Today we’d like to introduce you to Ty Roberts.
Hi Ty, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story has multiple levels. From early childhood, I have had a love and fascination for pregnancy, birth, and newborns. Initially, I desired to become an OB/GYN, but my plans were averted with life changes.
However, my love for the mystery of conception, pregnancy, and birth continued to weigh heavily on my heart. After finding out about the opportunity to become a doula and researching what they do and what they stood for, my dream was reignited, and I pursued training to become a doula, officially.
Not to mention that my own birth story was not pleasant. I was 19 and unwed, scared, and mostly unaware of the birth process which also caused me to be unable to advocate for myself. I wasn’t treated with kindness and was a lot of what I experienced was harshness. Adding to that was the fact that I was not given the basic education on breastfeeding so my baby and I were robbed of that experience. I am making it my mission to make sure that no other woman or even teenage mom has to experience what I did.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Being a doula has not been as smooth as I would have liked. Unfortunately, in birth work, there is still a level of implicit bias and racism. For instance, although I have had a mixed population of clients, there are instances that I have been overlooked or not hired because I didn’t fit the description of what a doula should look like or be.
We have a long way to go where it concerns equality across the board. I can also see in certain situations that clients that are people of color have been treated unfairly or mishandled and ignored as opposed to white clients.
The other struggle is the fact that there is still a big mystery from a vast amount of people on what a doula is and how they are beneficial in the birth space. My desire is to educate as much as possible, especially for people of color as we are three to five times more likely to have negative birth outcomes in comparison to our counterparts.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Gennisi Birth Services is a solo business. I am a certified birth and postpartum doula as well as a certified placenta encapsulation specialist and childbirth educator. I am currently certifying as a fertility doula and infant lost doula.
I also have an extension of Gennisi Birth Services, which is Gennisi Charitable Birth Services, Inc. which is a nonprofit organization that offers free and reduced doula services. The information and criteria can be found on my website and I encourage people to apply if they need doula services but cannot afford them.
I offer placenta encapsulation and I also am an encapsulation instructor. A person may not want to be a doula but may want to offer the service of placenta encapsulation. I can teach them how to do that as well as everything that they need to know about the process and benefits.
As a childbirth educator, I teach expectant parents about the anatomy and physiology of pregnancy and birth and prepare them for their big day. I would say that this is my most proud accomplishment because it took me so long to finally achieve it when I thought I never would.
In addition, I make and sell lactation cookies. Sometimes in the breastfeeding journey, the milk supply may dwindle just a bit. Lactation cookies are a tasty treat that has been shown to significantly increase supply for most people. Results will definitely vary.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Depending on your business, finding a mentor can be relatively simple. When I first became a doula, I sought mentorship and was matched with the perfect one.
It’s important to be open and be willing to take pertinent advice and information given to you. It’s also important, to be honest, and realistic with your own business objectives. A mentor may look at your business the way they look at and view theirs, but ultimately if you have a different objective or see your business going in a different direction, take what you need from the mentorship and leave the rest open to possibilities.
Contact Info:
- Email: gennisidoula2019@gmail.com
- Website: www.gendoula.com
- Instagram: Gennisi Birth Services
- Facebook: facebook.com/gennisibirthservices
