Sarakdoula- Richmond, VA

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Richmond, VA
Sarakdoula- Richmond, VA

Sara Krivanec is a Certified Birth Doula & Lactation Counselor with MyBirth LLC, serving Richmond, VA

A doula provides emotional support, physical support and prenatal education to the couple during their pregnancy, labor and birth. During the birth, a doula will suggest holistic tools for coping and to aid progress and support the couple with their birth goals. I specialize in low-intervention, unmedicated birth, VBAC, fetal positioning and lactation education & support.

08/24/2025

Tuesday at MyBirth

08/08/2025

Mothers should never feel ashamed to breastfeed their babies.
🤱🏻🤱🏼🤱🏽🤱🏾🤱🏿🤱

From a glass of water, a chat with a friend, or a comfortable space, we can all help respect the rights of mums to breastfeed anytime, anywhere.

Let's all step up to support breastfeeding mums!

08/07/2025

Do any of the herbs thought to boost lactation have scientific backing? Yes. This 2025 systematic review analyzes the effects of malunggay (moringa oleifera) on milk volumes and prolactin levels. Its consistently positive findings set this botanical apart from the rest. Free download here:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40724308/

08/06/2025

WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK 2025

Thank you to MyBirth doula client, Sara Beth for your submission.

“I had a beautiful breastfeeding learning journey with my first, born in 2021, so I knew what to expect with my second born in 2023. I didn’t struggle with production, but I also didn’t oversupply.

My second was whisked away to the NICU on the day we expected to discharge; I had heard some clicking when he fed, so my CLC doula Sarah F suggested some micro adjustments to work on that organically. I thought everything was fine. No one really gave us any reason to worry.

They took baby for an X-ray since he was breathing quickly and had swallowed meconium at delivery. He was admitted, and I didn’t get to put baby to breast for over 24 hours. I was determined to pump and keep him EBF like my first, but the NICU fought with me about the amount— 45mL of formula every two hours. I pumped 15mL of colostrum the first time with the hospital pump. It was crushing and excruciating. I watched them use a machine to tube feed my baby.

I watched him spit up repeatedly. I was so angry. I slept and pumped round the clock to alternate breast milk, while he was on the CPap. When he recovered, and I put him to breast, they were insistent on counting mL to supplement with formula, since they “couldn’t measure breast milk without pumping.” I demanded a weighted feed. They begrudgingly obliged. He fed GREAT! Our stay was only 48 hours, but I had to fight for my rights as a breastfeeding mom. If it was my first, I might’ve given up.

I’m grateful to Sarah for validating and advising while I advocated for myself. I’m proud of how I stood up for myself. Baby went on to breastfeed for 18 months. My supply was definitely higher with him because I pumped in the beginning. In the end, I breastfed both kids over 1000 days.”

08/05/2025

WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK 2025

This post is about both the importance of pediatricians having current lactation knowledge and listening to mothers. Thanks to Sarah for sharing her recent experience…

“I had a baby last week. My fifth. All four of my older kids were exclusively breastfed, so I expected to have a similar experience again. I’m very lucky in that I’ve never struggled to produce and my babies have always fed well.

Our regular ped has been with us since my second was still an infant and knows our family well. She has a background in lactation and has her IBCLC, so she’s always been incredibly supportive and helpful when it comes to lactation, and incredibly trusting of my intuition as a mother. She was out of town for this visit (day 2 of life), so we were seen by someone we’d never met before. The first question the doctor asked me was if this was my first baby. Had she taken the time to look at our chart, she would have seen that I have four other kids that have all been seen by her practice since birth. We waited a good while before she was available and baby had been weighed. He was down from his birth weight of 8 pounds to 7lb 5oz which didn’t sound great to me, so while we waited, I googled a calculator to figure out what his weight loss was. 8%, not wonderful, but I knew with my milk transitioning, we’d be rounding the corner in no time. While we waited for her I also fed baby from both breasts and asked to have him reweighed just out of curiosity. He’d taken in 1.5 ounces just while we were at the office, so I had confirmation he was getting just what he needed and more. —> contd. in comments

08/04/2025

WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK 2025

We are grateful to Cassie, MyBirth doula client & student for sharing today. Photo courtesy of her doula, Colleen McDonald

“My advice would be to give yourself lots of grace and not panic when there's a struggle. When I tried to latch my daughter for the first time right after she was born (pictured), we didn't get on the first try (or second, or third....) but I said out loud to her as she was crying "It's ok that we didn't get it! We'll figure it out, don't worry." And thats what I’ve held onto. The times I would stress about her latch, a feed, my supply, etc were times when I struggled the most. Taking a step back in those moments to remind myself that she and I will always figure it out with time and space (and rest!) has been key in my breastfeeding journey so far.” 🙂

08/03/2025

WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK 2025

Is My Baby Gaining Well?

It’s a question many new parents ask...and the answer isn’t just about the scale!

Signs that your baby is growing well include:
💙 Gaining weight steadily
🤍 Waking up for feeds
💙 Content after feeding
🤍 Being alert and active during feeds
💙 Wet and poopy diapers
🤍 Reaching developmental milestones

Every baby grows at their own pace and it’s okay if that pace doesn’t match the charts exactly. What matters most is that your baby is feeding well and thriving in their own way.

