Doula Diversity, Overnight Myths, and Postpartum Support with Jen Chandlee
Release Date: 05/21/2025
What Happens After Five Years as a Doula
The Birth Geeks' Podcast
In today’s episode, Robin Elise Weiss and Hillary Melchiors reflect on what it means to be a doula for five years and beyond. They dig into why so many birth doulas have short careers, what helps professionals stay in the work, and how both personal and professional priorities change over time. You’ll hear honest stories about real challenges: from finding backup and setting boundaries, to handling compassion fatigue, burnout, and the shifting landscape of client needs. Whether you’ve just finished your training or have decades in the field, this conversation offers candid insights and...
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The Not-So-Magic Doula Bag
The Birth Geeks' Podcast
In this episode, Hillary Melchiors and Robin Elise Weiss unpack the real contents of a doula's birth bag. From the practical to the quirky, you'll hear how the items doulas carry have shifted over the course of their careers, what actually gets used during long hours at births, and why less is often more. They share favorite finds, ways to keep things clean and organized, and surprising tools that have stood the test of time, or failed spectacularly. Whether you're a birth or postpartum doula, or just curious about what actually helps in those high-pressure hours, this is an honest,...
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The Truth About Doula Confidence: Fear of Making Mistakes
The Birth Geeks' Podcast
The pressure to perform is so very real as a doula, and sometimes the fear is holding us back from being even better for our clients. In this episode we're getting real about why it feels so scary and how you can get over this hurdle as a doula.
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Why Doula Burnout Happens and What Actually Keeps You Going
The Birth Geeks' Podcast
Setting yourself up for a sustainable doula career is essential if you want to keep doing this work over the long term. Whether you are a birth or postpartum doula, planning ahead for more than just self-care bubble baths, can help you keep serving more clients. Listen in as we discuss what's help us stay in this work for the long haul.
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Doula and Nurse Relationships and the Reality of Labor Support
The Birth Geeks' Podcast
Dr. Kathryn Konrad on doula and nurse relationships, what nursing textbooks miss about labor support, and how to plug doulas into the maternity workforce.
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Navigating Sleep Disruption and Recovery for On-Call Doulas
The Birth Geeks' Podcast
This one's for the birth doulas who are excited to get the wake up call and haven't yet realized the physiological toll that this will take (as we see in the scientific literature) on your body. We're talking about all the ways we deal with being on call and making sure we're getting our Zzzzzzzs on this week's episode. Birth doula work gets described as thrilling—the middle-of-the-night call, the quick scramble, the arrival at a birth. But what’s left out of that story is the reality of sleep deprivation, the impact of disrupted schedules, and the ongoing challenge of protecting...
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The Scarcity Mindset: How Doulas Treat Each Other (And How to Do It Better)
The Birth Geeks' Podcast
The doula community talks about abundance mindset constantly, but the actual behavior in many local communities tells a different story. In this episode, Dr. Robin Elise Weiss and Dr. Hillary Melchiors dig into the professional dynamics that shape how doulas treat each other across the experience spectrum. They name what a scarcity mindset actually looks like in practice, why it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and why newer doulas often misread what established doulas can and should offer them. This is a direct, honest conversation about the professional culture that determines whether...
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Getting Hired as a Doula: Tactics That Actually Work for Growing Your Client List
The Birth Geeks' Podcast
Everyone who comes through doula training asks the same question: how do I actually find my first clients? In this episode, Dr. Robin Elise Weiss and Dr. Hillary Melchiors cut through the anxiety around getting started and offer practical, grounded strategies for new birth and postpartum doulas who are ready to build a practice. The conversation covers everything from the psychology of feeling "ready" to the concrete mechanics of networking, social media, pricing, and contracts, and it does so in a way that will resonate with trainers and agency owners who field this question constantly. ...
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Geek Out with Dr. Jennifer Lincoln
The Birth Geeks' Podcast
In this episode of The Birth Geeks, Dr. Jennifer Lincoln, OB-GYN hospitalist, IBCLC, and author, joins Dr. Robin Elise Weiss and Dr. Hillary Melchiors to talk about the hospitalist model and what it means for doulas and clients, how to show up during a home birth transfer, obstetric violence and why the term matters, misinformation on social media, informed consent as a human rights issue, and what a well-prepared patient looks like from the perspective of someone meeting people for the first time in active labor. Dr. Lincoln also discusses her new book, written for birthing people and...
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Supporting Clients Through Inductions Without Losing Yourself: Hard Lessons Learned
The Birth Geeks' Podcast
We're tackling a tough subject for birth doulas in this week's episode: induction arrival. When do you join your clients and how do you communicate with them before and during an induction? Speaking from our experience as birth doulas, we're talking about approaches we've seen work and some that haven't too. As birth doulas, at some point you will absolutely have a client be induced, and planning ahead can make a world of difference in everyone's experience, including the doula's.
info_outlineWelcome to another episode of The Birth Geeks! In today’s conversation, host Dr. Hillary Melchiors sits down with Jen Chandlee, an experienced postpartum doula trainer, educator, and advocate. Not only was Jen Hillary’s own postpartum doula trainer, but she brings a wealth of knowledge from decades spent supporting families in diverse regions of the U.S., including Wilmington and Asheville, North Carolina.
Together, they dive into how postpartum doula support has evolved, the increasing demand for it, and the important differences between birth and postpartum doula care. Jen shares heartfelt stories from her trainings—like the different moving traditions of welcoming new birthing people—and discusses the importance of cultural ritual in the postpartum period versus what many parents in the U.S. experience today (hello, grocery store runs instead of crowns and songs).
The episode explores how virtual doula training breaks down barriers and brings global perspectives together, how the “crunchy parent” stereotype and consumer culture collide in parenting, and why overnight postpartum work—and its perception—may deserve a second look. Jen and Hillary also talk about the effects of perimenopause on doulas, the need for boundaries and self-care, plus the financial and policy challenges facing today’s doula workforce.
With warmth and honesty, Jen and Hillary unpack the reality of postpartum care, the critical need for recognition and support for new parents, and what it really means to be a lifeguard for families in the early weeks. Whether you’re a doula, a parent, or just passionate about birth work, this episode is full of wisdom, humor, and some well-deserved tiara talk.
Grab your tea, put on your imaginary crown, and enjoy this inspiring conversation!