Find a Newborn Care Specialist Near Me in Altoona, PA

My name is Kara and I am a certified Birth and Postpartum Doula through Madriella Doula Network. I have 10 years of personal experience in prenatal, postnatal, and childbirth care and 3 years of professional experience. I have 7 beautiful children of my own and have had many different birth experiences, including my last three births being at home and one of my children joining our family through adoption. My passion for helping women and their families during this special time in their lives is what drives me. I want to be able to help women from pregnancy to birth and beyond in a way that best supports them and empowers them to be the best mothers they can be.

For nearly 9 years, I have supported families through all stages of the journey of parenthood with compassionate, evidence-based care. After training as a birth and postpartum doula in Brooklyn, New York, I began working with families throughout New York City, providing emotional support, education, advocacy, and a steady presence during some of life’s most transformative moments. My approach to care is rooted in informed decision-making, respect for autonomy, and creating a space where families feel safe, supported, and empowered. With a background in Human Development and Family Studies and future plans to pursue midwifery, I am passionate about combining nurturing support with current evidence-based practices to help families navigate birth and postpartum with confidence.

Our agency serves clients across the middle third of Pennsylvania, in cities like Altoona, Bellefonte, Danville, Dubois, Hershey, Johnstown, Lewistown, State College, Williamsport, and more. We are passionate about providing caring support to help you achieve your goals and better your experience with pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.

As a Certified Labor Doula working in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area since 2020, I offer personalized birthing, lactation, and postpartum support as well as childbirth & postpartum education. My goal is to give you and your family the attention and knowledge you need to make informed decisions about pregnancy, delivery, feeding, and parenting. ​ I am inspired by women's strength and the miracle of birth. This inspiration is why I became a Certified Labor Doula through Maternity Wise and am proud to serve women and families throughout South Western Pennsylvania. I first became interested in becoming a doula in 2017 when I became inspired by a supportive doula I hired for my second and third pregnancies. I was later encouraged to become a doula by a close friend, who then was the first mother I could serve as an educator and doula. ​ I have three little boys of my own, and have had a hospital OBGYN, midwife center, and homebirth experience. I know what it is like to give birth and navigate both within and outside the industrial birth complex. I have personal experience with low-risk and high-risk pregnancies and what it is like to be concerned about the unknowns on the other side of delivery. In addition, I have experienced the benefits and relief of having a doula present to guide me through the portal of birth into the role of motherhood. ​ Every woman deserves to have someone there to guide and assist them in making educated choices about their pregnancy, delivery, and parenting. It is good to have someone to remind them that they can persevere during this time of newness. I'm here to provide evidence-based education, and emotional, physical, and personalized support, along with advocacy for your rights. ​ Mothers and couples who work with me will find I highly value their maintained autonomy, including mother-led labor and delivery. I recognize birth as a non-medical event that occasionally needs medical attention. High-risk pregnancies need significantly more care than healthy pregnancies- but that high-risk model of care should not be used to care for all expectant mothers. In this vein, I acknowledge that women do not need to be empowered to give birth well or ecstatically. Instead, their autonomy, human rights, and dignity must be protected and remain intact. Under these aforementioned parameters, birth will naturally lead toward positive and non-traumatic perspectives of its' outcome. ​ Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, as a Christian, I am confident there is much truth to be ascertained in the metaphor of birth used throughout the Bible.

I am a holistic birth and postpartum doula. I have been serving women for 5 years in this space. I love educating and supporting families through the perinatal period, walking alongside them while they transition into motherhood, and supporting them in the immediate postpartum while everyone settles into their new roles.

Hi! My name is Andrea Schredl. As a postpartum doula, I support mothers through the tender unfolding of the fourth trimester, offering holistic postpartum care. After a mother journeys through the birth portal, postpartum comes and is here to stay. This time is delicate and tender. A liminal space. And I believe liminal spaces are sacred. These times are often unnavigated and full of unknown. They are filled with waiting, growing, healing, becoming. Sometimes, soft. Sometimes, dark. Sometimes, quiet and hardly noticeable. Always powerful and life-shaping. As a woman finds her way and begins taking her place as Mother in this liminal space, she is also rebirthed. This unfolding and becoming in matrescence is sacred. I believe women move through change most gently when they are held by other women. My professional background is based in speech-language pathology where my practice is rooted in compassionate and client-centric care. My doula training is with Childbirth International. I enjoy learning about perinatal health with particular interest in postpartum mental health. I offer a steady, calming presence, emotional tending, and practical support so you can rest, heal, and feel deeply supported. I am here for mothers who sense they need an extra layer of care. The season after birth is sacred, and I would be honored to be with you in it.