My name is Lesley Spradlin and I am a certified birth doula. I live in the north Fort Worth area of Watauga with my husband, son and daughter. (For those of you who are wondering, "Where is Watauga?" It is right between Keller and North Richland Hills.) 
When I am not working with pregnant women, I enjoy spending time with my husband and kids. I am involved in my church, love to read, love educating people about the "non main stream options" and keep very busy running after 2 little ones.
In addition to being a birth and postpartum doula, I also am a postpartum clinician at the Gentle Beginnings Birth Center in Hurst and have done work for the American Pregnancy Association (APA) since 2002. In November 2007, I left the APA as a full time employee so I could be home raising our kids.
In 2003, I stumbled upon the word doula in a pregnancy magazine and my life has not been the same since! After becoming certified through DONA, I started Laboring Hands Doula Services. I serve clients throughout the DFW metroplex and have worked in all birth settings.
 | A little more about Lesley... | | | What made you become a doula? | | | I began my work at the APA in 2002 and realized through my work there that I had a passion for women and families who are pregnant. At the APA I did phone and email counsel all day and I really wanted the opportunity to have more personal and hands on contact with women. After doing some research, I learned about being a doula. I had attended births before my doula training, but after I went through my trainings, I saw birth in a different light and loved it. I knew that this was part of God's calling on my life, so I went through the certification process. In the fall of 2005 I was able to travel to the Philippines as part of a missionary birth team and it was incredible! I feel so honored to do doula work as a job. | | | What is your philosophy on childbirth? | | | My philosophy on childbirth is that it is a normal, natural process that God created women to do. I believe that the birth of a child is one of life's most momentous occasions and my job as a doula is to help each couple have a positive, fulfilling birth experience. I feel that through education and information, couples can learn how to make the best choices for their family regarding childbirth. | | | What is being a doula like? | | Unlike anything else I have ever experienced! When I have a client due, my life is constantly in preparation for labor. I have my birth bag in my car, have my cell phone charged, have contingency plans for anything my husband and I are doing and try to get as much sleep as possible.
Being a doula is the chance to be invited as a special guest to one of the most intimate moments a woman and family will ever experience. There is no other feeling like that of seeing a brand new baby slip into the world and take his first breath. No matter how many births I attend, the miracle of birth always brings tears to my eyes as I stand in awe of what women were created to do.
What have your own personal experiences with birth included?
I have birthed both my children at home in a birth pool, although their births couldn't have been more different. My sons birth in 2007 was very long and very hard on me. It affected me as a mom and a doula, but I believe that his birth was meant to teach me things that I otherwise could never have understood. My daughters birth in 2010 was a victorious event and reconfirmed my belief that natural childbirth can change a woman forever.
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Trainings I have received:
|  Labor Doula Training-- November 2003
Rebozzo Skill's Workshop-- March 2004
Breastfeeding Management I and II -- June 2005
Advanced Doula Training-- January 2006
Perinatal Loss Sensitivity Training -- March 2006
Infant Adoption Training -- March 2006
Vaccines; A matter of choice, safety and value-- August 2006
PostPartum Doula Training-CAPPA February 2008
CPR Certified--October 2010
Neonatal Resuscitation Certification--June 2009
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