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

Mentoria, appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

A pivotal moment that transformed my career path stemmed from my experience as a doula at my first home birth. The family I worked with had a history of birthing at home, and for them, a midwife was the natural choice for pregnancy care. Unlike my community, where talk of traumatic births and self-doubt about our bodies is a common place, this family held a positive outlook on birth and regarded it as a beautiful and peaceful experience. Witnessing their perspective and the serene home birth they had, left me deeply moved.

As I drove home, I reflected on how I had never heard of births like this growing up. I realized that my personal birthing experiences, along with those of my mother and grandmother, were all traumatic. My role as a doula helped me recognize how I was taken advantage of during my labor and delivery, and I felt a calling to provide unbiased care and education to empower people to have peaceful births.
This experience inspired me to pursue a career as a midwife, and I strive to provide the same level of care and support that I witnessed during that home birth. I believe every person deserves to have the birth of their dreams and to not pass down any more birth trauma. Without that transformative home birth, I may have never found myself on the path to midwifery.

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 journey with doula work began with my own experience of postpartum depression, which lasted for two years and was undoubtedly the worst phase of my life. I felt an overwhelming urge to help others, which led me to pursue a life coach training course. As a mommy life coach, I supported mothers who struggled with the transition to motherhood, a phase that can be quite challenging and often requires guidance. However, I soon realized that most of my clients experienced birth trauma, which left a lasting impact on their introduction to motherhood. It was during this period that I discovered doula work and decided to pursue it. My aim was to help mothers start their journey of motherhood on a positive note, free from trauma.

I specialize in a range of services, including childbirth education, lactation support, placenta encapsulation, postpartum support, and work as a full-spectrum doula. As a black woman who is also a doula, I am proud to serve an area that has been often overlooked by other doulas. Because of this, I offer a sliding scale and payment plans to make my services affordable to all.

My passion lies in birth-work, and I am committed to providing a better experience to all birthing people and their families. Having gone through a traumatic childbirth experience myself, I understand the importance of a positive birth outcome. I want to ensure that mothers do not have to settle for mistreatment or birth trauma. With this in mind, I am tirelessly working towards becoming a Midwife so that I can make a more significant impact on a grander scale.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I’ve had to overcome self-imposed limiting beliefs that I had internalized. Upon reflection, I’ve come to understand that my struggle with postpartum depression contributed significantly to these beliefs. It had led me to believe that I was incapable of achieving personal aspirations and goals. I now realize that nobody had explicitly expressed this to me, but rather, I had convinced myself that it was true. I had to undergo a process of unlearning all the toxic behaviors and thought patterns I had internalized. The coping mechanisms that I had developed to navigate that period of my life were no longer serving their purpose once I came out of that time. Now, years later I truly believe I can do anything.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

Being a part of the birth world has been an eye-opening experience, and it’s safe to say there’s nothing else I’d rather do. As a parent who stumbled into motherhood unplanned, I take immense pride in giving my clients the birthing experience they’ve always dreamed about. It’s why I’ve set my sights on a career in midwifery. The chance to help bring new life into the world is nothing short of magical. Apart from aspiring to become an author, I have no desire to part ways with birth work. EVER!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blackparadisedoulas.com
• Instagram: Black Paradise Doulas
• Facebook: Black Paradise Doulas
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/mentoriagreen

Image Credits
Anita Alexander AND Her Perspective Photography