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Rheja McRae

Pronouns: She/Her
Location: Vancouver & Lower Mainland
Birth Doula
Families Served: 1100+
Years of Experience: 23+
Birth Package: $2,000 - $2,500 + Agency Fee & Taxes
Experienced Supporting: 2SLGBTQIA+ Families, Parenting and/or Caregiving, BIPGM Families, Immigrant and/or Refugee Families, Low-Income Families, Single Parenthood, Disabled Persons, Neurodivergent Persons, Deaf Persons, Chronic and/or Acute Illness(es), Perinatal Mood Disorders, Multiples (Twins +), High Risk Pregnancy Care

About

What languages do you speak?

English, conversational French

What is your personal definition of “doula”?

A person who supports the birther and their partner/family in welcoming the newest addition to the family in the smoothest, calmest way possible!

What brought you to birth and postpartum work?

Having my own babies showed me how much the parenting community around me made all the difference. I was pregnant at the same time as five friends, and we supported each other through it all — I later realized we were basically doula-ing each other without even knowing it!

In a climate of caregiver burnout, how are you caring for yourself?

I care for myself by getting outside and having fun with friends whenever I can. I spend quality time with my family, play sports, go for hikes — and, of course, drink lots of tea.

What is a standout book, movie/tv, etc about the childbearing/parenting journey that you return to?
BOOKS

 

Birth Care Package

To better understand Brood’s birth package pricing model, read on → Making Birth Doula Care Accessible: The Green Bottle Sliding Scale Method

Tell us more about the ethos in your birth doula practice:

I believe that birthing people innately know how to give birth, and babies know how to be born. Some parents just need encouragement to build confidence in listening to their bodies and trusting the birth process. My approach centers on supporting the birthing team as a whole — especially helping partners engage in ways that feel authentic and comfortable for them. I emphasize the importance of movement, gravity, and rest throughout early labour and beyond. When guidance is needed, I offer gentle suggestions to help shift energy or provide deeper support. Above all, I aim to cultivate a calm, safe, and confident environment as we move together toward welcoming baby.

Do you have a preferred location where you typically support births?

My clients include those choosing both home birth and hospital birth settings, with a range of care providers; Midwives, Family Doctors and Obstetricians. As your doula I will help you get the information you need to make the choices that are right for you and your family in your pregnancy, birth, and postpartum period.

Coming from a home birth background, it took me some time to learn the ropes in the hospitals. 20 years into that part of my journey, I am as comfortable in the hospital as I am at a home birth. I work at the local birthing hospitals, BC Women’s, St. Paul’s, Burnaby General, Royal Columbian, and Lion’s Gate. Each has its flavour and protocols. Another benefit of my experience is that I know each hospital well, along with the nurses, doctors and midwives who attend at each one.

 

Prenatal Care
  • Free In-Person Foundations Visit → Once your contract is signed and your first-choice doula has been confirmed, your doula will visit your home for around 1+ hour so you can chat, connect, and ensure the fit feels right—for both of you!
  • Personalized Prenatal Visits → Enjoy 2 visits, either virtually or in-person, tailored to your needs as we connect and plan for your birth and postpartum experience. Each session is designed to empower you with knowledge and support.
  • Focus on Your Preferences → In our prenatal sessions, we’ll explore your birth preferences, comfort measures, and procedures, all while prioritizing your feelings of safety and support.
  • Text and Phone Support → From the moment you hire me, you’ll have unlimited access to text and phone support, ensuring you feel confident and cared for every step of the way.
  • Customized Movement Plan → Together, we will create a personalized birth preparation movement plan, enhancing your comfort and readiness for labor.
  • Brood’s Family Membership → Gain exclusive access to five online courses covering prenatal and newborn care, plus join our virtual private clubhouse and member area for downloadable resources.
  • Postpartum Product Guide → A curated list of our top postpartum must-haves, based on what we see support families again and again.
Birth Attendance
  • Dedicated One-on-One Support → You’ll receive continuous, one-on-one support throughout your labor and birth journey, ensuring you feel safe, empowered, and cared for from early labor until 1-2 hours after your baby arrives.
  • Labor Support → My labor support involves helping you know when to rest and when to be active, making sure you snack when you can and relax in the bath or go for a walk as the labour dictates. I will guide you in deciding when it’s time to go to the hospital or call your midwives, advocating for your needs and preferences every step of the way.
  • Comprehensive Doula Bag Access → Enjoy access to my doula bag, which includes essential tools such as a TENS unit, essential oils, and lighting options to create your ideal birth environment.
  • Comfort Techniques and Pain Relief → I’ll provide support with a variety of comfort techniques, including acupressure, optimal birthing positions, and hands-on techniques for pain management. I’ll guide you through breathing techniques and ensure you’re well-hydrated and nourished throughout your labor.
  • Immediate Postpartum Support → After the birth, I will assist you with your first feed, latching, and basic newborn care, helping you settle into this new chapter with confidence.
  • Birth Photography and Videos → Using your phone or camera if you like, I can capture those precious moments to cherish your experience for years to come.
  • Guaranteed Back-Up Doula Service → Rest easy knowing that I provide guaranteed back-up doula service, ensuring you have continuous support, even in unexpected situations.
Postpartum Support
  • Postpartum Visits → Enjoy 1-2 visits, virtual or in-home sessions, as needed. Our visits provide an opportunity to discuss your birth experience, celebrate your newborn and check in on how you’re feeling.
  • Transition Support → Providing guidance you may need during those early days of parenthood; new mother self-care tips, infant soothing techniques, sleep patterns, and other newborn behavioural norms.
  • Resource Assistance → Provide referrals to community resources as needed.

