Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kelley Nazarian. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kelley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Honestly, the risk I’m taking is right now- I’ve went from working for other doula agencies, to getting my own referrals to now being a full-blown agency that hires both birth/labor and postpartum doulas. During the beginning of the pandemic, I found myself out of work from our local ymca due to covid restrictions and thought it was a good time to reassess what it is that I wanted to do with my life- something I would be both good at and passionate about. That brough me to “hey, what about becoming a doula!?!” It was perfect because I couldn’t have any more children of my own due to my last pregnancy being so high risk and knew I would miss being around babies. So, the next step would be to get certified, but hard times were definitely upon us, so I literally saved five dollars a week until I could afford to take the training and become certified. Once I did, I had assumed it would take a while to get the flow of work going, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth! I started working immediately and never stopped. Finding myself at a crossroads of being one person who can only be in one place at one time and feeling a little burnt out, I decided to expand my agency. So far, it’s turned out great and I’m excited to see what’s to come!

Kelley, 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 into my industry in a bit of an organic way. I have always worked with babies, children, women and families. Becoming a Doula was almost a natural next step. My agency offers labor/birth care, postpartum care, infant feeding care, classes, support groups, virtual and bereavement support.
My focus is on getting to know my clients well so I can offer the best services possible for both first-time moms and those who are having their second or third child. I help my clients build their own toolbox in order to support the value system of their families. Some of the main issues I solve that I’m also most proud of are helping families develop healthy sleep habits and hygiene for the family as well as a successful eating regime.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

If I could go back and choose this profession again, I would in every lifetime! It has been so rewarding and fulfilling in every way

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

My training definitely helped me with the details of starting out for sure! But what has been most helpful has definitely been the hands-on experience- from consultations with families on the phone to learning different families’ styles and the different personalities of the babies to talking to other agency owners- It’s all been invaluable. Theres also nothing like learning from first time parents to-be as well. Even though doulas can teach new parents a lot, these parents have also read all of the latest information which also educates us and that really comes with doing the job versus any training you can take

Contact Info:

• Website: https://northjerseydoulas.com
• Instagram: northjerseydoulasllc
• Facebook: North Jersey Postpartum Doulas (soon to be North Jersey Doulas)
• Linkedin: Kelley Nazarian