training in dry needling, functional soft tissue mobilization, and prefers an empathetic approach when treating her patients. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Garrett, and new mother to her 8-month-old baby, Mia.

Dr. Molly Poenitzsch graduated from Texas Woman’s University with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy and has been practicing as an orthopedic physical therapist for almost 10 years and as a pelvic floor therapist for 4 years. After experiencing pelvic floor issues of her own after her two home births, she dedicated her time and education to help other moms with their pelvic floor and orthopedic issues. She is certified in dry needling and pessary fittings to help women with prolapse issues and is also a Certified Orthopedic Manual therapist. She takes a holistic approach to care to allow for optimal health and healing. When she is not at work, she spends her time with her three boys – her husband James, and her two sons, Archer and Leo, who are 5 and 2.

Dr. Marissa Gray, DPT, CAPP, and Dr. Molly Poenitzsch, DPT, COMT

Part 2 – Continued from last week…

Jaelin Stickels is a Certified Nurse Midwife who is honored to work with families as they experience pregnancy, labor, birth, and the postpartum period. Jaelin followed her passion into midwifery and has been practicing with women and babies since 2010. She will graduate in May with her doctoral degree. She has spent the last 40 blissful years married to her high school sweetheart and “midhusband”. She has three children and one brilliant grand-baby. In addition to her passion for women’s health; she loves quilting & is enamored with her granddaughter. Jaelin is proud to be known as the designated Birth Hog. No one has ever loved birth as much as this girl.

Julia and her husband Bryce live Spring, TX. She is the mother to two boys, a 4 year old and a 4 month old. With her first baby, Julia was told that a c-section was her only option for delivery due to breech presentation and a misdiagnosis of IUGR. With her second baby, she went on to have a transformative home water birth VBAC at nearly 43 weeks. Julia is passionate about physiologic birth. She hopes to inspire women to reclaim their power in birth by preserving the beauty and sanctity of this important rite of passage into motherhood.

Rebecca Reed is originally from Spring, Texas. She is a stay at home mom now but she does have a Bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in social work. Her boyfriend, Austin and she have one daughter, Ada, who birthed breech at home almost 10 months ago.

Jaelin Stickels, CNM, MSN, Julia Taylor and Rebecca Reed – Part 2

Jaelin Stickels is a Certified Nurse Midwife who is honored to work with families as they experience pregnancy, labor, birth, and the postpartum period. Jaelin followed her passion into midwifery and has been practicing with women and babies since 2010. She will graduate in May with her doctoral degree. She has spent the last 40 blissful years married to her high school sweetheart and “midhusband”. She has three children and one brilliant grand-baby. In addition to her passion for women’s health; she loves quilting & is enamored with her granddaughter. Jaelin is proud to be known as the designated Birth Hog. No one has ever loved birth as much as this girl.

Julia and her husband Bryce live Spring, TX. She is the mother to two boys, a 4 year old and a 4 month old. With her first baby, Julia was told that a c-section was her only option for delivery due to breech presentation and a misdiagnosis of IUGR. With her second baby, she went on to have a transformative home water birth VBAC at nearly 43 weeks. Julia is passionate about physiologic birth. She hopes to inspire women to reclaim their power in birth by preserving the beauty and sanctity of this important rite of passage into motherhood.

Rebecca Reed is originally from Spring, Texas. She is a stay at home mom now but she does have a Bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in social work. Her boyfriend, Austin and she have one daughter, Ada, who birthed breech at home almost 10 months ago.

Jaelin Stickels, CNM, MSN, Julia Taylor and Rebecca Reed