My name is Marina Kessenich, I am a DONA trained, Madriella certified, and Hypnobabies Childbirth Hypnosis Doula with a passion for supporting families from all walks of life through their journey to becoming parents.
As your doula my goal is to assist you emotionally as well as physically throughout this wonderful and powerful time in your life. I hope to help you and your partner feel confident and secure in your choices before, during, and after the birth of your child. I especially encourage open communication between a woman, her partner, and her care provider. All women are entitled to seek the birth that feels right for them.
For a woman to experience the best birth possible I believe it is important for her to be in a place where she feels safe and comfortable, therefore I support and have experience with both in and out of hospital births. I am familiar with a variety of different childbirth education courses such as Bradley, Hypnobirthing, Hypnobabies, Lamaze and many, many more. I support families through all different variations of birth included medicated, unmedicated, planned cesareans, and more.
I am a doula because it is an amazing privilege to spend my life helping other women; because I believe birth is simply incredible; because I myself could have used the support of a doula during the birth of my own daughter.
I live in Burke with my 7 year old daughter, and 2 year old son. When I am not busy working or enjoying the great outdoors with my family, you can find me frustrated with learning how to cook, relaxing in a hot bath with a good book, or forgetting what my initial reason for getting on the internet was.
To hear what my clients have had to say about my doula services, make sure to check out the testimonials page!
Experience:
INOVA Fairfax Hospital: 6 births INOVA Alexandria Hospital: 6 births INOVA Fair Oaks Hospital: 4 births INOVA Loudon Hospital: 3 births Virginia Hospital Center: 10 births Ft Belivoir Community Hospital: 2 births Prince William Medical Center: 1 birth George Washington University Hospital: 19 births Georgetown University Hospital: 2 births Washington Hospital Center: 2 births Sibley Memorial Hospital: 1 birth Southern Maryland Hospital Center: 1 birth Shady Grove Adventist Hospital: 2 births Nova Natural Birth Center: 1 birth Homebirth: 2 births Though these are the places my work has brought me to so far, I am open to serving families of all birthing locations within a one hour radius of Fairfax, Va. |
Training: DONA Doula Workshop Madriella Doula Certification VBAC Facts Workshop with Jen Kamel Breastfeeding Educator Certification (In progress) Childbirth Educator Certification (In progress) Hypnobabies Hypno-Doula Course Birth Art Instructor Training OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Safety Training Benefits of the Placenta Workshop Breastfeeding 101 for Doulas Cloth Diapering for Birth Workers Vaginal Steaming For Birth Workers Neonatal Resuscitation & Transitions workshop with Karen Strange Spinning Babies workshop with Gail Tully Introduction to Hypnosis Self Study Course Hypnobabies Instructor Training Becoming Dad Training |