Riley Bandstra

About me

I’m Riley, the doula behind Root and Vine. This work is my calling — rooted in a deep respect for the strength and sacrifice of women, the transformation of birth, and the sacredness of new life. I’m a birth and postpartum doula, trained through DONA, and support families across the DFW metroplex with compassion, evidence-based knowledge, calm presence, and a deep trust in the process of labor. I am an English teacher of seven years and my husband and I have one son. My path to birth doula work began with my own birth experience; having a doula during my pregnancy was so helpful to me and made me feel much more knowledgeable and in control of my birth. Unfortunately, the birth of my son did not go as planned for many reasons: my doula could not attend my birth, I preeclampsia complications, and my son was in a breech position. Birth is a transformation, but it can also come with trauma. My experience compelled me to become a doula to hopefully help other women have better birth experiences than I did. I’m also passionate about postpartum care; in the time after giving birth, I felt vulnerable and, although I had endured a major physical and emotional event, I was not often the focus or concern. Even amidst so much joy and love for my son, people quickly begin asking about the baby and forget to ask about the new parent. I want to be the doula that I wish I could have had! The role of postpartum doula is to mother the mother, to educate and encourage new parents, and ensure the new family is thriving together. My love of caregiving and my passion of supporting other mothers is combined in the role of postpartum doula.

Education

Bachelor of Arts, English (2016)

Masters of English (2018)

Certification and training

DONA Birth Doula Certification (2025)

Specialties

Languages

English

Service introduction

At Root and Vine, doula support is offered through thoughtfully crafted packages that grow with the parents' needs. For birth support, we have three packages that offer various amounts of the services below: birth preparation, prenatal visits, continuous labor support, postpartum check-ins, and postpartum visits. Postpartum support is offered in gentle layers. To help new families easing into life with a newborn, we offer hours of care that includes newborn feeding support, light household help, and guidance, flexible, hands-on care — perfect for deeper rest, breastfeeding support, and emotional processing.

Ratings and reviews