Lancaster and Lebanon, PA Christian Birth Doula
Helping women have natural, faith-filled, and peaceful births at home and in hospitals.
Birth isn’t just about bringing your baby into the world—it’s a sacred journey of transformation for you, too.
Sadly, a peaceful, worshipful birth DOESN’T just happen by chance. It’s in contrast to the fear-driven narrative our medical systems and society often push onto birth.
But as believers, we know that birth that fear is NOT of God, and birth was even designed BY HIM, which means its intelligent, and beautiful! Culture has got it so wrong!
We KNOW that birth trauma can be prevented.
We KNOW that higher levels of interventions don’t always lead to better outcomes.
So why doesn’t the medical system recognize this truth?? The truth is, birth is a divinely designed process that’s meant to empower you and fill you with peace. When you have the right mindset and the right support team around you, labor doesn’t have to be scary or miserable.
You deserve to have a birth that is not only safe but empowering—one where you trust your body, experience peace, and embrace your journey into motherhood with confidence.
This is why it is essential to have the right team around you who will help you have this type of spirit-filled, peaceful birth!
It can be hard to stand up for yourself when you are in the thick of it, but having someone there to stand with you to AMPLIFY YOUR VOICE is essential in our modern medical world!
Whether you are a first-time mom or having a VBAC after 2 c-sections, every woman needs emotional and physical support through this—not only someone who knows you, but also who knows & respects birth.
Christian Birth Doula Services:
1:1 Holistic, Spirit-filled Support for Birth Journey
It is my passion to help women have empowering, beautiful births!!
Birth trauma rates are way too high, and I believe it can mostly be prevented through education and personalized support from a doula. This is the part of having a doula that is invaluable because your birth experience will shape the rest of your life! Here’s how I help get you set up for an empowering, beautiful birth:
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I’m here for you every step of the way! You can text or call me with your questions, or concerns, or just to chat about how you’re feeling. Whether it’s something your provider said or you just need reassurance, I’ll provide guidance and resources so you don’t have to navigate it alone. I’m a huge voice message person, so you can anticipate messaging back and forth just like we’ve been long lost friends.
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We’ll meet in your home to talk through your hopes, goals, and any concerns for your birth. You can ask me questions, and we will even write a birth plan together!
I’ll help you and your partner prepare with resources and information so you feel confident and ready for your baby’s big day by doing some practice positions together and stretches/exercises to prepare your body!
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I provide evidence-based information and practical tips for a healthy pregnancy. While I’m not a certified nutritionist, I'm SUPER passionate about minerals, protein, and mainly just supporting our body with food!
I’ll give you tips and ticks as needed and referrals to help you stay low-risk in pregnancy, and make the best choices for you and your baby.
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Once we’re in the final weeks, I’ll be available 24/7 so you can feel confident knowing I’m ready when you need me—day or night, weekday or holiday. 😜
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I’ll be there for you and your partner when labor begins to provide comfort, reassurance, and advocacy.
Together, we’ll create a calm and empowering environment, however, your birth unfolds. I will be there, however, you need weather that’s a quiet peaceful presence, or a hands-on coach to encourage you to keep going.
As a Christian, I believe birth is incredibly spiritually transformative, and if you share those beliefs too, I will be there to point you towards Him and to be a spiritual prayer warrior as you bring your child into this world.
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I can capture those special moments during labor and birth with my iPhone, giving you keepsakes to cherish forever.
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After your baby arrives, I’ll come to your home to check in, debrief your birth, and offer guidance on breastfeeding, recovery, and adjusting to life with your little one.
During the first few weeks, I’ll be available by text or call to answer questions about feeding, sleep, or anything else that comes up as you settle into this new chapter.
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Everything I do is because I love the Lord! I am passionate about brining the Holy Spirit in to the birth! A heart of gratitude and worship in birth gives space for heaven to touch down in the most supernatural way. Weather or not you know it, I will be praying for you your whole pregnancy and birth journey.
As a bonus, you get my handbook for FREE!
As soon as the contract is signed, I’ll email you this handbook to refer to for the rest of your pregnancy.
30+ pages packed full of information I believe every couple should know before their birth!
This guidebook will help you to feel INFORMED, PREPARED, and EXCITED for birth!
Doula Services Investment $1,400
Payment plans are available to suit your needs!!
