As a doula and educator working with higher-risk birthing clients, she believes that support and education are imperative to helping parents navigate the unanticipated forks in the road with agency and determination. MaryKate is a fierce advocate for informed choice in any birthing space, educating for all contingencies in birth while hoping you’ll never need them. And if her clients do need them, they’re ready. Her large skill set helps parents in her care feel empowered about not just their birth intentions, but their birth and postpartum journey as a whole. MaryKate has her bachelor’s in photography, psychology, and child education at UNC Asheville. Throughout MaryKate’s time at Homegrown Families, she has engaged new and growing families as a source of informational and emotional support. She is a DONA International-certified birth and postpartum doula specializing in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. She trained through Postpartum Support International to help parents find their inner strength with trauma-informed coping techniques. MaryKate has also studied to be a Lamaze childbirth, lactation, and holistic infant sleep educator. And, she’s well-versed in hypnobirthing, as well as sibling and animal integration. Serving on the WNC Perinatal Emotional Health Network task force, she works to reduce trauma as well as educate local parents and providers about pre- and postpartum mental health.