We recently connected with DeShaun Desrosiers and have shared our conversation below.

DeShaun, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

Honestly, there are so many heartwarming moments within my field! I would have to say, once a baby is safely delivered and placed on the mom’s chest, so many of them have a cry of joy. It is so heartwarming to get hugs, words of gratitude, and overall love from my clients once they realized they just pushed out a beautiful baby! There is a certain point of labor when you just feel like giving up, you want to throw the towel in and just quit. Of course we all know, that’s not an option. My role is to keep them going, keep them encouraged, and make them feel as comfortable and empowered as possible so that we can make it to the finish line. After everything is said and done, there is almost always a “I couldn’t have done this without you” and I get emotional every single time! No matter how many births I’ve been to, it’s a new set of emotions each and every time. It’s a huge calling for someone to choose you to be apart of their pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is DeShaun and I’m a birth worker/Doula. I was thrown into this career after having a traumatic birth 6 years ago with my firstborn. I knew that the same thing I went through, other women were facing as well – especially black women. So , I decided I needed to be apart of the solution and make changes. You really have to have a calling for this role. This is not something you can just pick up as a hobby, the pay, or the glitz and glamour. Being a Doula has it’s hard parts, and every birth and pregnancy isn’t all rainbows and fairy tales either. I love my profession, and I’m thankful for the calling.

As a Doula, I work with families during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. During these stages, I’m provide resources, education, emotional support, and physical support. I’m like a book of resources for your growing family in human form.

Outside of this, I’m also an herbalist. I offer many different holistic products on my website like seamoss, tea, tinctures, African fabrics & waist beads, detox programs, and more.

Lastly, I’m the co-director of a Homeschool Co-Op here in North Houston. We operate on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10-2 and teach children from 4-16 things like yoga, creative writing, cursive, nutrition, agriculture, art, music, sign language, and more. Parents are always welcome to stay and help out, or drop off. We also love volunteers!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

My most effective strategy is just being my authentic self! Thankfully, in all of my professions – my character and personality is already encompassed in it. When clients are looking for a doula, I’m just myself! When I’m making natural medicine and supplements, I’m truly just doing what comes natural to me. I’m big on educating, so within my social media post – it’s simple for me to talk about the products and services that I have. People see my real life, including my 2 toddlers! They see how we live, eat, homeschool, and go on about business.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I would have to say.. authenticity, community, drive, and perseverance. You really need perseverance as a business owner. You also have to understand that things will not always go as planned – some days are great and some are not so lovely. You have to understand that you will make mistakes, you might lose money, but you just keep going and believe in yourself to keep taking those risks!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.holisticbirthandhealth.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/harmoniousbirthing
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/harmoniousbirthing2
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDGvZAb9EIJqBZgzBfWnSFg
• Other: Homeschool co-op: https://ourcreative.org/hafh-tuition