We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alysa Kowis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alysa below.

Hi Alysa, thanks for joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Leaving my 9-5 corporate job of 13 years to follow my passion! For sure my most considerable risk. The corporate job I had for over a decade never made me happy, but I was good at it. When I got married, my husband and I decided to put his career building first since he had a clear path he wanted to follow. So, I was the stable steady income for such a long time! We both saw my burnout hitting hard, and how it was impacting my mental health and every aspect of our lives, so we jumped. I remember signing up for my doula training & certification courses actually excited for the first time in years! I planned and prepared and planned some more. I remember showing up for my training being the only one in my class who already had a business name, website, or any real game plan. I felt like such an oddball at the time but looking back it makes me proud to see how committed I was. Recently, I took another leap of faith and added birth photography to my work. Growing this business is an ever-evolving thing, morphing and shaping itself to where I am at that moment. It’s so thrilling!

Alysa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I began my business, Enchanted Birthing Services, after 13 years in a very draining and demanding corporate job. With the support of my husband and family, I dove headfirst into all things birth! It began as signing up for training to become a Certified Birth Doula but quickly grew from there. I’ve since added postpartum care, childbirth education, and now birth photography to my offerings.

I put everything I have into the families I support, absolutely everything. When building out what my practice would become, I focused on what I would want for myself, my friends, or even my daughter one day. That slowly began to form a clear picture of the type of doula I wanted to become. I knew I wanted to provide evidence-based, inclusive, and empowering care to Houston’s women of Houston but I couldn’t have guessed the luxurious spin I put on it. I adore pampering my families! Personalized resource binders, hand-made skincare and bath products, holistic postpartum care, and exclusive deals from other local businesses began to be expected in what I was offering. Now I offer 3 incredibly empowering, educational, and beautifully curated packages for my clients to choose from!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I officially launched my business not long before the pandemic hit. For a business that revolves around me being in person, this was a huge blow. I had such momentum going and had to quickly pivot for the families I was currently supporting. This is when I really began to focus on offering childbirth education and postpartum options. The local hospitals began to cancel all childbirth classes, lock out all doulas, and some even went as far as not allowing spouses! I began to search for ways for me to still support but virtually. I began offering weekly support groups for moms who had given birth during the initial lockdown, Postpartum & newborn support for those who needed it…which turned out to be a lot! It was a huge lesson on how to keep this line of work fluid! Coming out the other side busier than before blows my mind most days.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Going that extra bit for the families I support. It could be so easy to have very firm lines in the sand on what my care looks like! Many doulas are very black and white with when they arrive and leave. To me, labor is something so individualized. No two mamas are exactly the same! Keeping my practice flexible and personalized to each client has allowed me to really take things to the next level. If I need to be with a client for 36 hours, then that’s what happens. Sleep in a lobby chair or on the floor (both have happened!), done. The peace of mind that my clients have knowing that I’m there no matter what, it’s absolutely priceless.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.enchantedbirthingservices.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/stillenchanted
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/stillenchanted

Image Credits
MJ’s Photography