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Who am I?

My name is Lauren Dawson Agro and I am the mother of a fantastic son, born in 2002. He, along with my own wonderful doula, is the inspiration for my interest in the field of childbirth. My childbirth experience was wonderful and I had a great Midwife. I nursed for almost a year and experienced all the ups and downs of pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum.

My role is to support you in whatever decision you may choose.

• I trust and believe in birth.
• Women have been giving birth for many centuries and women's bodies were designed to deliver and care for babies.
• I support women with no judgment on their methods of laboring. If they choose a medication free labor, I embrace and support them just as readily as someone who chooses an Epidural.
• I also believe good things come with hard work and perseverance.

My Training

• As a Certified Doula with DONA International, the largest and most well established doula training and certifying organization, I have attended 16 hours of Doula Training, taught by Penny Simkin in November 2002. I was originally certified in July of 2003 and have been recertified, in good standing through July 31, 2015.
  
  
• In preparation for my recertification in 2012, I recently took the DONA Doula Refresher course with Katie Daily, CD(DONA), a Doula Trainer in Washington, DC in February 2011.
  
  
• I have taken and passed the PBi Certification Exam to become a Certified Placenta Encapsulation Specialist. I am so thrilled to be offering this service to my clients and others. Helping each woman have the best birth and postpartum experience is my goal. Read more about Placenta Encapsulation and read my story of why I do this.
  
  
• In order to be Certified by Placenta Benefits, I must follow Maryland State Guidelines to operate legally as a private chef. To do this, I have taken and passed Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Food Safety Training. This training teaches standard operating procedures for food safety, and the ability to identify and avoid the causes of food borne illnesses to keep my clients safe. I am certified through Learn2Serv in Food Safety Management Principles in good standing through May 5, 2015.
  
  
• I am currently in the process of becoming certified by Elaine Stillerman, LMT in MotherMassage ®: Massage during Pregnancy massage techniques. I began takingthe MotherMassage ® Workshop in June 2012 (instructor cancelled mid-course due to medical issues) and hope to complete it by November 2012.
  
  
• In July of 2012 I became certified through DONA International to use the TENS unit on my clients during labor. I own and lend out one Lady TENS unit. Let me know if this interests you, and I can explain in more detail at our prenatal appointments.
  
  
• I have taken Lamaze classes at Greater Baltimore Medical Center as well as Carroll County General Hospital.
  
  
• I have taken Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method classes from Irene Thompson, CMT, HBCE in Mt. Airy, Maryland.
  
  
• I have read well over 40+ books on the subject and have an extensive lending library for doula clients.
  
  
• I occasionally mentor student doulas and student placenta encapsulators not only to help them, but to help with my own continuing education.

My Births

I have assisted with births at Anne Arundel Medical Center, Sinai, Hanover, St. Joseph, St. Agnes, Frederick Memorial, Howard County General, Carroll County General, Mercy and Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) hospitals, and Special Beginnings Birth and Women’s Center.

What My Clients Have to Say...

"Reading that [birth] story was amazing!  It was so fun to relive it through your writing.  I'm so glad I have all the details of P.'s birth.  I can't wait to share it with her some day. Thanks so much for everything!" ~ MP, mother of PAP, born 8/29/2010

"I am so happy that C. is here and healthy. This delivery was so much better than T.'s! B. & I were both so glad you could be there with us. Thanks for being such great support..." ~ Parents of CJG, born 01/04/2010

"We were so blessed to have you as our support person through this whole birth process - I cannot thank you enough.  And the pictures are gorgeous - thanks so so much for everything!  Though there were moments I found myself disappointed in some of the interventions, I am overall really happy with how the birth progressed and I feel like we were able to own it, stay in control and birth her how we felt best.  It is such an amazing experience...." ~ Parents of MAS born 6/10/2008

"You truly made our special day perfect. Thank you for all of your counsel, support, kindness and wisdom!" ~ DZ & CH, AKH born 2/14/2008

" ...Your encouragement and wisdom were spot on. It would have been a more intense situation if you'd not been there coaching us all along... " ~ SK & KK, ACK born 8/1/2007

“Words cannot express how thankful we are that you were there to help us bring ARL into the world! You encouraged us and stood by our decisions throughout the entire delivery! I really don't know how we would have done it without you! You are truly an angel that helped us through an intense experience! Thank you for everything!” ~ ML & JL, ARL born 3/20/2007

My "Other" Life

I'm not a doula all the time. My day jobs are diverse and varied! I am a Usability Specialist/Human Factors Engineer for a large government agency, helping make websites easier to use for everyone. I recently completed my masters degree in Human Centered Computing at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) in December 2012. I am now free like a bird to focus on more fun, birthy things! I am also a professional photographer and co-own a photography company. I was married in June of 2011 to my wonderful husband Ron, and most importantly, I am a mommy to a fantastic big kid!