Kate Danson
Los Angeles Guide
Pronouns
she/her
Location
Living in Ojai CA | Working with families in Ojai, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.
Education/Certification
Abhyanga Training
Reiki Level 1&2 Certification
DONA International Postpartum Doula Training
Birth Story Medicine
Lactation Educator/Counselor Certification
Maternity Support Specialist Program
DONA International Birth Doula Training
BFA in Fine Art + Photography
Birth + Postpartum Doula, Abhyanga, Lactation Educator-Counselor, Birth + Family Photographer
Specific Expertise
I work with families from early on in their pregnancies through their birth and postpartum experiences, providing education, emotional and physical support as they navigate all the twists and turns that come with bringing a new life into this world. My postpartum support focuses on healing the body after birth with food and massage. I offer lactation education and counseling. And I am a birth and family photographer.
What life experiences led you to becoming a doula?
My fascination with birth started at a very young age when I began having recurring dreams about my own birth. In the hopes of making sense of what I was dreaming about, my parents shared the story of my birth and the stroke my mother suffered in the process. These dreams opened up a natural curiosity to understand birth on a deep level.
Years later while working as an actor and photographer, my sister asked me to attend the birth of her first daughter. I jumped at the opportunity to be there, entirely unaware of the ripple effect it would have on my life. At the end of this beautiful birth, having seen something that can only be described as magical, her midwife pulled me aside and told me I would make a wonderful doula. It planted a seed in me. A year later I had completed my training and was well on my way to working as a birth doula. That was 10 years ago.
What is your philosophy around birth work?
I believe that birth is a rite of passage that has the power to transform even in the most challenging of circumstances. It is an opportunity to let go, listen, and receive. As a Doula, my intention is to inform and empower birthing people to trust their inner knowing as they step into their new roles as mother/father, provider/parent, giving them the opportunity to move as gracefully through this transition as possible.
Every birth teaches me something new. I am constantly learning and awed by the process. One thing I know for certain is there’s no right way to birth and no right way to parent. Unmedicated, medicated, cesarean, hospital or home birth, chest feeding or bottle feeding — it is time we honor it all. Birth is birth.
What inspires your work?
Being entrusted by families to support them in the most tender of moments. Watching these little souls come into the world and take their first breath. The strength and courage it takes to usher them in. And the vulnerability we show as human beings in these life changing moments.
Tell us about the postpartum work you offer. Why is honoring the postpartum experience so important?
Honoring the postpartum experience is everything! I don’t believe you have to hire a postpartum doula or a night nurse to accomplish that, but making a plan of care during that time is as important as creating a birth plan.
In western culture, there is very little direction on how to care for oneself during the first 40 days postpartum Traditionally, your first check-up with your OB is six weeks after giving birth, and in those six weeks we experience so many changes physically and emotionally. Because of this gap in western postpartum support, I have learned much of what I know about healing the postpartum body from the wisdom of Ayurveda and holistic medicine. The first 40 days are believed to be a magical and crucial time, not only for the bonding of the parents and baby, but for healing and restoring the physical body through rest and proper nutrition in order to build a foundation of health that will last a lifetime.
Much of my postpartum support and cooking focuses on these principles. One of my visits may include lactation counseling and troubleshooting, warm nourishing meal preparation in the home or delivered, or a type of body work called Abhyanga — a treatment that is deeply grounding and calming to the nervous system, protecting you from depletion and anxiety, and bringing the body back into balance after the birth of a child.
What is your self-care ritual?
I TRY to meditate as consistently as possible. I take lots of baths, water is everything to me. Massage, Self-Abhyanga, and I’m currently loving the feeling of Gua Sha.
What are you watching/listening to/reading right now?
Never not watching Call the Midwife. It makes me love what I do! Reading Aviva Romm’s Hormone Intelligence, Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson, When the Body Says No by Gabor Mate´, Circe by Madeline Miller, and just dipping into Always Home: A Daughter’s Recipes and Stories by Fanny Singer.