About Joyce
My story...
My name is Joyce Havinga-Droop, mother of 3 girls, wife to a wonderful husband. I completed my Doula training with Debra Pascali-Bonaro through DONA International in January 2012 and I went on to complete my holistic doula training with Whapio through The Matrona,strengthening my capacity to nurture and connect with couples and their babies while reaffirming my belief in physiological birth.
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Besides working as a birth doula I also work as a birth assistant with Nurmidwifery. I'm also an AHA CPR instructor and teach private and group classes at NURspace. I also teach CPR certification.
I'm a Spinning Babies® Certified Parent Educator, a Certified GentleBirth Instructor and Certified Lactation Counselor.
After having traveled the world while working for diplomats for many years I quit my job in September 2011 and decided to follow my heart and passion to work with young families especially with pregnant people.
As a young girl living in Rwanda, Africa I would go to maternity clinics to help mothers with their newborns wishing to be able to assist at a birth. When I was 18 my wish came true and I assisted at the birth of a friend of mine, I remember it being a hard birth as this was her first baby and she was being induced so the father-to-be could be there. I was happy to be able to hold her hand, encourage her to get through labor and help her bring her little boy into the world. The days that followed I helped her take care of herself and her newborn.
After that experience I’ve always wanted to work with families and pregnant people and their babies, but somehow I never got there until now.
The name BirthAmbassador came to mind when I was handed the “Birth Ambassadors: Doulas and the Re-Emergence of Woman-Supported Birth in America" book by Christine H. Morton and Elayne Clift (thanks Silvie Falschlunger). Having worked abroad for ambassadors for many years I now have become a BirthAmbassador to support couples explore the foreign land of labor and birth.
My Doula Experience
Twelve years experience
Over 380 births attended (see my testimonial page!)
Former President of the Hudson Valley Birth Network
Specialized Training/Prior Experience
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Mothers over 40 years
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Teens
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VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean)
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Home Birth
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Special needs babies
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Prematurity
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High risk
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Single parents
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Cesarean birth
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Waterbirth
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Families conceiving with ART and IVF
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Induced and high medical technology labor & birth
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LGBTQ
Languages
English, French, German, and Dutch
Certifications
& Continuing Education
DONA (DONA International)
Certified Holistic Birth Doula (The Matrona)
HypnoBirthing Certified Birth Attendant
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Continuing education through workshops and certifications is an integral part of being a successful doula. Click here to see more specific certifications. Remember to check back often to see what I have been up to.
Also, take a look at my profile on Doula Match.net