Hey!

My name is Jessica, I am the owner of Kooshlie Care Doula Services, in Western North Carolina. I has been a practicing doula for over a decade, and am a certified Lamaze instructor, and birth doula.

Growing up in a large family in the mountains had an enormous impact on how I support growing families now. Going with the flow, and finding ease and stability within the unpredictability of the on-call doula lifestyle comes naturally to me. I am an expert at communicating with and mediating between parties, helping families to build trust with one another and with their care providers, and at working within hospital systems to improve outcomes and relationships there. A skill that I developed over the years is supporting clients who have a history of anxiety, fear or trauma.

My first love is my family: my husband Stuart, our two children, Naomi and Bruce, and our gentle giant of a dog, Thor. My faith in Jesus, and the belief that women are designed and created with the innate ability to give birth, is the bedrock of my work, and helps me to support my clients from a perspective of humility and joyful expectation. My vision for my personal work is to help clients step into their God-given roles: to support women in becoming mothers, men in becoming fathers, and couples in becoming families.

Working hard over the past decade - transitioning from a regular "day job," getting the education and training I needed have been hard but so rewarding. Working now as a full-time birth and postpartum doula and childbirth educator is such a blessing and gift.

The Name

The name Kooshlie comes from my family's heritage in Norway. It is a miss-spelled Norsk word 'koslig' (koos- leigh). The proper spelling was taken when I chose the moniker WAY back in 2002. I had recently spent nearly a year in Norway and really love the sound and meaning of the work koslig. It mean's comfortable or cozy. That has always been a goal when caring for myself or others, to make them cozy. Once I started my doula business I was struggling to come up with a great business name. All the cool puns were taken. My mother reminded me of kooshlie. It works, it is a long explanation, but it means a lot to me and keeps me thinking about my history, and in turn my future.

Our Mission

• To empower families during the process of pregnancy, labor, birth, and parenthood.
• To educate families in the most up-to-date information regarding all aspects of pregnancy through early childhood.
• To bring comfort, joy, and lasting memories for the early years of child-rearing.

Certification and Training

Certified DONA International Doula, Certified Lamaze Educator, and trained Hypno-birth doula, 4th Trimester Fitness Instructor, trained DONA and ProDoula Postpartum Doula.