Melissa has been a Certified Birth Doula in Orillia with DONA International for over 11 years. She is a mother of 3 and serves Orillia, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Muskoka, Bracebridge, Innisfill and surrounding areas.
Having served on the Board of Directors with the Association of Ontario Doulas (DoulaCARE). She has a passion for protecting the birth experience and is a breastfeeding advocate. Child birth is not only the birth of the child, but also the mother, and consequently the family.
As the Owner of Simple Abundance, Melissa strives to expose parents to their available holistic and natural alternatives. Through her Etsy store My Doula Made It, she expresses her creativity and shares her hand made wares.
"I am a mother, daughter, sister and aunt and I value the women in my life. Birth has impacted everyone alive, as a baby we have all experienced it. Birthing as a mother is something that impacts every woman, either directly or indirectly, it is something every woman shares. It is also something she will never forget.
Since I was a teenager, I can remember being passionate about childbirth. I saw the shift from childbirth being something our bodies were designed to do, to being a medical condition or sickness. I wanted to do something about it, but like many people, I didn't know doulas existed, or how to help.
When I became pregnant with my son, my midwife asked if I had considered having a doula. I said "What is a doula?" and the rest is history!
My son was delivered via a traumatic cesarean birth and I questioned if this was still what I wanted to do. Within a week I had decided. I care about mothers and I care about their birth story. I want to help families have the most satisfying birth experience possible.
Since the birth of my first son, I have since gone on to have a very healing Home Water Birth After Cesarean,as well as a second home VBAC. Helping women achieve a VBAC is close to my heart and something I feel privileged to be a part of.
Melissa Van Dam(CD DONA)
"Birth is not only about making babies. It's about making mothers ~ strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and believe in their inner strength." - Barbara Katz Rothman