Meet Claire
IBCLC, RN/BSN, Postpartum Doula
With a background in postpartum nursing in Indiana, and many years as a lactation consultant, Claire is a wealth of knowledge about new parenting. Add to that being a mother of 7 children ranging from 8 to 23, and you have a passionate caregiver who carries trustworthiness in every pocket.
Claire’s family relocated to Vancouver, WA in 2018, and she choose to stay home and homeschool many of her children, as her nursing license didn’t transfer to WA and she wanted a more family friendly schedule. Finding postpartum doula care was the happy solution to having nurturing to share without the more demanding schedule of hospital life. She now welcomes new families home after birth, being that call button they CAN actually take home with them!
More About Claire
Claire has always been a nurturer. Anyone with 7 children will tell you what it takes to support each unique little personality, and Claire knows that each new baby—and each new parent—needs a different approach to help them thrive. After working professionally as a nurse, lactation consultant, and now a doula, Claire brings the wisdom of caretaking and blends in the science and study of postpartum recovery and lactation to create holistic care that envelopes a new family in love and comfort.
Claire graduated from college with a BSN and worked as a nurse in Indiana for years, becoming a certified lactation consultant, before taking a break from working outside the home to raise and homeschool her children, some of whom have disabilities. When her family moved to the PNW in 2018 and she found her RN license did not transfer because of differing state standards, she made a decision to support her kids for a season at home, leaving nursing behind for a different time in life. She has maintained her IBCLC throughout all of these transitions, as she truly values the support offered through helping families learn to breastfeed and maintain lactation.
With experiences having 7 children, Claire has seen hospital birth with an OB, births with midwives, an unmedicated water-birth, birth with an epidural, and with her last a natural birth at home. She has experience nursing her children for a variety of durations and helped countless parents navigate pumping and bottle-feeding both in the hospital and in their homes.
As an introvert she brings a calm reassuring presence that is at peace with silence, as matrescence takes time to process with it’s massive changes in roles and understanding of the world. Going through this experience 7 different times, in 7 different ways, has created a flexibility in her doula care that she loves to customize to each family. Claire offers daytime support, overnight care and also the sunset or Dinner and a Doula shift of 4 pm to 8 pm.
Claire describes her care in this way:
I know that the postpartum period is an extremely important one, that the experiences women have and the care women receive at this time have a lasting impact. I know support and information at this time are crucial. I believe giving culturally sensitive care and involving the family in education are key to supporting new mothers.
I love the beautiful things the human body can do, in giving birth, bonding and nursing. I have always been interested in infant attachment and the ways families can promote health attachment and thriving. I have a special interest in helping mothers be successful feeding their milk to their baby, whatever that may look like for them. As a lactation consultant I also realize there are many circumstances in which women cannot or choose not to breastfeed and I am committed to supporting them in feeding their babies in the way that allows them both to thrive.
While she loves babies and children, she also believes in a new parent’s capabilities to nurture their baby according to their inner guidance. Her approach is gentle and patient, and she uses her intuitive listening skills to help parents figure out their own ways in the early weeks when everything feels overwhelming. Claire additionally has a heart for folks with autism, ADHD and anxiety especially, as her family experience includes raising children with neurodivergent brains, and getting to enjoy all the nuances of what each member of the family contributes in different ways.
She loves fur babies as well, and knows the healing power of having client’s animals by their sides during birth recovery. Her desire is to create a protective bubble around each family that safeguards their precious postpartum time, while also feeding, encouraging, and fostering parents to trust themselves and their capabilities. She has cooked for many families with special diets including GF, dairy free or vegetarian, and is at home in the kitchen, helping new families be nourished and heal through optimal nutrition post-birth. Make sure you have a chance to sample her Dinner & a Doula shifts when she can make her famous roast chicken and veggies followed by homemade bone broth, or after an overnight have her whip up a batch of her fruit and nut muffins or a protein omelette for breakfast before you start your marathon of baby care for the day.
Claire’s family, ranging from the 8 year old youngest to the 23 year oldest, all love babies! Learning to be sensitive to each other and the differing needs for fun and rest creates a lot of love shared in their home. They make it a priority to care about including people and making them comfortable. As lovers of books and music and animals, Claire’s kids have pursued their curiosity around science and learning. They cook from scratch every day, and everyone knows how to do their own laundry! Living in Vancouver allows them a big backyard and lots of trees, room to explore, and has given them a slice of what they were used to in the midwest. We’re so thankful to have Claire be a part of the team, offering such a rich experience of postpartum care.