Optional Add-Ons:
White Birth Pool Rental with all the parts + $150
Childbirth Classes at a Special Rate+ $250
The price breakdown is listed in FAQ section below where I in full transparency show how I calculate my cost.
Repeat clients get a $200 discount
I’m Karissa!
I am a Birth Doula and Childbirth Educator and passionate about natural birth. My love for learning spills over into my work. I believe the more we know, the less we are afraid of. A huge part of what I do is helping pregnant women, and their partners, feel more prepared, and less nervous so it can be a joyful time!
Birth is a sacred gift from God. He created you for this! I have supported over 100 women through their birth journey (and guess what?! Most of them were UNMEDICATED too!) Birth can be both peaceful and powerful, but it does not have to be scary or chaotic!
Click the button below to chat with me face-to-face!
FAQs
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I only schedule a 2-3 moms every month, so its rare for this to happen. Even if I try to schedule things perfectly, one baby may want to come 2 weeks late, and the other one 3 weeks early.
So, the answer is, I work with a backup doula.
I work with a couple of Christian doulas who are also my dear friends. If I would suddenly get sick, have a family emergency, be at another birth, or need to leave town for something, you would be in GREAT hands.
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It is important that you feel safe wherever you give birth. So if that is at home, I will support you at home! If that is in the hospital, I will support you in the hospital. I work in birth centers too!
Hospitals I’ve worked in: Women and Babies in Lancaster, UPMC Magees in Harrisburg, UPMC Magees in Lititz, York Wellspan Hospital, Ephrata Wellspan Hospital, Good Sam Wellspan Hospital, Reading Tower of Health, Penn State Hershey Medical, Penn State St Joseph's, Main Line Paoli Hospital, Chester Community Hospital, Lankenau Medical Center, and Katz Women's Hospital in New York.
The 2 hospitals I personally recommend for women wanting a low-intervention, unmedicated birth: UPMC Lititz and Reading Tower Health
Local Birth Center Options: Reading Midwifery Center, Lebanon Valley Birth Center, and New Babi.
Homebirths: I've worked with quite a few homebirth midwives in this area too!! I used to work as a midwife assistant, and during that time I was attending 4-5 home births a month.
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I will still 100% support you and go along with you!
I will be there to help explain to you and your partner what is happening so that you both feel informed and less afraid.
I believe homebirth is normally a safe and beautiful place to have your baby, but I also believe that it’s not homebirth at any cost.
I will stay right by your side through the whole process to help the transfer feel as calm and peaceful as possible.
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When hiring a doula, you are not just paying for them to be at your birth.
You are investing into all the years of training and experience in walking alongside moms.
I understand that life these days is expensive, so in order to have full transparency, here is the cost breakdown:
Text/call time throughout pregnancy and postpartum: On average, I spend about 3 hours texting, voice messaging, and calling with each client — $40
2 prenatal visits and 1 postpartum: These visits are held in your home and total approximately 5 hours — $200
Labor support: My pricing is based on an average 12 hour labor and figure $30/hour — $360
On-call time: is a core part of my role and means staying prepared to leave at any moment, skipping or leaving personal events, arranging backups, and maintaining availability 24/7. This is one of the most challenging aspects of this work and I aim to make this sustainable in the long run. I calculate on-call time at $50/week for 5 weeks (37–42 weeks) — $350
Driving time and gas: With most clients living 30+ minutes away, on average I will spend 4 hours on the road throughout our time together. — $100
Overhead cost: Birth supplies in my doula bag, client gift ($25), parking/toll, meals out while at births long, continuing education/training, doula re-certification cost, and maintaining a legal LLC and insurance costs — $244
Taxes: I pay taxes on every dollar I make and I figure it is around 27% of each contract — $378
After my taxes and overhead cost, my net income is $778
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Yes!! Many! I even have supported several VB2Cs!! (Vaginal Birth After 2 C-section)
I love supporting VBAC mams and support both homebirth and hospital birth VBACs.
Qualifications
June 2022 - Certified Childbirth Educator through the International Doula Institute
June 2022 - Certified Birth Doula through the International Doula Institute
August 2022 - Certified Postpartum Doula through the International Doula Institute
December 2022 - Officially launched The Birth Tide LLC
May 2023-January 2024 - Homebirth Midwife Birth Assistant
September 2024 - Completed Spinning Babies Workshop
