All doulas working with Mindful Sprouts Family Services have diverse, relevant training including first aid/CPR-C. Please inquire with us to learn more about specific back-up doulas on our team.

Our head doula Leah Jackson (PDCCE) has multiple trainings and certifications relevant to the field of childbirth and raising young children. Below is a list of some of Leah’s training:

• ProDoula Certified Childbirth Educator 

• CAPPA Birth Doula training

• Power Yoga Canada Mindfulness and Meditation Teacher Certification

• The Farm Midwifery Centre Midwife’s Assistant Certificate (Midwifery Center former home of Ina May Gaskin)

• Birthpedia Waterbirth Facilitator (Certification in progress)

• Power Yoga Canada Trained Kids Yoga Teacher 

• Redcross CPR-C/Standard First Aid Certified (updated Nov. 2024)

  Leah’s professional experience includes:

• 15+ years in home care giver (infant and childcare, postpartum doula, special needs and end of life support) - support in over 500 homes in Ontario and abroad

• Labour & Birth Doula at approx. 60 births/deliveries in Ontario (including home birth, hospital, and the Toronto Birth Center; VBAC birth, Cesarean birth, waterbirth)

• Private childbirth workshop facilitator (online and in-person) including childbirth ed., home and hospital birth preparation, waterbirth, Cesarean birth, yoga birth, epidural birth, and more — 10 years of experience

• Au Pair in France and England with children 0-6 years old for 6-months (this is where Leah’s journey began!)

Want to know more? Let’s chat ! Each new client can book a free 30-minute phone or zoom consultation with Leah.

Leah is based in the Blue Mountains, near Collingwood Ontario and goes back and forth to downtown Toronto. She can travel up to two hours and has back-up doulas who service the Muskokas, Toronto, Orangeville, Barrie, and surrounding areas.

At Mindful Sprouts Family Services, we are backed by over 10 years of childbirth expertise and experience. Our head doula is not only a trained doula, but also a certified Childbirth Educator, Mindfulness Meditation Teacher; a water birth expert; music healing practitioner; yoga practitioner, and more.

We are experts at attending hospital labour & deliveries as well as home birth support and waterbirth support. We hold no judgement only compassion and unbiased support for each unique families choices, with a focus on informed choices to reduce trauma and improve well-beings and satisfaction.

We are supportive of all families including LGBTQ+ and BIPOC families, families with disabilities or accessibility needs, or are a single parent family. We support families who choose adoption or abortion and those who face loss or hard decisions.

We provide an abundance of additional resources and services that other doula business do not have, such as birth pool rentals, newborn and birth photography, closing of the bones ceremonies, extended postpartum support (for months or years after birth), over night doula support, and more!

Our prices reflect our dedication and wealth of experience supporting families through childbirth education, birth doula support, postpartum support, and more. If you require a sliding-scale price, please inquire. Payment plans are available.

Yes, Leah has extensive experience supporting VBAC deliveries (VBAC = vaginal birth after cesarean)

We offer VBAC and HBAC (home birth after Cesarean) education and information in our childbirth education classes.

As a VBAC baby, Leah was vacuumed out and was the fourth child, after one former Cesarean section. As such, promoting successful and healthy VBAC births of special interest.

Whether you are planning to have a VBAC with an epidural in hospital or a waterbirth HBAC, we have tools and experience to support you. Our support supplements that of your midwife or physician and focuses on supporting normal birth physiology with an emphasis on safety and comfort.

No, and we do not claim to provide midwifery care or advice. Licensed midwives are primary healthcare practitioners for families during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.

We work with midwives to provide high quality care and to fill caps in education and support. Doulas take on a non-medical role. They have evidence-based knowledge to support informed decisions in birth Our guidance is based on up-to-date clinical research and a rich background studying birth and related topics.

Birth doulas have a key role, separate from that of the midwife or doctor, promoting and facilitating safer and more positive birth as well as prenatal care and postpartum care. Each doula’s background and experience is unique.

In some circumstances we may be the sole provider at a birth, in case of a precipitous birth or sovereign birth. Clients understand the depth of our training on an individual basis.

Leah and all the doulas we work with are trained to support from a doula role. Leah is trained as a midwife assistant at The Farm in Tennesse and works in Ontario only as a childbirth educator, waterbirth facilitator and birth doula. We are happy to attend and support free births, or sovereign birth. Please contact us to inquire further about freebirth support.