Lake City Doula has evolved! The growing families of Michiana need more support, and after growing the practice since 2017, it’s time to fill this gap! In 2023, we made the exciting shift to operate as the Birthwise Doula Agency! Founder, Jayde Wilkinson, has served the Northern Indiana community through her practice (Lake City Doula) since 2017. Birthwise was born from the growing need to serve her expanding client base in the Michiana area along with her mission to nurture and mentor new doulas as they work to serve the community.
Whether you are planning a hospital birth with an epidural or a home water birth, your Birthwise doula is committed to helping you feel informed, empowered, and supported as you navigate the transition to parenthood. We believe that well supported families have impacts that last for generations to come and that every family deserves to enter parenthood with confidence and community.
JAYDE WILKINSON
BIRTH AND POSTPARTUM DOULA, BIRTH EDUCATOR, FOUNDER OF BIRTHWISE
NOT ACCEPTING CLIENTS AT THIS TIME
Hi there! I’m Jayde Wilkinson- Doula, Birth Educator, Doula Mentor, and Host of the Birthwise Podcast! I have been supporting families through the transformative experience of birth since 2017. It’s an honor to provide Birth and Postpartum Doula and Birth Education services to families locally in Northern Indiana and those in other areas via virtual support and education. Like most birth workers, I found my passion for birth within my first childbirth experience. I saw the many ways our modern birth culture shaped my labor and delivery outcomes, and I became obsessed with researching the complexities, the disparities and the evolution of maternity care here in the US. Since I began my Doula practice, I’ve served so many incredible families, and it has only fueled my passion for birth and supporting mothers. I believe everyone deserves unbiased information and continuous support throughout this incredible adventure. It is my mission to empower women to take authority over their experience and make well-informed decisions about their care, AND to support them throughout the early months and years of parenthood. I created the Birthwise Podcast to help Doulas build their skills, grow their practice, and most importantly make a big impact through supporting the growing families in their community. If you’d like to chat about your journey with pregnancy and birth or doula work, I’d love for you to head over to the contact tab and say hello!
HALEY BONTRAGER
BIRTH DOULA, PHOTOGRAPHER
SERVING A ONE HOUR RADIUS FROM TOPEKA, IN
At just 15 I attended my first birth and watched as my aunt birthed my cousin into the world. This in turn sparked my interest in birth! Through my teen years I had the honor of watching all the women I value give birth to their babies. It wasn’t until my own pregnancy that the spark I once had for birth was shining once again. I spent my entire pregnancy watching 100’s of home birth videos. At 28 weeks I switched to a home birth myself. I quickly hired my entire birth team. (Hindsight is 20/20 but had I followed my intuition I would have planned a home birth from the beginning of my pregnancy, lean into your intuition mamas!) After experiencing birth and postpartum first hand I quickly realized just how serious I was about supporting women through birth, thus began my passionate quest into birth work. I hope to support you through your journey from maiden to mother!
CARLI SUMWALT
BIRTH AND POSTPARTUM DOULA, PLACENTA SPECIALIST
SERVING A ONE HOUR RADIUS FROM MENTONE, IN
Hello! Like many, I found my passion after the birth of my first daughter in 2015. After that, I took my first doula training and started working within my community. Since then, we have welcomed our second daughter in 2019 at our local birth center and most recently our son in 2023 in our home. Being able to provide support and knowledge to families in this season is what fuels my passion. I am committed to continuing my education to serve families and offer more services to the community. I am looking forward to connecting with more families on their journey.
TRINITY BRINCKMAN
BIRTH DOULA
SERVING A ONE HOUR RADIUS FROM ELKHART. IN
Hello! I am a wife, and a mother to my adorable little girl! I have always been somewhat of a “birth nerd”, but I didn’t fully find my love of birth work until the birth of my daughter. I found pregnancy and postpartum challenging, even with the support that I had. This experience drove me to want to support other mothers in whatever way I could. I am passionate about bringing support to the women and families in my community during the most vulnerable and exciting time in their lives!
JACQUI GOODLING
BIRTH DOULA
SERVING A ONE HOUR RADIUS FROM KOKOMO. IN
Hi! I'm a 31 year old mom of 2 with 1 on the way. While always being interested in birth and supporting new parents, I found myself wanting to make it better for myself and others after my first two births. Doula work found me in a season where I could jump in feet first with the extra time and knowledge to best serve clients. I love learning about the uniqueness that will make your story even sweeter and more important, but also more empowering. I am a birth and postpartum doula and I cannot wait to serve the next family.
HEIDI NEUFELD
BIRTH DOULA
SERVING A ONE HOUR RADIUS FROM AKRON. IN
MORE ABOUT HEIDI COMING SOON!
More doulas are currently joining the team! Stay tuned!
Your empowered birth experience starts now.
Your journey begins with a doula-matching questionnaire, followed by a complimentary consultation with your matched doula to answer your questions and ensure the best fit for support.
With a Birthwise doula on your team, you can expect:
Informational resources, individualized and compassionate care, and access to your doula for support througout your pregnancy
Prenatal sessions with your doula to dive into your personal goals and wishes for your birth
Intentional support for your partner as we prepare for their role and their own experience of their baby’s birth
A customized plan and comfort technique strategy for your birth
24/7 on-call support from 37 weeks until the birth of your baby
Tips, reassurance, and consistent communication leading up to birthing time and through early labor
Continuous support during your labor and birth until 2-3 hours postpartum (support may include, but is not limited to: comfort techniques, encouragement, information, advocacy, insight on positioning, setting the tone for the birth space, facilitating communication within the birth team, comforting touch, coaching partner through support methods, and more)
A postpartum visit to process your birth, meet immediate needs, support with feeding, and troubleshooting challenging areas of this season
Access to your doula for up to 12 weeks postpartum to help ease the transition and give you the confidence to establish healthy routines and rhythms within your new family dynamics
An open invitation to our postpartum support group for community and connection, well beyond your first 12 weeks with your baby
A birth doula is the ultimate resource for a positive birth experience. However you envision your experience, we are committed to supporting your family in achieving it.
We are proud to support births of any kind with unbiased knowledge and guidance, including home births, cesareans, birth center births, medicated or un-medicated hospital births, and VBACs.
Serving families since 2017
It’s an honor to have served dozens of families in the birth and postpartum space over the better half of the last decade. Birth matters, the effects of well-supported parents ripple throughout communities for generations to come.
Let’s heal birth to heal the Earth.
