Meet Sydney M

Sydney is a CAPPA-certified labor doula and a trained postpartum doula as well as a Certified Lactation Specialist. Before moving to Chicago she supported the Des Moines, Iowa community for the last two years through birth assistance, postpartum support, and lactation consulting working specifically with nonprofits. Sydney has worked with mothers under 24 at the Young Women’s Resource Center and black-identified mothers through the Iowa Department of Public Health and Title V’s doula program aimed at reducing black maternal mortality rates.

In 2018, she received her Bachelor’s degree from Drake University in English and Law, Politics, and Society with a minor in Rhetoric, Media, and Social Change and a concentration in Women & Gender Studies. Sydney focused on reproductive justice and critical race theory throughout her studies and in 2020 completed her master’s in legal studies at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. She uses her knowledge of both the law and reproductive politics to help her clients and dreams of changing the legal and societal views on pregnancy, birth, and parenthood. With a focus on evidence-based education, she works with families to achieve their goals in childbirth and the postpartum period, dedicating herself to advocacy. 

As a young black woman, she understands the risk and challenges faced by birthing people in today’s environment, especially those with unconventional parenthood introductions. Sydney’s mother—a former teen mom turned first-generation college graduate, homeowner, and successful businesswoman—taught her and her sisters the importance of empowerment and advocacy for herself and others. Sydney’s goal is to extend these lessons from her mother, her education, and personal experience to families in the Chicago area.