Who am I?

My name is Lauren Dawson Strebel and I am the mother of a fantastic son, born in 2002. He, along with my own fantastic doula, is the inspiration for my interest in the field of childbirth. My childbirth experience was wonderful and I had a superb Midwife. I nursed for a year and experienced all the ups and downs of pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum.

• I trust and believe in birth.
• Women have been giving birth for many centuries and women's bodies were designed to deliver and care for babies.
• I support women with no judgment on their methods of laboring. If they choose a medication free labor, I embrace and support them just as readily as someone who chooses an Epidural. Then again, I also believe good things come with hard work and perseverance.

My role is to support you in whatever decision you may choose.

LDS Doula Services is in NO WAY affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I accept clients regardless of their religious affiliation. "LDS" are actually just my initials!

My Training

• As a Certified Doula with Doulas of North America, the largest and most well established doula training and certifying organization, I have attended 16 hours of Doula Training, taught by Penny Simkin in November 2002. I was originally certified in July of 2003 and have been recertified, in good standing through 2012.
  
  
• I have read well over 40+ books on the subject.
  
  
• I have taken Lamaze classes at Greater Baltimore Medical Center as well as Carroll County General Hospital.
  
  
• I have taken Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method classes from Irene Thompson, CMT, HBCE in Mt. Airy, Maryland.
  
  
• I have taken and passed the PBi Certification Exam to become a Placenta Encapsulation Specialist! I am so thrilled to be offering this service to my clients and others. Helping each woman have the best birth and post-partum experience is my goal. Read more about Placenta Encapsulation and read my story of why I do this.
  
  
  

My Births

I have assisted with births at Anne Arundel Medical Center, Sinai, Hanover, St. Joseph, St. Agnes, Frederick Memorial, Howard County General, Carroll County General, Mercy and Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) hospitals, and Special Beginnings Birth and Women’s Center.

What My Clients Have to Say...

"I am so happy that C is here and healthy. This delivery was so much better than T's! Brian & I were both so glad you could be there with us. Thanks for being such great support..." - Parents of CJG, born 01/04/10

"We were so blessed to have you as our support person through this whole birth process - I cannot thank you enough.  And the pictures are gorgeous - thanks so so much for everything!  Though there were moments I found myself disappointed in some of the interventions, I am overall really happy with how the birth progressed and I feel like we were able to own it, stay in control and birth her how we felt best.  It is such an amazing experience...." - Parents of MAS born 6/10/2008

"You truly made our special day perfect. Thank you for all of your counsel, support, kindness and wisdom!" - DZ & CH, AKH born 2/14/2008

" ...Your encouragement and wisdom were spot on. It would have been a more intense situation if you'd not been there coaching us all along... " - SK & KK, ACK born 8/1/2007

“Words cannot express how thankful we are that you were there to help us bring ARL into the world! You encouraged us and stood by our decisions throughout the entire delivery! I really don't know how we would have done it without you! You are truly an angel that helped us through an intense experience! Thank you for everything!” - ML & JL, ARL born 3/20/2007

My "Other" Life

I'm not a doula all the time. My day jobs are diverse and varied! I am a Usability/Human Factors Engineer for a large government agency helping make websites easier to use for everyone. I am a graduate student working on my masters degree for Human Centered Computing from University of Maryland Baltimore County, hoping to graduate sometime before 2028. I am also a professional photographer and co-own a photography company. And most importantly, I am a mommy to a fantastic big kid!

A member of
International Alliance of Midwives

"Advocate for birth change..."