September 15, 2009

Tuesday’s WAHM of the Day

Posted in Local People & Places, WAHM/D of the Day tagged baby, bed rest, birth, birth partner, breastfeeding, childbirth, children, depression, doula, kids, kimberly, knoxville, postpartum, pregnancy, professional, sebeck, TN, WAHM, work at home at 2:11 pm by tntwmom

Hi, what’s your name? Kimberly Sebeck, CLD, CCCE

What type of business do you own? I am a doula, which is a professional birth partner. I also am a postpartum professional and assist families in the postpartun phase of having a baby. I also am a childbirth educator, so I teach prepared chilbirth classes, along with new parenting classes, breastfeeding classes and more. Much of my job is spent being a source of support and information for pregnant women until their “big day”.

In what city & state is this business located? Knoxville, TN, but I do travel to local areas.

What type of services do you offer? The services I offer are classes, one-on-one support during the labor and birth process, comfort measures, and postpartum services such as newborn care, breastfeeding support and advice, nutritional advice, light cooking, errand running, etc. I do also make some handmade baby items such as burp cloths, baby blankets and comfort items such as rice socks. Also I support local handmade businesses by other moms making these items. For moms not wanting a traditional baby shower, I also offer “birth blessings”, with alternative ideas such as henna belly painting and belly casts.

Kim's job... loving beautiful babies!

What does ‘doula’ mean? It’s a word from the Greek, meaning “Mother’s Helper” or “Mother’s Servant”.

What makes your business and/or your products different than your competitors?
One thing that I offer as opposed to other doulas in the area is overnight postpartum care. I will come to your home to help a new mom and family get as much rest as possible. I am also highly trained in postpartum depressions scenarios and moms on bed rest. For my childbirth classes, I offer private OR group classes. For moms on bedrest, I can even bring my class to them. After attending over 100 births, I have encountered many different situations and I keep myself up-to-date on countinuing education. I have a whole “bag of tricks” to make birth a wonderful experience!

What inspired you to start your own business? After the birth of my own daughter, I realize that as much as family and friends care, sometimes you just need someone who is there 100% to take care of YOU. I had already served as  an “unofficial” doula to many of my friends and decided to make it official by taking my training and getting certified. Pregnancy and birth is simply my passion. I feel it is a special time to be cherished and honored.

Kim with her Daughter

How do you manage your schedule around your children?
Well, I do a lot of my work at night when the rest of the household is sleeping, and that includes when a woman goes into labor! The hours after school and before bedtime are sort of our sacred family time and I make sure to leave a love note for my daughter if I’m not going to be back in the morning and her stepdad is taking her to school.

How long have you been in business? This is my 11th year!

Are there any new products coming soon that we can get a sneak peek of? I do have some new workshops coming up, ones designed to help the postpartum family and also families that are blended families.

What is your web site link? www.myspace.com/knoxvilledoula

Anything special you would like to tell my readers about yourself or your business that I didn’t ask you? Having a doula at birth reduces the risk of a C-section by up to 50%, the need for pain medications by up to 50%, and shortens first time labors by a good 25%. If you would like to read more information about doulas than what I have given here, please go to www.cappa.net or www.dona.org.

Kim, thank you so much for the interview! I know you are very passionate about your job, and that you’re an awesome person! Thanks for taking the time to interview for my blog 🙂

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