Meet Lauren P.
Lauren is an experienced and caring labor doula who has a love for connecting with people, health, fitness, and women’s rights. These passions all inspired her to become a birth doula. Clients say she has a remarkable sense of empathy that brings calm and positivity to the delivery room…not to mention her AMAZING massages and oil blends. In her 4+ years of experience, Lauren has supported families at home, birth centers, and all local hospitals through many different types of delivery—including VBAC.
After several years as a barre instructor, prenatal/postpartum fitness educator, and teacher trainer—Lauren completed her birth doula certification with ToLabor in 2018 and has been supporting families in the Chicago-land area ever since. Her combined careers have given her a vast knowledge of movement, pelvic dynamics, and positioning for labor. One of her greatest passions is helping both her clients and their partners find joy and empowerment in all parts of the journey toward parenthood and beyond.
Lauren is most at home with the loves of her life—a cat named Tux and her husband. She enjoys cooking large meals for her friends and family, road trips, and going to the theatre—she has even written two plays of her own and has been seen on Chicago Fire.
You’ll be so lucky to have Lauren as your doula. From your first prenatal visit to her postpartum-lentil soup, you’ll feel ready to take on anything…because, as Lauren says, “Hard things can be fun!”
Physician Husband
12/2023
“I was very skeptical when my wife mentioned that she was interested in hiring a doula for the birth of our second child. I scoured the literature for whether there was evidence that a doula’s involvement leads to better birth outcomes, and I did mental math about the cost-effectiveness of hiring a doula as an intervention. My skepticism likely came across when we interviewed two different matches from Chicago Family Doulas. I didn’t understand why a doula would be a positive investment if insurance companies routinely did not cover their services. The lack of insurance coverage emphasized to me that a doula was not a healthcare professional or a professional member of the birthing team. It seemed like something that you pay extra for because you have the money to do so. After our experience with Lauren, my perspective has totally shifted. My research as a physician is on the patient experience, including patient communication, clinician bias, and cost of care. I saw many examples of how Lauren’s presence, coaching, understated advocacy, and encouragement had significant impact on our experience. I would 100% recommend a doula to my friends and family members, and I am hopeful that further evidence will support insurance coverage of doula services in the future. This was a true conversion for me, largely driven by how Lauren proactively identified gaps in the healthcare system and patient experience and deliberately sought to alleviate these gaps for us with an attitude of service.”