Darlene Vanasco
Darlene’s journey to becoming a Doula began many years ago with the birth of her first child, where she felt the support and encouragement of other women in making difficult decisions during an intense labor. Her interest in birth continued as she found herself on a transformational spiritual journey. In “becoming” a mother, and having crossed the threshold as so many had before her, she found the incredible power of mothering to be both humbling and beautiful. She believes her commitment to a healthy attachment to her children, including breastfeeding, the family bed, baby wearing and simple kindness laid the foundation for the incredible relationship with her now 21-year-old daughter and 25-year-old son.
Darlene’s work as a family advocate in New York City strengthened her belief that part of healthy family attachment starts with a well supported mom in pregnancy and birth. Through her continuing work with families from very diverse backgrounds, both as advocate and elementary school teacher, Darlene witnessed firsthand the power of intimate relationships in strengthening families and communities. Darlene became passionate, and maybe a little fierce, about helping women find and reside in the power of their intuition, while finding voice, peace and confidence, even under sometimes difficult circumstance.
As a Doula Darlene believes every woman, regardless of circumstance has a right to a birth experience that is of her choosing, and deserves to be supported, respected and loved throughout that process. Darlene believes in the innate strength in every woman and rejoices in helping her find that strength. She hopes to support mothers in trusting their bodies, and finding safe space through education of this powerful process, of which pregnancy is just the beginning.
Darlene is originally from Brooklyn and is a passionate advocate for equity among people. She holds a BFA and an MS in Education. In 2013 Darlene moved from Brooklyn to Philadelphia and became a certified yoga and prenatal yoga teacher, deepening her desire to serve. She discovered the Birth Arts International community and Beth Goldberg and took Beth’s Birth Doula training in March of 2015, becoming fully Certified in December 2015. She is a graduate and mentee of one of Philadelphia’s most well-known and respected Doulas, Lori Daley.
When Darlene is not engaging in the ever changing life of a 21 year old young woman or a 25-year-old young man, she enjoys writing her blog capturing the day-to-day stories of the life of a mother, and teaching Vinyasa yoga in Philadelphia. She loves to try new things, and is especially fond of creating beautiful flow in physical spaces.
Why a hire a Doula?
More and more research shows that women who work with a Doula have shorter labors with less likelihood of:
Check out Darlene's Profile and Testimonials here on DoulaMatch.net!
Darlene’s journey to becoming a Doula began many years ago with the birth of her first child, where she felt the support and encouragement of other women in making difficult decisions during an intense labor. Her interest in birth continued as she found herself on a transformational spiritual journey. In “becoming” a mother, and having crossed the threshold as so many had before her, she found the incredible power of mothering to be both humbling and beautiful. She believes her commitment to a healthy attachment to her children, including breastfeeding, the family bed, baby wearing and simple kindness laid the foundation for the incredible relationship with her now 21-year-old daughter and 25-year-old son.
Darlene’s work as a family advocate in New York City strengthened her belief that part of healthy family attachment starts with a well supported mom in pregnancy and birth. Through her continuing work with families from very diverse backgrounds, both as advocate and elementary school teacher, Darlene witnessed firsthand the power of intimate relationships in strengthening families and communities. Darlene became passionate, and maybe a little fierce, about helping women find and reside in the power of their intuition, while finding voice, peace and confidence, even under sometimes difficult circumstance.
As a Doula Darlene believes every woman, regardless of circumstance has a right to a birth experience that is of her choosing, and deserves to be supported, respected and loved throughout that process. Darlene believes in the innate strength in every woman and rejoices in helping her find that strength. She hopes to support mothers in trusting their bodies, and finding safe space through education of this powerful process, of which pregnancy is just the beginning.
Darlene is originally from Brooklyn and is a passionate advocate for equity among people. She holds a BFA and an MS in Education. In 2013 Darlene moved from Brooklyn to Philadelphia and became a certified yoga and prenatal yoga teacher, deepening her desire to serve. She discovered the Birth Arts International community and Beth Goldberg and took Beth’s Birth Doula training in March of 2015, becoming fully Certified in December 2015. She is a graduate and mentee of one of Philadelphia’s most well-known and respected Doulas, Lori Daley.
When Darlene is not engaging in the ever changing life of a 21 year old young woman or a 25-year-old young man, she enjoys writing her blog capturing the day-to-day stories of the life of a mother, and teaching Vinyasa yoga in Philadelphia. She loves to try new things, and is especially fond of creating beautiful flow in physical spaces.
Why a hire a Doula?
More and more research shows that women who work with a Doula have shorter labors with less likelihood of:
- an epidural or other "regional" analgesia to manage pain
- any type of pain medication (including narcotics)
- giving birth by cesarean section
- giving birth with vacuum extraction or forceps
- giving birth to a baby with a low Apgar score rating of well being 5 minutes after birth
Check out Darlene's Profile and Testimonials here on DoulaMatch.net!