Dolphin Doula Team

Melissa Edling – CD, CPD, CCHT

The birth of Melissa’s first daughter was an empowering and life-changing event after recovering from a serious horseback riding accident. The support she received from doula and mentor, Jennifer (Wolfe) More, inspired her to provide the same support to other laboring women. Melissa is committed to her true passion as a Certified Dolphin Method Birth Doula, Certified Postpartum Doula, and Childbirth Hypnotherapist. This passion and dedication resulted in her becoming the managing partner of the company’s doula service practice in 2011.

Melissa believes a woman’s childbirth experience is most powerful when combined with the physical, informational, and emotional support of a doula. She respects the unique characteristics of each woman, recognizing that each individual will have their own concerns, fears, and/or goals. As such, Melissa is committed to providing non-biased support to all types of births. This philosophy extends beyond the birth and into the postpartum period.

Melissa is a long-standing resident on the Peninsula. She attended the University of California, Davis attained a degree in Managerial Economics and previously worked in the real estate valuation industry. Melissa and her husband Jason have two amazing daughters Reese and Zoe. In her free time she likes to read, bake, dance, decorate and spend time with family and friends.

Jessica Berman – CD

As a doula, Jessica works with parents before, during and after the births of their children. She works helping to prepare families for childbirth and provide continuous support, guidance and encouragement throughout labor. She believes that birth is a natural and powerful event and that every woman deserves undivided care and attention as she brings a new life into the world.

Jessica works with parents by providing practical including assistance with breastfeeding, teaching parents to care & soothe their newborn, understand their baby’s cues, helping mothers recover from childbirth through rest and nutrition, & helping with general household tasks. She believes each family, mother, baby and birth is unique, and her care is tailored to meet individual needs.

In 2006, she had the opportunity to learn from the legendary midwife Ina May Gaskin by participating in The Farm’s Midwifery Assistant workshop and Jessica has also completed several programs offered by DONA. She has also volunteered as a birth doula at St. Luke’s Hospital in San Francisco, primarily servicing low-income women.

Jessica has completed her studies at the University of California, Berkeley and has returned to her passion for supporting expecting couples and growing families.

Susan Cortez - CD, CCHT

Susan is a Childbirth Instructor, a Childbirth Hypnotherapist, Reiki practitioner, and Birth and Postpartum doula. To keep up with the continual changes within the world of pregnancy, birth, and parenting, she attends pertinent trainings, workshops and talks whenever possible, as well as reading current literature.

The birth’s of her two children, son Jeremy now 13, and daughter Angela now 15, were incredibly positive, life-changing events, and were the initial inspiration behind Susan’s choice to pursue a career in this field.

Susan has been teaching childbirth preparation classes, and attending births as a Birth Doula for over 10 years, and has assisted hundreds of women, couples, and families to have a more empowered and positive birth experience. In the past year, Susan became certified as a Dolphin Doula, and is very excited to add the dolphin skill set. The dolphin method, in connection with her extensive knowledge, personal and professional experiences, intuition, and passion allow her to serve birthing families now even more effectively!

Susan is open to, and enjoys working with, the diversity of families that the Bay Area offers, interacting with each family in a welcoming and supportive way.

Occupying her time aside from her work, Susan is back in school studying to attain her B.A. in Psychology, enjoys daily exercise, reading, painting, dancing, writing, spending time with family and friends, and experiencing all the good life has to offer.

Cindy Curry - CD, CCHT

Cindy was trained by Working Woman Productions in June of 2006 with Felicia Roche. As a certified doula through DONA,she gained her experience by providing labor support to a variety of women including young teens to 30 years and older. She is a postpartum doula helping new families and growing families with the challenges that come with a new baby and help to make the transition easier. Cindy has received her Childbirth Hypnotherapist certification, taught by Jennifer Wolfe through the Palo Alto school of Hypnotherapy. Cindy also is currently a Masters of Psychology MFT student at Argosy University in Alameda.

Cindy is a mother to three naturally birthed and all breastfed children and continues to nurture and support their growing curiosities.

The compassion Cindy shows to each and every woman she comes in contact is self evident. Her ability to listen to the needs of her client and her clients partner is an important part in supporting the couples needs when preparing for the birth and labor. Showing support and compassion for every woman who wishes to experience her birth with the love and support she deserves, is Cindy’s ultimate goal.

Katriona Seevers – CD, CCHT

Katriona Seevers, a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Birth Doula, began her journey into this remarkable vocation after the births of her own three children. As a Birth Doula, Kat has utilized hypnotherapy techniques working with hundreds of pregnant and laboring women towards amazing birth experiences. Exploring the mind/body connection during childbirth preparation empowers women to trust their own bodies, and employ relaxation and visualization techniques before (or in lieu of) turning to medicinal alternatives.

Originally certified as a Labor and Childbirth Hypnotherapist, Kat was privy to the wondrous effects of hypnosis on laboring moms. Encouraged by these profound results, she continued her education at The Palo Alto School of Hypnotherapy, where, after completing both Advanced and Clinical courses, she was certified as a Clinician. Katriona is currently earning a Medical Hypnotherapy certification and anticipates obtaining her Masters in 2013. Her years of experience guiding laboring moms through birth using hypnotherapy with Dolphin Doula have made her rich beyond measure. She has been blessed to share in some of the most intimate, powerful, and beautiful moments of her clients’ lives. It is Kat’s firm belief that a woman in touch with her mind and body, and confident in her ability to give birth, is a true force of nature.

As of December 2012, Kat is focusing solely on Dolphin Doula’s Hypnosis for Childbirth services.

Sheila Dukas-Janakos MPH, LE, IBCLC

Sheila has been involved in the field of reproductive maternal and child health for over 23 years. She has worked in public health for 7 years shifting her focus to babies and moms and a lactation career after having 3 children. She earned her B.S. in Community Health from SFSU in 1987, attended UCLA’s Lactation Educator Program in 1991, and completed her Masters of Public Health in 1995 from San Jose State University with her theses on “Breastfeeding for the Working Mom and/or Student.” She passed the boards to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in 1996, a certification she maintains to this day.

She currently has a private practice and is the Owner of Healthy Horizons Breastfeeding Centers in the San Francisco Bay Area, acting as a Clinical Lactation Consultant, Health Educator, and Perinatal Educator for local hospitals and pediatric groups. As part of her practice, she operates support groups for new moms and babies, and working moms and has provided consultations, pump rentals, and health products for over 19 years to the community. Her specialties include suck & swallowing disorders; working and breastfeeding; infant nutrition, care and normal newborn behavior; breastfeeding challenges such as breast refusal, sore nipples, mastitis, weight gain/loss, and milk supply problems.

Helen Marlo, Ph.D.

Dr. Marlo is a clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst (certified through the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco), and professor of clinical psychology at Notre Dame de Namur University where she is Director of the Master’s of Science in Clinical Psychology Program. She is the founder of Emergence: Reproductive Mental Health Services, which provides integrated mental health services for perinatal issues including: prepartum and postpartum emotional problems, birth trauma, infertility, pregnancy loss, stillbirth, and women’s health problems.

With a background in integrative and behavioral medicine, developmental psychology, and trauma, she has taught and provided clinical services for over two decades. She has a private practice in Burlingame, CA, with an emphasis on reproductive mental health, trauma, and lifespan developmental issues. She provides psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, consultation, psychoeducation, and training for adults, children, and infants, as well as for professionals and organizations, including to professionals and clients of Dolphin Doula.