About
What languages do you speak?
English
What is your personal definition of “doula”?
I see a doula as someone who is present fully, holistically caring for the birther before during and after birth. Someone who is available emotionally, and is knowledgeable in most things related to childbearing and birth and has the ability to refer to professionals in areas of knowledge they are not.
What brought you to birth and postpartum work?
My journey in childbirth as well as watching those in my community who did or didn’t have care during their journey to parenthood. My first birth I attended when I was 9 and I continued to be around young children until I had my own three births and one loss.
In a climate of caregiver burnout, how are you caring for yourself?
My home is a sacred space full of community and my family. I look forward to spending quality time with friends, with my family at dance recitals or baseball games and alone time to rest.
What is a standout book, movie/tv, etc about the childbearing/parenting journey that you return to?
TV
- I watched Call The Midwife during the long hours I was nursing my first baby. That show still makes me cry.
BOOKS
- I loved reading Come as You Are by Emily Nagoski and Give Birth Like a Feminist by Milli Hill.
- My favourite cookbooks for the postpartum period are The First Forty Days by Heng Ou and The Food Doula Cookbook by Lindsay Taylor.
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:
It matters the most to me that you and your community feel supported from the very start of your journey into parenthood. My care is influenced by the many strong folks who have come before me and who have been a part of the support of birthers throughout the ages. I believe that with empathetic care grounded in evidence-based information, we can all feel empowered in our journeys of raising little humans!
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!
- Two Personalized Prenatal Visits → Meet for two one-hour sessions to discuss your birth hopes, postpartum support plans, and comfort measures for labour, while getting to know each other better.
- Virtual Support Throughout Pregnancy → Enjoy continuous virtual support during your pregnancy, including access to informational and emotional assistance via phone, email, or text.
- Curated Digital Birthing Resource Packet → Receive a trauma-informed and evidence-based digital resource packet filled with valuable information.
- Brood’s Family Membership → You will gain access to five online courses, our virtual private clubhouse, and the members’ area for ongoing education and support.
- Postpartum Product Guide → A curated list of our top postpartum must-haves, based on what we see support families again and again..
- Community Referrals → Get personalized referrals to community services to meet your needs.
- Unlimited Support → Access unlimited phone, text, and email support from the hire date, extending into four weeks postpartum.
Birth Attendance
- Continuous Support During Labor and Birth → I’ll provide continuous, hands-on support for up to 24 hours, with a brief break if needed, wherever the birth takes place.
- Personalized Comfort Techniques → I’ll help you with breathing, relaxation, massage, positioning, TENS, and other techniques to match your preferences and comfort.
- Support for First Feed and Newborn Care → I’ll assist with the first feed, latching, and newborn care immediately after birth for up to two hours, ensuring a smooth start.
- Emotional and Informational Support → I’m available via phone, email, or text from the moment you book until four weeks postpartum.
- Optional Professional Birth Photography → Capture the unforgettable moments of your birth journey with professional photos (the add-on is $750 + GST). From labor to meeting your baby, these timeless images will let you relive your family’s hard work and expansion for years to come. View a gallery of Roberta’s professional photography here!
Postpartum Support
- Support During Your Transition → Receive guidance on feeding, baby cues, and newborn care, plus ongoing emotional and informational support from the moment you give birth until six weeks postpartum.
- Two One-Hour Postpartum Visits → During these sessions, we’ll discuss your birth experience, check in on how you’re doing, and address any feeding questions. Enjoy homemade lactation cookies as we unpack your transition into parenting.
- Personalized Referrals → Get referrals to trusted community resources and practitioners as needed.
- Optional Newborn Photography → Capture your baby’s early days with an optional newborn photography add-on for $450 + GST.
