Salle Webber, postpartum doula in Santa Cruz, CA
I consider my three children and six grandchildren my most important doula credentials. When my youngest entered kindergarten, in 1988, I began offering my services as a postpartum doula and have been busy ever since. I have supported almost 200 families in Santa Cruz County. I specialize in new mothers and twins. References are available upon request.
‘Thank you for…making our lives so much easier. We learned so much from you about how to care for our baby, and we appreciate how lovingly you cared for her and for us. You brought peace to all of us and you were so patient with all my concerns. We will miss you dearly and will never forget the time spent with you .”
– Daniella, first-time mother
My main life interests are family and infant care; hula & Hawaiian culture; and writing. My book, The Gentle Art of Newborn Family Care; A Guide for Doulas and Caregivers is available from Praeclarus Press.
I have a Bachelor’s degree from Hampton University, Virginia, where I studied psychology and sociology and learned about life.
“How can we possibly thank you enough? How do you properly thank someone for being so wise, so gentle, so caring, so amazing with our darling baby, so able to help with everything, so considerate and thoughtful with advice, so energetically attuned to our family, so wonderful to be around, so solid as a being and creative at the same time?”
– Sigrid, first-time mother
For many years I was the only doula in our area. At my suggestion, Twin Lakes College of the Healing Arts, in 2001, added a Postpartum Care class to their Birth Doula program, for which I developed curriculum and taught for six years. I also taught a 30-hour postpartum class for aspiring doulas on the island of Kaua’i. Many of my students were required to take my class as part of their education to become birth doulas. To my delight, upon completing my course, quite a number of them changed their career goals to become postpartum doulas.
“Thank you for the love, serenity and good humor you brought to our family and our home; the gentle, present care you offered our baby; and the active, hard work you did to clean and create order. We love and appreciate you.”
–Joanna, after her 2nd birth
My article Supporting the Postpartum Family was published in 1992 by the (now out-of-print) magazine The Doula. It has been widely distributed and portions of it have been read at various birth-related symposiums. My essay Professional Grandma was published in the anthology Wondrous Child, the Joys and Challenges of Grandparenting, from North Atlantic Press, 2012.
Please call or email, I look forward to speaking with you.
– Salle