Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachael Hutchins and Hannah Atterberry.
Hi Rachael and Hannah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
It is rare you cross paths with someone and know instantly that you have a connection and that the universe is working in beautiful ways. This happened for us! Our mutual friend and fellow birth professional, Dr. Shannon O’Brien introduced us. We met for coffee and a bagel at one of the local bagel shops and the rest is history.
We were both working on our own businesses doing birth and postpartum doula work. Hannah was pregnant at the time and shared her beautiful family’s story and by the end of our conversation, Rachael offered to be Hannah’s doula for her upcoming birth. After meeting Hannah’s amazing husband and getting to know each other a little more, Hannah decided to hire Rachael as her doula! This was definitely the beginning of a very special relationship. Over the course of the next two years, Hannah and Rachael worked independently but maintained connection.
In mid-2020, we met at a local park and sat outside and discussed what we were experiencing inside the birth community. The conversation about partnership was mentioned and discussed and the many benefits of a good doula partnership.
The seed was planted! From there, we slowly watered it, fed it, and nourished our relationship and our desires to grow our birth business in partnership grew stronger.
After working together with a couple of clients, we had a meeting where we shared our vision for the future. And with shaky hands, excited voices, and ready hearts we decided to create a co-doula partnership and thus North Atlanta Birth Services was born.
We both have similar “big picture” views on making birth work sustainable, serving our community, and helping other doulas do the same.
We are excited for the next chapter in our birth business and for what the future holds. Providing compassionate, holistic, individualized, and evidence-based care to birthing people should be the norm but unfortunately it is not. We are ready and willing to change that and we will do it one birth at a time!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has been a mix of ups and downs and twists and turns. Being birth doulas, we work with our clients closely to help them prepare for the unpredictability and non-linear nature of giving birth…so we use similar practices to navigate our unique path to building and growing our birth doula business.
Our initial struggles look very different than they do now. Initially, we both wanted to hold on to our individual doula businesses because we had worked so hard to build what we had. But once we began to see how much easier and better it is to do this work in partnership, we were more confident to take that big step to join as doula partners. Some of our initial struggles surrounding the merging of our systems and practices. We balanced each other so well that we quickly found that where one lacked the other excelled and vice versa.
We’ve been impressed with North Atlanta Birth Services, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a duo of childbirth professionals who provide evidence-based, holistic, and intuitive prenatal and postpartum care. As partners, we assist expecting and newly postpartum birthing people by providing prenatal education, physical and emotional support during birth plus newborn and postpartum support, and more. Feel empowered, healthy, and happy as you navigate the unpredictable and non-linear path to giving birth. With support, education, and self-determination during this time, you can own your birth.
Our team currently consists of two doulas, Rachael Hutchins and Hannah Atterberry.
Rachael is a certified birth doula CD (DV) and a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator and she has been supporting birthing families since 2014. Rachael is also a co-host of the Aligned Birth Podcast.
Hannah is a certified birth doula CD (DONA), a certified postpartum doula, and our Newborn Care Specialist and she has been supporting birthing families since 2017.
You may be wondering, “What is a birth doula?”. A birth doula is a person, typically without formal obstetric training, who is employed by the birthing person to provide guidance and support during pregnancy, labor, and birth. A doula is a person trained to provide advice, information, emotional support, and physical comfort to a birthing person before, during, and just after childbirth. Doula’s help to support birthing families through the life-changing experience of having a baby
We provide care and support that make a difference. There is a direct relationship between consistent, quality, and individualized care during pregnancy and birth with healthy outcomes for both mom and baby. It is our mission to help you achieve this in a way that aligns with your unique needs and desires.
We are conveniently located in Woodstock, GA and we have expertise, knowledge, and experience providing labor+birth support for home birth in the North Metro Atlanta area as well as hospital birth at the following locations: Northside Cherokee Hospital in Canton, Wellstar North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Kennesaw, and the Atlanta Birth Center.
Our mission is:
Make birth safe, healthy, and satisfying
To inspire maximum self-determination
To empower you to empower yourself
To spread the knowledge, we have about birth to all those who need and want it
To make quality, compassionate, individualized care the standard
To advocate for evidence-based care and informed decision making
To hold space, cheer you on, listen patiently, and advocate for
All birthing people
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I am typically a risk-adverse person in my personal life and in business. I aim to make well-informed decisions that are realistic, smart and align with my overall goals and mission. As an entrepreneur, there is an inherent risk at all times. You are putting everything you have (emotionally, physically, and financially) into something you believe in so the risk is always very high. I try to tamper that by going a little slower and more steadily than most. Also, I played it safe for years being a solo doula so joining forces with another person and going 50/50 on everything has been a huge (perceived) risk. But ultimately, you must be willing to take certain risks in order to experience the greatest reward and I have no doubt that the risk I have taken jumping from solo doula to co-doula partner is 100% worth it. Taking this step has given me a new energy toward building this business, growing the birth worker community in our area, and being able to see the bigger picture more clearly.
Pricing:
- Birth Doula Services $1000-$1500
- Childbirth Education $125
- Newborn Care Education $100
- Postpartum Planning Call $35
- Postpartum Doula Services $30/hour
Contact Info:
- Email: info@northatlantabirth.com
- Website: www.northatlantabirth.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northatlantabirth/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northatlantabirth
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nurturelifecommunity
