Genesis Home Birth Client Doula

Sarah May Chavez, RN, Certified Doula

“I have very fond memories of watching A Baby Story on TLC after school during elementary school, longing for the day in which I would have my own baby story. Despite my avid fascinations and dreams, I had never considered the option of being a part of baby stories as a vocation. About 5 years ago when I was praying about going back to school, I was given a book called ‘Diary of a Midwife.’ As I read, it became increasingly more clear the Lord was prompting my heart. I started to watch documentaries about home birth and began asking the mothers in my life about their birth story. As I read, listened, and watched I was shocked by the lack of transparency, autonomy, education, and emotional/spiritual counseling that was seemingly the reality of birth in America. I continued to pray, and soon felt it was abundantly clear the Lord was shepherding me into this calling of coming alongside women through pregnancy, birth, and the gift of motherhood in a way that empowers others and glorifies God. I decided I wanted to approach this with a nursing background in order to have a broader scope of practice and more clinical training. I am currently pursuing further education to become a nurse midwife. 

After nursing school there weren’t any labor and delivery jobs available and so I accepted a job in the emergency room and was questioning what was next. While in school, I had heard things about Genesis Midwifery and the wonderful work Heather (and now Magen) was doing in the community. I then joined Genesis as a part-time birth assistant and was so excited for the opportunity to finally be a part of home birth. After the first birth I attended, I got home and my husband looked at me and said “you’re glowing.” It was all I could think about for days. I couldn’t believe how beautiful, peaceful, and intimate it was. There was something truly special about supporting a couple as they brought their baby into the world. It was unlike anything else I have had the privilege of doing. In the wee hours of the morning a sacred scene is set - a woman using all the strength she has, a man at her side with all tenderness, and a little miracle taking its first breath.

In her book, Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, Ina proposes that where there is love, gratitude, and grace - fear and pain have a difficult time interrupting the body’s progression through labor. I am here to serve in a way that helps to cultivate that very love, gratitude, and grace in order to help each family individually welcome their baby with warmth, strength, and great joy. I pray that with each birth I can continue to be the hands and feet of Christ for each family and their baby story.” 

Sarah May Chavez

Any birth location in the Charlottesville, Roanoke, Harrisonburg, Lexington, and Fishersville areas

Elisa Myers, Certified Doula

“My calling to support women through pregnancy and birth began with my own motherhood story.

 Before welcoming my babies into the world, I experienced the loss of a miscarriage, followed by the premature birth of my firstborn. During that labor, I felt unheard and unsupported, which left me carrying fear, anxiety, and a lack of confidence as I entered motherhood. Yet those experiences also sparked a deep awe for God's design of the female body and a passion for learning everything I could about pregnancy and physiological birth. With the support of my doula, I later experienced a redemptive homebirth, catching my baby in the water, followed by a gentle and deeply supported cesarean birth. I truly believe these diverse birth experiences were part of God's plan, teaching me humility, deepening my respect for every birth story, and giving me a broader understanding of the emotions, challenges, and decisions mothers face. They are what inspire my calling to be a steady, loving presence, a sister in birth, for other women.  

As your doula and birth sister, I want you to feel heard, loved, and supported through this sacred time. Beyond physical support, I help carry some of the mental and emotional load that can come with preparing for birth such as navigating decisions, processing fears, building confidence, and entering postpartum knowing how incredibly intuitive and capable you are to be exactly the mother that baby needs.

Whether you need an advocate, a guide, a listening ear, a healing hand or simply a sister by your side, I would be honored to walk this journey with you.”

Elisa Myers