Hi! I’m Rebecca Hyer, a birth doula, lactation counselor, and childbirth educator. I received my certifications from the International Doula Institute. I always get asked why I decided to become a birth worker, and the reality is that there are different reasons for each certification, but my mission is the same. My mission is to provide women with the knowledge and support to make their birth and lactation experience the one they’ve been dreaming of.
I became a birth doula because I believe that there isn’t a right way to give birth. I believe that everyone has a right to choose how they wish to give birth and that it will be different for everyone. Being a birth doula allows me to support, advocate, and empower pregnant and laboring women. It allows me to direct fathers to how they can be helpful. I can give you the tools and support you need to take control of your pregnancy and birth story.
I became a lactation counselor because very few women actually know what their lactation choices are. Whether you are choosing to breastfeed, pump, formula feed, bottle feed, or a combination of choices you should know your options and what that means for your lactation. There isn’t a correct way to feed your child and the stigma behind each choice can make it seem impossible to choose because you will always be making someone unhappy. The reality is, your choice only needs to work for you and your baby. As a lactation counselor, I am able to help you increase your supply, decrease your supply, wean your baby, figure out what is normal emotionally and physically during this time, learn how to pump, help you pump without increasing your milk supply, help you know if it’s time to talk to a professional, how to get a good latch and help with the many possible pains that come with breastfeeding or getting rid of your supply. I can give you the ability to take control of your lactation journey.
I became a childbirth educator because there is a lack of true education about pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Most hospital classes tend to teach and promote what will make their jobs and lives easier, and most naturalist classes tend to teach that all hospitals are out to get you. I prefer a happy medium. I strictly teach what research tells us. I will inform you about what happens during every stage and what your choices are. I can show you your birth and comfort options, what support personnel there are, and what options you have on where to give birth. You deserve to be able to make an informed decision about your pregnancy, birth, and lactation options. I also believe that deserve to know what the postpartum period is like and how to take care of your newborn.
My husband and I live in Boise Idaho, which is just a town over from where I grew up. We moved here after meeting at Brigham Young University of Idaho. We decided to move back to the Boise area because we thought it would be a good place to raise our children. We love the outdoors and how easily we can get to the mountains but have the convenience of having stores and restaurants nearby. When I’m not working I like to watch Friends, draw, work with my father at his waterjet business, and just get outside. I’m an outdoor person so I like to go hiking, swimming, camping, or paddle boarding.
“We have a secret in our culture and it’s not that birth is painful. It’s that women are strong”
~Laura Harm