Training + Education
BIRTH & POSTPARTUM
- Birth Doula Training, Doula (School) Canada
- Postpartum Doula Training, Doula (School) Canada
- Complicated Birth & Support, Doula (School) Canada
- Nursing, Breastfeeding, and Chestfeeding Support & Knowledge, Doula Canada
- Gender Affirming Birth Work 101, Moss the Doula
OTHER
- 8-week Culinary Program, Northwest Culinary Academy Of Vancouver
- Healthcare Provider CPR-C with AED
- Registered with the Doulas for Aboriginal Families Grant Program (DAFGP)
- Certified Criminal Record Check, including Vulnerable Sector Screening
- Eligible for Carrot Fertility Coverage
- Sun Life Coverage-Approved Doula
- Eligible for Extended Health Reimbursement
WORKSHOPS
- EQ + You: for Care Workers with Jessica Robson
- Lactation + Nursing for Doulas with Allison Mennie of Milky Way Lactation
- Running Your Care Practice with Emma Devin of Brood
- Full Spectrum Roundtable with Gina Badger of Long Spell, Dr. Madeline Ennis, Julia Santana Parilla of So I Had an Abortion, and Zuzana Betkova, Registered Midwife and Adjunct Professor
- Bookkeeping for Doulas with Courtney Ewan of CCE Consulting
- Who You Are Affects How You Care with Anna Balagtas of Pocket Doula
- Supplements & Nutrition with Dr Jennifer Fitzgerald of Bird&Be
- Twins, Triplets, and Multiples 101 with Emma Devin and Lolo Chaumont of Brood
- NICU 101 for Doulas with Tracy Karp, (NP) Neonatal Patient Care, Nursing Education and Leadership
- Perinatal Mental Health: Identifying and Supporting Clients with PMADs, with MomWell
- Sleep Training Roundtable with Desiree Russell and Jessica Peters
- Acupuncture and Acupressure for Doulas with Courtney Morris
- Values in Action: Boundaries & Balance in Care Work with Saphren Ma and Emma Devin of Brood
- Queer & Gender Affirming Care: Supporting and Celebrating Queer & Gender Diverse Families with Dia DP
- Lactation Support for Doulas: Common Ailments and Hands-on Resources with Allison Mennie of Milky Way Lactation
- Enhancing Doula Care: How to Address Clients’ Body Image Concerns and Combat Anti-Fat Bias with Vinny Welsby of the Fiercy Fatty + Weight Inclusive Consulting
- Values in Action: Care Considerations for the Perinatal Period with Roberta Stuart
- Babywearing 101 with Karla Castro of the Babywearing Club
- Trauma & Care Work: Integration and Healing from Birth & Postpartum Experiences with Melissa Medjuck of the Perinatal Collective
- Responsive Doula Care for Families with Complex Needs with Lolo Chaumont
- Sex and Relationships After Baby with Erin Davidson, MA, RCC, CST, CHST
- Pelvic Floor Support Through Pregnancy to Early Postpartum with Lauren Sutherland of Core Connection Physio
FOR YOUR PERSONAL LEARNING, WHAT IS THE WORKSHOP/TRAINING ON YOUR RADAR?
- BADT training workshops (Birth & Disability, Fertility & Conception)
Testimonials
Our Doula (Roberta) has been incredible to work with during our postpartum experience. She is so friendly, helpful and relaxed, which makes working with her so easy. We loved working with the team at Brood, too, as they have made the initial match and all of the setup very seamless. Would highly recommend to any expecting parents! — Martha H
We had a really great experience with Brood. All of the doulas are lovely, friendly, caring, and helpful, and Brood was very accommodating of our scheduling needs—especially when we needed shifts switched or added. Our doula, Roberta, was amazing. She took charge of us in those first few weeks when everything was a blur, and this was exactly what we needed as first-time parents. We had a mix of nighttime and daytime care, and initially, the night shifts were essential. Having our doula there allowed my partner to get a full night’s rest, I was well supported overnight, and our baby was carefully watched and cared for. Eventually, as he started sleeping through the night, we changed to daytime shifts so we could run errands, attend appointments, or simply rest. We’re so grateful to have had the help. Thank you, Roberta! — Alaina O
I want to thank all the staff at Brood for making my 2nd postpartum experience so positive. All the doulas were amazing and helped us overnight for the first couple of months. We had a very difficult newborn phase with our first in 2020, so we reached out to Brood before we welcomed our 2nd and it made such a significant difference. Highly recommend! Special shout out to Roberta & Katya — Kerry O
We cannot say enough good things about Brood! Roberta was our birth doula, and her support was incredible. Our prenatal visits with Roberta helped us to feel prepared for birth and new parenthood – and her care in the days leading up to birth was hugely comforting. It was so calming to have her at the hospital during my labour, and even though I wound up having an unplanned C-section, her support was invaluable. She was a great help and a source of comfort for both me and my husband as we navigated the entire process.
