We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jessica Fisher-Hattey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jessica below.
Jessica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.
When I became a Birth Doula in 2010, as a Senior at the University of North Texas, I never imagined that 6 years later I would own an ever-growing Doula agency in DFW. I worked as a solo Doula off and on the first few years, gaining experience as an intern at a birth center in Denton and caring for newborns as a Nanny. When a car accident and the emergency spine surgeries that followed derailed my career working directly with families, I became a high school Family & Consumer Science teacher. During my fourth year of teaching, after being a doula to former students and friends in the Summers, I knew I had to get back to Doula work as a full time career. I had my own baby that year, with the help of the Birth Doula who mentored me and an incredible Postpartum Doula. When my daughter was only 3 months old, I left teaching and I launched Attuned Doula Services, a full service doula agency offering childbirth education, birth doulas and postpartum doulas. I spent that entire first year networking with Obstetricians, Midwives and other Doulas. I taught myself all about website design, blogging and search engine optimization online. I consumed everything I could to create the Attuned Doulas brand and online presence, with a goal of Google eventually doing the marketing work for me, I built relationships with providers who also served families expecting babies and I started growing my team of like-minded doulas. This is year 6 and everything I hoped for the business in the beginning has come to fruition in time.
If I could give new agency or practice owners any advice, it would be to structure things in a scalable, sustainable way and unapologetically charge your worth. Service-based businesses can maintain the compassion and heart that started it all, while still being sustainable and profitable.
Jessica, 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 got my start as a Birth Doula and Certified Childbirth Educator, but in 2016 with the birth of my own baby and support from one of the best Postpartum Doulas I know, certified as a Postpartum Doula. Earlier that same year, I started Attuned Doula Services to be able to serve more families and create a sustainable business model for myself. I knew the average Doula burnout rate was 2 years and I wanted to do this work until retirement.
As a Birth Doula and Certified Childbirth Educator, I provide support to families during pregnancy and the birth itself, no matter how that birth looks. I get to prepare expectant parents for the birth with education, emotional support and hands-on comfort throughout their pregnancy and birth experience. I meet them where they are, without judgment and provide continuous support and collaborative care to round out their birth team. People who hire us for childbirth education and birth doula support report feeling more satisfied with their births, truly heard and validated and more confident in their first moments of parenting.
When we are hired as Postpartum Doulas, we come into the home after a baby (or multiples) is born and walk alongside new parents as they learn their babies, adjust to their new roles, transition into parenthood or adding a sibling and recover physically from birth. We fill in the household gaps, keeping the home running smoothly, taking care of each member of the family and easing everyone’s role in the “Fourth Trimester”. We have our finger on the pulse of baby cues, postpartum recovery, partner communication and sibling dynamics from a birds-eye view. We bring objectivity and compassion into the home to facilitate bonding, healing and confidence. With each shift, relief and rest are a balm for the raw, vulnerable experience of bringing a new baby home.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had to unlearn my bias towards natural birth and breastfeeding as a black and white choice. I was influenced by a lot of authors, professors and information in college that pointed to certain pregnancy, birth and feeding options as “right” or “natural”. I didn’t fully realize the damage of my views until. I was pregnant myself and high risk. I felt a deep need to not only apologize to people my opinions may have harmed, but also to build a birth business that was known for being nonjudgmental, unbiased and inclusive. I didn’t want any new parent to feel like I had an opinion on what they did with their babies or their bodies. Attuned Doula Services was born out of a desire to right my wrongs and provide any family who wanted a Doula with the nonjudgmental support they deserved. Parenting is hard enough without the stress of everyone else’s opinions.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
In the Doula industry and any birth work, attuning is key- it’s why I named the agency Attuned Doula Services. If you can attune to each family’s unique needs, feelings and parenting philosophy they will feel supported and confident in ways they didn’t know were possible. Whether we are in the delivery room at the hospital or the baby’s nursery at home, we are constantly attuning and matching the mood of the room. We’re anticipating everyone’s needs, not just the baby’s and walking in step with new parents. If you can attune, everything else will follow.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.attuneddoulas.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/attuneddoulas
- Facebook: @attuneddoulaservices
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-fisher-hattey-13b21a93
- Twitter: @attuneddoulas
Image Credits
Natalie Roberson Photography