INFOCUS

ENRICH THE MOMENTS

SURROUNDING YOUR CHILD’S BIRTH

WRITTEN BY JUDY GOPPERT PHOTOS BY JAMI BOWMAN

Blissful Beginnings owner Janice Ingram believes every woman deserves to be pampered, treasured, and revered when she welcomes her little one into the world. A doula is a professional trained in childbirth who provides emotional, physical, and educational support to an expectant mother, someone experiencing labor, or a mother who has recently given birth. Their purpose is to help women have a safe, memorable, and empowering birthing experience. “I believe doulas are needed more than a lot of people know,” says Ingram. She began in 2018 when she noticed the increasingly downward spiral of adequate care for women of color and their infants. “I was working in the criminal justice field and had just had my daughter, and unknowingly at the time began fighting my own battle of postpartum depression,” she explains. “I wanted to share my experience and advocate for those women—and women in general—but in the postpartum.” She decided to reach out to a woman she highly admired and ask her thoughts on the next step. The woman suggested becoming a Community Health Worker (CHW) and gave Ingram all the information she needed to begin. “As the story goes, sometimes you don’t get to choose your road, God chooses it for you. I earned my certification as a CHW and there began my birth doula journey,” she smiles. Each new client receives a complimentary consultation, either virtual or in-person, to go over expectations. Ingram believes all women should feel supported and advocated for in their birthing space. She provides not just compassionate care, but calmness to

Pictured: Janice Ingram, owner of Blissfull Beginnings Doula Services

her clients as well as a safe space to be unfiltered, say it like it is, and be themselves in and out of the birthing space. “I provide full-spectrum care for women who want to get pregnant and have someone walk the journey with them,” says Ingram. She also provides abortion and miscarriage support for women who experience loss or stillbirth. “Although these moments are fleeting, it is so important for a woman to be able to cope, grieve in a healthy way, and get past the trauma.” “My main support comes during birth and postpartum. These two are the main parts of doula care, and they are customized to each person depending on what support looks like for them,” Ingram explains. Aside from birth, Ingram also offers sibling care, meal prep and planning, and childbirth classes, which can be done separately or as part of a package for birth services. Ingram serves all parts of the Kansas City area, from central Missouri to KCK, and is very close with the New Birth Center in Overland Park where she serves clients and is a part-time childbirth educator. She has also had clients at Saint Luke’s, Overland Park Regional, Liberty Hospital, and Truman Lakewood. She is currently an ambassador and doula for the Kansas City Women’s Ministry, which is a nonprofit that offers wellness classes and birth and postpartum doulas to ensure all women are able to have a doula at no charge or on a sliding scale. As a member of the Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition, she hopes to become more active, and currently advocates for more women of color to breastfeed. She provides them the information and education they need to be successful.

“I and another CHW contract with Wyandotte Health Department to assist with providing clients with maternal and infant care resources at low or no cost,” she notes. “This ranges from financial need to operating the car seat program, as we both are certified Child Passenger Seat (CPS) techs.” One of Ingram’s clients, Scarlette T., shares, “Janice was beyond amazing. It’s so hard to choose a doula that works well for you and your family, but Janice was an easy choice.” Scarlette says that right away she felt like Ingram would be perfect. “She was involved as much as we wanted her to be and never any more than that. She answered all my questions and sent me helpful information. She wasn’t pushy or opinionated at all. We were mostly worried about postpartum care, so she stayed with us longer than typical after our son was born to make sure we were all okay. I am so glad we chose Janice as our doula!”

“Janice was beyond amazing. It’s so hard to choose a doula that works well for you and your family, but Janice was an easy choice.”

Above: There is so much to learn and so many steps between preconception and birth, which is why Ingram focuses on full-spectrum care during her childbirth education classes.

Blissful Beginnings Doula Services, LLC • Janice Ingram, Certified Full Spectrum Doula (DTI) CHW, CPR Certified Trained Childbirth Educator • Kansas City Area • 913.944.5280 • empowersoulitude@gmail.com • blissfuldoulaservices.com SIMPLYkc Special: Mention this article to receive a $150 discount.