Meet Lauren Swanson of Lilburn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Swanson.

Hi Lauren, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was the first of my close friends to have kids, so when they started becoming pregnant and entering the postpartum season, they naturally turned to me with questions. I found myself walking alongside them through pregnancy, birth prep, newborn care, feeding questions, emotional support, and all the little unknowns that come with becoming a parent.

And I loved it. I loved being the person who could say, “You’re not crazy, this is hard, and you don’t have to figure it out alone.” At the time, though, I had no idea that kind of support could become an actual career.

Before doula work, I had a completely different job. Then one of my children got sick, and I made the decision to step away from that work so I could be home and focus on my family. When my child was doing better and I felt ready to return to work, several friends encouraged me to look into becoming a doula. They had seen how naturally I showed up for people in those tender seasons and said, “Lauren, this is what you should be doing.”

So I started exploring doula work, completed my training, and quickly realized it brought together so many parts of who I am: nurturing, practical support, emotional steadiness, and helping families feel less alone. What began as simply showing up for my friends has grown into work I deeply care about. And here we are — I now get to support families professionally through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, which feels like such a full-circle gift.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has not always been a smooth road, but I think that’s true of most meaningful work.
One of the biggest challenges in the beginning was simply building trust. Doula work is deeply personal. Families are inviting me into some of the most vulnerable, intimate, and life-changing moments of their lives, and I don’t take that lightly. Getting those first clients was difficult because I wasn’t just asking people to hire me for a service — I was asking them to trust me with their birth space, their postpartum home, their fears, their questions, and their family during a huge transition.
Another challenge has been learning how to live life on call. As a birth doula especially, being on call can be one of the toughest parts of the work. It requires flexibility, sacrifice, and a lot of support from my own family. But at the same time, it’s also one of the things that makes this work feel so sacred to me. When a client knows I’m truly available for them, it creates this feeling of “we’re in this together.”
So no, it hasn’t been perfectly smooth, but the challenges have shaped the way I show up. They’ve made me more thoughtful, more grounded, and even more aware of what an honor it is to be invited into these moments.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work centers around supporting families through birth and the early postpartum season with calm, practical, nonjudgmental care. As a birth and postpartum doula, I specialize in inductions and overnight postpartum support.

Inductions are one of my favorite types of births to support because they often come with a lot of unknowns. Families may be navigating timelines, medical decisions, changing plans, and long stretches of waiting. I love helping them understand what is happening, feel prepared for each step, and stay grounded when the process feels overwhelming.

On the postpartum side, I specialize in overnight care. Those early weeks can be beautiful, but they can also be incredibly exhausting. I support families overnight so parents can rest, recover, and feel more human while still knowing their baby is being cared for with intention and tenderness.

I’m also launching a partner support course with my husband called The Prepared Partner. After years of supporting families, I saw how often partners wanted to help but didn’t always know what to do in the moment. This course is designed to help partners walk into birth and postpartum feeling more confident, steady, and prepared.

What I’m most proud of is the way families feel with me. I want my clients to feel safe, informed, and never judged. I’m not there to take over or tell them what they should do. I’m there to help them feel supported enough to trust themselves.

What sets me apart is that I bring both emotional steadiness and very practical support. I can sit with a mom through fear or tears, but I can also help troubleshoot a feeding, talk through an induction plan, prep a postpartum recovery station, or take the baby overnight so everyone can sleep. My goal is always the same: to make families feel less alone and more capable during one of the biggest transitions of their lives.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
My biggest advice is to look for community both online and in person. Doula work can feel very personal and sometimes a little isolating, especially when you’re first starting out, so having people who understand the work makes such a difference.

For me, local doula groups on Facebook have been a wonderful resource. They’re a great place to ask questions, learn from more experienced doulas, hear about opportunities, and stay connected to what’s happening in the birth community. Those online spaces have been such a helpful addition to the doulas I know personally and meet up with in real life.

I also think in-person networking matters so much. Building relationships face to face creates a different level of trust and connection. One event I always recommend looking for is the Peach State Birth Coalition’s birth expo each year. Events like that are a great way to meet other doulas, birth workers, providers, and organizations in your area.

Overall, I think the best networking happens when you approach it as relationship-building, not just business-building. Show up curious, be generous with what you know, ask thoughtful questions, and stay open to learning from the people around you.

Pricing:

• postpartum overnight $42/hr
• birth doula $2400

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.laurentppd.com
• Other: https://thepreparedpartner.com