A few days postpartum, we also opted to invest in postpartum doula care. Brood was so responsive and arranged care for us incredibly quickly – faster than we thought would be possible. Danielle was our postpartum doula and she was hugely supportive. She provided overnight support, took incredible care of our newborn son and enabled us to get some rest and feel generally supported in the early days of parenthood.
We had immediate trust in both of our doulas and would not hesitate to recommend Brood to any other expecting families! More generally, coordinating with Emma and the whole team at Brood was an absolute pleasure from start to finish! They make the process so easy to navigate. — Eleanor Rock
What a joy to have Roberta as a labour and delivery support as well as postpartum support for our 2nd child’s entrance and early weeks. Roberta is kind, personable, a wealth of knowledge and experience, trustworthy, and a clear and available communicator. This pregnancy and labour and delivery (an induction due to gestational diabetes) were more emotionally exhausting and Roberta has been such an encouragement, a great listening ear, and able to be the consistent care person amidst a sea of healthcare providers I was seeing. She thoughtfully brought a book about the new baby for our older child upon a prenatal visit, and read with her. Our toddler looks forward to Roberta’s visits too! She came to the first stage of induction upon request, as moral support when we felt overwhelmed by information and making decisions. Once admitted to the hospital throughout labour, she offered suggestions of rest in early labour, a walk, birthing positions, massage, liquids both food and drink and ample encouragement. This birth was a lot more intense than my first, but Roberta was a calm and supportive encourager for me and my partner throughout. We couldn’t have asked for a better support! Postpartum support has been great, both practically with some food (delicious lactation cookies!) and conversation space for me to process the labour and delivery. Emotional support hero! Looking forward to some more postpartum care shifts with our favourite doula, Roberta! — Bryn
The Brood team has provided us with excellent care throughout our birth and postpartum journey with our first. We had Saphren help us in preparing for and providing knowledge of labour and delivery, and Ash supported us as Saphren’s backup during our labour and delivery- and both were absolutely fantastic in their roles, and Ash had such a calm presence throughout my labour, and knew exactly when to step and in and provide support to us. We have been very happy with the decision to have a birth doula, and 10/10 would recommend Brood! We are continuing with Brood through postpartum, and have so far had a wonderful experience with Roberta, who has helped us catch up on some much-needed sleep throughout her night shifts and has been a wonderful baby ‘tutor’ during our day shift. We’re looking forward to her and the Brood team’s continued support! — Jessica H
Roberta brought such care and warmth into our home. She took the initiative to schedule appointments to meet with me before birth to understand my needs. Despite her busy schedule, she effortlessly balanced newborn care, bonding with our baby, household tasks, and emotional support. She is a good listener and has a kind of passion and positivity that is contagious, and it helped so much that she is an excellent and resourceful cook. Her flourless lactation cookies are truly the best. I must have had over 100 pieces of those cookies during those months. Because of her life experience and being a mom of three, she is a wealth of wisdom, which is evident in her thoughtful and practical advice and perspectives. I enjoyed chatting with her. Even after her doula duties ended, we continued hiring her as our family photographer. Her positive energy and talent behind the camera captured precious moments. I wholeheartedly recommend her for postpartum support and photography. — Pochia