Learn more about what healthy growth looks like for breastfed babies on our website: lllc.ca/growth-breastfed-baby

08/02/2025

WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK 2025

The breast crawl is a technique where newly birthed babies are brought to the birthing person’s body and left undisturbed to experience the nine instinctive stages in skin-to-skin contact. These include the birth cry, relaxation, awakening, active, crawling, resting, familiarization, sucking, and sleeping phases. It’s a process that can take anywhere from 60-75 minutes, but research has found it leads to fewer early feeding problems.

An Indian prospective, single-blinded, randomized controlled clinical trial saw less ni**le pain, increased milk, and less mean weight loss on Day 3 with babies who did the breast crawl as their first feed.

Ask your doula or nurse to help facilitate this if you are pregnant or birthing soon! You can learn more about these nine stages at bit.ly/BA2-BF1stHours

Screenshot from video
Research comes from Breastfeeding Answers, Second Edition by Nancy Mohrbacher, IBCLC, FILCA

08/01/2025

It’s World Breastfeeding Week! August 1-7 2025
•
It’s that time of year again…time to celebrate and acknowledge the hard work that comes with feeding our babies! At MyBirth we focus on educating and normalizing breast/chestfeeding. Yes, we are also real about it. It can be challenging at the beginning, there might be some compromises early on, and with sincere, evidence-based support YOU CAN achieve your goals!

We need your help this week promoting the real truths of feeding milk from your body. We’d love to hear your real stories...what worked and what didn’t, send us your breast/chestfeeding photos (we’re normalizing again!) and tell us your tips and hacks! Is there something you’d like to share with pregnant people now? Did you take our lactation class or have a favorite book or product? What nursing positions are working for you? Do you want to thank those in your life that supported your lactation journey? We can’t wait to hear your thoughts!!

Send your responses & images to sara.mybirthrva@gmail.com or you can ask us to be a collaborator/tag us in your post. Then check back here all week as we share your experiences as well as helpful tips and info. And thanks so much for celebrating with us!!

The MyBirth team
•

06/11/2025

SAVE THE DATE!! My Birth Stories will meet IN PERSON on Wednesday, July 2 from 6-8pm. Facilitated by Sara Krivanec, MyBirth certified doula, lactation counselor & birth educator.

Location:
MyBirth Community Studio
1726 Altamont Ave. Suite 4
Richmond, VA 23230

Are you currently pregnant and preparing for your best birth and postpartum? Our American birth culture has not instilled in us the confidence and expectation that we can have an informed, joyful and safe birth experience. A healthy mother/birthing person & baby and a satisfying birth experience are not mutually exclusive. Let’s build confidence through hearing positive birth stories! ✨

Please join us for a free, informative, and inspiring evening. You do not need to be a MyBirth client or student to attend. Come learn about evidence-based birth and the strength of birthing families! Spread the word, bring a friend! Email Sara.mybirthrva@gmail.com with any questions. *Image posted w/ permission 💕

06/04/2025

MyBirth Village, our group for postpartum and new parents, will meet next Tuesday, June 10, from 10am to 12pm at the MyBirth studio. This month we will host Fit4Mom Richmond owner and instructor, Natalie Russell with us to discuss returning to exercise postpartum. Please join us for a conversation on:
navigating physical and logistical changes in returning to exercise after having a baby
the benefits of exercise for mental and emotional health postpartum, and
the added benefits of group fitness (community!)

Read more about Natalie here:
https://richmond.fit4mom.com/team/natalie-russell

MyBirth Village is a group for postpartum/new parents and their babies to share all things first year — postpartum recovery, emotional transitions, lactation and feeding information, adjusting to life with baby, normal newborn behavior, and more. Bring a friend and build community as you need it! Hosted by Courtney Woodburn, LCSW, and Sara Krivanec, certified doula & lactation counselor. We will also invite occasional guests who will bring their knowledge and support around babies and postpartum health during the first year.

Held every second Tuesday from 10a-12p at the MyBirth studio, MyBirth Village is a drop-in gathering, so come for part or all of the time slot. We’ll have light refreshments; feel free to bring your own snacks. All parents are welcome, and you do not need to be a client or student of MyBirth to attend. No need to register as this is a free group!

05/27/2025

Testimonial for MyBirth doula Sara Krivanec ✨ posted w/ permission ✨

“A dream doula and a VBAC come true! Thank you, Sara!

Working with Sara was one of the best decisions I made on my journey to a successful VBAC, five years after an unplanned cesarean. From the very first time we connected, I felt a deep sense of calm and reassurance like I was finally speaking to someone who truly got it. Her warmth, empathy, and confidence immediately made me feel like a VBAC was possible.

Knowing that Sara had experienced her own VBAC made her support even more powerful because she had lived it. That lived experience, combined with her expertise in VBACs, all things birth and breastfeeding, made her an amazing guide and partner through every step of the journey.

Sara was always available to answer questions, calm fears, and offer evidence-based information in a way that was both empowering and easy to understand. She helped me and my husband feel prepared for every possibility, which turned out to be key, because when things took unexpected turns during labor we were ready, because Sara had made sure we had talked through everything beforehand.

Sara’s presence during labor was steady, comforting, and empowering. She supported me physically, emotionally, and mentally—and she was just as incredible with my husband, helping him stay grounded and involved.

I would recommend Sara a million times over. She’s not just an amazing doula, she’s a calming force, an advocate, and a truly beautiful human being. I will forever be grateful for the role she played in helping me achieve the healing VBAC I had hoped for.“

*images include use of a TENS unit for back pain relief.

Address

Richmond, VA
23222

Telephone

+18043878847

Website

https://linktr.ee/sarakdoula

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