 

Training + Education

BIRTH & POSTPARTUM
  • Birth and Postpartum Doula Certificates, DONA International
  • Pain, Suffering, and Trauma in Labour and Prevention of Subsequent PTSD, Penny Simkin
  • Pelvic Floor Health, Kim Vopini
  • Many weekend trainings, including Gail Tully from Spinning Babies, Dr. Sarah Buckley, Penny Simkin and many others
POST-SECONDARY
  • Anatomy and Physiology of the Childbearing Years, Douglas College
  • Yearly 2005-2017 Doula Perinatal Education Day trainings, Douglas College
OTHER
WORKSHOPS
FOR YOUR PERSONAL LEARNING, WHAT IS THE WORKSHOP/TRAINING ON YOUR RADAR?
  • Body Ready Method

 

Testimonials

I am happy to recommend Rheja as a doula. Rheja is an exceptionally skilled and experienced doula. She brings thoughtful intelligence, intuitive wisdom, and gentle loving support to her work. Rheja provides individualized support to suit the unique needs of families and empowers women to make informed decisions throughout their pregnancies, labours, births and beyond. As she trusts the power and strength of birth, her clients are enabled to let go and birth their babies with confidence. — Rachel Rees, RM

Rheja brought warmth, wisdom, and unwavering support to our journey. Her compassionate presence reassured us through every stage, and her guidance helped us make important decisions confidently. Rheja’s experience, knowledge, and perspective surrounding pregnancy, labour, and birth gave me comfort as a first-time mom. Her resources and guidance for what to expect and how to navigate labouring at home and at the hospital helped prepare me and put me at ease. I’m so grateful for the calm, supportive, and empowering environment that Rheja created for my husband and me. Her support for my husband and me truly impacted our birth experience, and we couldn’t imagine having gone through it without her! — C.G

Working with Rheja as our doula during the birth of our first child was an extraordinary experience. Her kindness, deep knowledge, and nurturing nature were a constant source of comfort and empowerment throughout labor. Rheja’s unwavering support not only helped me navigate every moment with confidence but also transformed our birth experience into a truly beautiful and memorable journey. I feel incredibly blessed to have had her by my side, and I wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone seeking compassionate and expert care during one of life’s most transformative moments. — A.G

Since the day we first met, we knew that Rheja was the right person to provide us with the support we needed. She truly seemed like an old friend to us, right from the start. She is very experienced, supportive, kind and knowledgeable. After every session we had with Rheja before the birth of our child, we felt that we had learned a lot and were much better prepared for our baby. During the labour, her pain relief strategies were so helpful and made the whole process more pleasant. Her support and input in the decision-making process were crucial – we made much more informed decisions and felt much more confident while making them. She was our safe place, the person to go to and ask questions, and there were many. In our experience of having a hospital birth with our doctor and Rheja by our side, we wouldn’t change a single thing. After the birth, we’ve received some great breastfeeding advice from her, tips and tricks that can certainly only come from someone as experienced as Rheja is. It is important to note that Rheja’s help is critical for birth partners as it is for mothers, giving them the necessary support to navigate through these exciting but also challenging and unfamiliar times and showing them how to best support their partner through the labor and beyond it. — BSJ

