Scholarship Winner: Single Mama Fulfilling her Dream!

Hi everyone! First I just wanted to say how excited and thankful I am to have received this scholarship and enroll in the Maternal Support Practitioner Program . This has been on my heart and mind recently, so when this opportunity presented itself, it just felt meant to be.

My name is Miranda and I am a 32-year-old single mother of one beautiful boy, my 9 month old son, Colin. We moved to Central Texas earlier this year and love it.

I wanted this scholarship because, frankly, being a single mom is hard. My son’s father is not currently involved in our lives, and it is strenuous raising a baby by yourself. I have been using my savings so that I could stay home with my son, but sadly that was looking like it would have to change very soon. Without this scholarship, I would not have been able to afford this training and becoming a doula would remain a nice “what if” instead of an actual, feasible option for us.

Becoming a doula would be a dream for me. I love learning, and sharing the things I have learned. I was fortunate enough to already have knowledge and support for the birth plan I chose. Having a baby is exciting but scary. I want to be able to help remove some of that fear from the process by being an advocate for mothers, no matter what their particular desires may be.

Birth/pregnancy in the United States has digressed into a place that is not supportive of mothers and babies. It is treated as a medical condition, not a natural life process. However, there has also been a movement of people becoming more “mindful” in many facets of their lives, from food to environment to babies and more. The birth environment in this area is growing in a supportive, natural minded direction. I am excited to complete this training so that I can engage in this community, through doula services, breastfeeding support, babywearing/cloth diaper education, and more. It will be exciting to find our niche in this evolving marketplace, and I cannot wait to step up to the challenge.

Thanks so much,

Love and blessings,

Miranda