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

Krista, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

Prior to turning my attention to being a Doula, Midwifery Student, and Prenatal/Postpartum Exercise Coach, I worked full-time as a 911 Paramedic in NYC and Central NJ for 20 years. This experience has enabled me to become very comfortable in noticing what is normal and what is not normal, how to respond calmly and knowledgeably during an emergency, how best to handle situations occurring out-of-the-hospital, and how to deeply trust my intuition and instincts.

Over the course of the last 20 years, I have experienced a multitude of emergencies from traumatic incidents, cardiac events, strokes, diabetic concerns, allergic reactions, childbirth, drug overdoses, psychiatric emergencies, homicides, suicides, amongst many others. I honed my skills of being able to walk into a residence, or onto a scene in the street, and immediately size up the situation within seconds. Since it was myself and my partner walking into unknown situations, I had to pay attention to my instincts in order to stay safe. I learned to trust myself and act if something didn’t seem “right.” Whether this meant removing myself from a scene or looking deeper into a patient’s complaints and symptoms, it has certainly served me well. I recall a job where the patient was a young man whose family called 911 after having a seizure. He never had a seizure before. I had this nagging feeling that there was something more serious going on. I ended up transporting him to a hospital which had more capabilities than the one his family wanted. This patient ended up have a hemorrhagic stroke at the young age of 26. Thankfully, the hospital was able to treat him without delay and he made a full recovery.

As I make the move from responding to 911 emergencies to supporting woman and families during the birth process, this skill continues to serve me. I often feel when something is “off” with mom. This gives me the ability to have an open conversation about what may be bothering her or if she is fearful of something. Additionally, I am confidently able to support women out-of-the-hospital as I am aware of what is normal and what requires more attention or investigation. I firmly believe that the last 20 years of my life was in preparation for the path I now walk. I am still doing community work, but on a much more intimate level and I absolutely love it!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I currently have two businesses, Artemis Doula Services and One Strong Mother.

Since a young teenager, I was always enamored with the human body and birth. Before I was born, my great-grandmother served as a local birth-keeper for other immigrant families in NY. I always felt a deep connection to the path of being a birth-attendant. As life would have it, another path presented itself. The call back to birth work became very strong about 7 years ago, leading me to attend school to become a homebirth midwife and doula. My love for birth fit very well with my confidence of operating outside of a hospital system, hence my love of all things home birth. As a doula, I support women both out of hospital and in-hospital. My knowledge of anatomy, physiology, emergencies, medications, and common medical terminology allow me to assist families within the hospital setting. Since I am able to “speak the language” of hospital staff, I am able to breakdown what is being spoken about to my families in a calm and meaningful way so that they can make truly informed decisions.
As an avid learner and life-long student, I make sure to stay consistent in trainings so that I can be prepared for whatever may surface. I have taken numerous hands on Breech Delivery trainings, CPR for adults, pediatrics, and newborn training, child birth emergency procedure trainings for both mother and newborn, breastfeeding trainings for birth professionals, postpartum ritual trainings, as well as homeopathy and herbal trainings to assist my clients as an alternative to pharmaceuticals. I am most proud of my ability to move seamlessly in all environments, offer a sense of support to the families I serve, and provide a holistic approach to prenatal, postpartum, and newborn care.

Within the last few years, a question was posed in a local midwifery chat of a mother looking for pelvic floor assistance after a traumatic birth. I asked around to trusted pilates and yoga instructors but no one was comfortable to assist a postpartum mother. I knew right then and there that something very important and necessary was missing from women’s healthcare. I began searching for pelvic floor therapy and came to find Fit for Birth. I reached out to the training team to learn more. I became a member of the next cohort and became a corrective exercise and strength training coach for pregnant and postpartum mothers. My training allowed me to become proficient in working with pregnant moms to prevent diastasis recti and pelvic floor dysfunction as well as assisting postpartum moms in rehabilitating these same issues. Since the core of the body is the main foundation of strength, I safely and gently work in activating and engaging the diaphragm, pelvic floor, and transverse abdominals. This provides deep, holistic strength preventing and correcting common pregnancy and postpartum complaints such as diastasis recti, lower back pain, sciatic pain, pubis-symphysis dysfunction, uterine/bladder prolapse, urinary or bowel incontinence, and other conditions of pelvic dysfunction. I currently teach prenatal and postpartum group classes as well as offer one-on-one sessions for more individualized coaching. I attend continuing education classes on a monthly basis and am always learning new techniques to share with my clients!

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

I believe it is my passion, education, training, and expertise that allows me to stand out within my market. Additionally, I believe in being genuine, transparent, and trustworthy and ensure every person feels this when in my presence.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele is constantly networking with other professionals within the field and fostering these relationships. When people get to know you, a trust begins to build and they feel confident in referring you. Word of mouth is amazing and I take great pride in building genuine and real relationships with all of my clients and professionals I meet.
In addition to the above practical business growth, I have a daily kundalini yoga practice that really helps me in trusting myself, my offerings, and the universe!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.artemisdoulaservices.com and www.1strongmother.com
• Instagram: @1strongmother.fitness
• Youtube: @KristaODea

Image Credits

Photo Images by Michael Louis of Driftwood & Dune Co.