I have nothing but positive things to say about Rheja! We wanted to work with a doula to create some continuity between our experience of the pregnancy, delivery, and the post-partum period, as we did not have consistent providers in terms of the medical team. Rheja was a great fit for us. She provided that holistic, always-there-for-you presence that we were seeking. Rheja is very experienced and has a calm and reassuring manner that I drew on regularly when beset by the uncertainties and anxieties that sometimes came up. She gave us great advice in addition to labour preparation on everything from taking care of my body to taking care of our relationship and building community. I am a health professional myself, and I wanted a doula who could appreciate and respect the value of many aspects of modern medicine but who could also support me emotionally. Rheja’s approach was perfect for this because she is well-versed in what happens at the hospital but also honours ancient wisdom and women’s wisdom, which comes through in almost everything she says. I ended up having a planned C-section because my baby was in a breech presentation. It was wonderful to have Rheja there in the OR, and we LOVE the pictures she took of our son’s birth. She supported us in the first few hours to get on our feet, so to speak, and to get our little one breastfeeding. In the post-partum period, Rheja gave us some much-appreciated in-home support. Just knowing we could call her with questions made me feel much more contained throughout the experience (and so I didn’t need to call so much!). If you are looking for someone kind, wise, sensitive and utterly comfortable with herself, birthing, and you – I recommend Rheja. — E.C

Rheja was a star throughout a 72-hour labour at home and during our baby boy’s water birth. The fact that it was at home was thanks to Rheja, who gave me the stamina to keep at it over those long three days and nights. We are so happy with the outcome, and we credit her experience and calm and helpful demeanor. There were so many junctures where options were weighed, and Rheja’s advice came in to provide solutions we wouldn’t have thought of. I recommend her to everyone!! — K.R

One of the best decisions we made for my first child’s birth was having Rheja by our side. Her experience, deep knowledge and intuitiveness helped make the birth experience an extremely positive one. Potentially tense situations were made smooth because of her gentle direction. She never focused on being the centre of attention but rather acted as a guide to help my husband, mother, and sister be part of the day in helpful, appropriate, and nurturing ways. My whole family was grateful for her compassion and perception. We definitely hope she will be by our side for baby #2! — SCS

Rheja was calm and supportive. She seemed to know exactly how I was feeling – and this was reassuring because you often feel worried, anxious, and scared, especially when the contractions get stronger and more painful. She also was knowledgeable about various strategies that would help during labour. It was such a pleasure to meet her – and it was so nice to meet her before the birth, at birth, and after (with baby) – and we are very grateful to benefit from her experience. — A.H

I cannot fully express how much gratitude I feel – thank you so much for assisting me in delivering Ruby in such a peaceful, loving, wondrous way. My birthing story is one of joy and happiness – combined with a purity that can’t be put into words. You helped me feel safe, loved and capable of moving mountains. I will treasure the memories of our time working together to bring Ruby into the world. — ND

Early in my pregnancy, I was terrified of giving birth. But as Rheja coached me through what to expect and how to prepare, my fear gave way to excitement, and I began to view labour as a positive, transformative challenge that I was more than capable of taking on. During my labour and delivery, Rheja helped keep me relaxed and focused, which helped us achieve the birth experience we only dreamed was possible. Having Rheja as our doula for the birth of our daughter was such a gift that we made sure to invite her to do it all over again when we had our second baby! — L.K

The experience and intuitiveness Rheja brought to the birthing process were evident from the very beginning. She took the time to get to know us and understand our needs. She came prepared. She was sharp and on her game. She offered great advice and was a strong advocate for us throughout both deliveries. We would describe her as warm, intuitive, and assertive in the right ways. — R.P

Every step of the way, we felt supported by your warm and nurturing care. I don’t think you’ll ever know how much peace & confidence you helped me achieve as I approached & have entered motherhood – if only all women could feel so supported. — Katie & Darren, Scotia, Milo & Poppy

I can’t thank you enough for everything you did to help me prepare to welcome my twins to the world and to make the transition to motherhood a joyous one. Your advice and Wisdom were invaluable, and your unconditional support of my decisions made it easier to make difficult choices. — Lisa

Your wisdom & care have been priceless in helping us give both our girls a great start to their lives, as well as giving us wonderful, unforgettable birth experiences that we will always cherish. — Dom & Jen

I feel so blessed that you came into our lives at just the right time. So nice to see someone working at their natural calling, loving what they do while being loving. Many thanks for all your help, support and expertise. — K & C

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