For Kailee Greenwood, doula work is not just a profession, it’s a calling.

“I grew up here in Craig, and everything that I’d ever done led to doula work,” she said. “Instead of watching Saturday morning cartoons, I was watching things like TLC birth story shows.”

From a young age, Greenwood found herself drawn to the moment of birth, whether she was helping livestock on her family’s property or supporting friends through unexpected and emergency deliveries.

But it wasn’t until the onset of COVID that she first encountered the term “doula.”

“I had a very strong vision of me doing this job, but I didn’t know that it was a job,” she said. “In 2020, I realized it is really a job and that I could do it.”

After thought and prayer, Greenwood enrolled in certification courses and began training during the pandemic. Even before completing her coursework, she had individuals and families reaching out to her. By the time she was certified, she had fully stepped into a role she had unknowingly prepared for her entire life.

Greenwood would eventually open Steel Magnolia Doula Services, which now provides Moffat, Rio Blanco and Routt counties with labor, postpartum and bereavement services. She also facilitates free community support groups and offers a broad range of educational classes as well.

She also offers adoption support for families.

“I have community groups that are all free to anyone who wants to join. They don’t have to be clients before that,” she said. 

Those community sessions include general pregnancy, postpartum and parenthood for both adults and teens. She also offers gym pregnancy/postpartum recovery and child loss support groups. Her classes include childbirth education, newborn care and infant feeding as well.

In rural Northwest Colorado, where local maternity care options are limited and many expectant families must travel at times to deliver babies, Greenwood’s work fills a critical gap.

“Everyone feels so isolated here without the OB floor and having to drive to Steamboat,” she said.

Greenwood is part of a broader return to traditional, personalized birth support. She explained that sometimes the roles of doulas are misunderstood, or confused with midwives. Despite that, she explained that doulas are highly trained and very specialized in different fields. 

Certification includes in-class training, CPR, insurance requirements and a challenging final exam. But the most important skill, Greenwood says, is the ability to walk alongside families and catch early signs of struggle, all while serving as a constant source of reassurance.

“I get to educate them, and they have support before anything goes wrong, with the classes,” she said. “It’s just building that rapport (so) they’re not isolated and alone and they know that they have a doula they can call day or night and have support.”

Greenwood assists parents well after birth and through the first year of the child’s life. She has worked with families experiencing postpartum depression, complicated breastfeeding journeys and even pregnancy loss.

Her dedication is echoed in her support of grieving families, particularly in her community group for women who have experienced a miscarriage or child loss.

“She had a loss seven years ago, and she said that the world just expected her to move on. …She never got to grieve until she came to my group,” Greenwood said of one mother who lost a child. “Now, she’s healing.”

Greenwood’s services are also tailored to partners and family members as well. She said that fathers can, at times, feel unsure of their role during labor and delivery.

“I say that dad’s a doer, too,” she said. “If they’re someone who needs a job, I will give them a job to do and help direct them… I give them simple things to do, but also things not to do.”

The result is not only a stronger connection between the birthing mother and their child, but also between families and the broader network of care providers. Greenwood pointed out that doula work often complements mainstream medicine and seldom results in conflict.

“I get greeted at the labor and delivery double doors when I get there for a birth,” she said. “I’m definitely a part of the team. We’re working together. We have a good goal at the end.”

As one of the only consistent doulas working in the region in recent years, Greenwood is paving new ground.

“I’m really pioneering new services here with these groups and classes because we’re in such a desert,” she said.

When asked what she wants local families to know, her answer was simple.

“They just need to reach out,” she said. “Whether they’re two weeks away from birth, they’re in the middle of postpartum, if they just took a pregnancy test and they need support, they should just reach out.”

Classes are offered during the following times:

• 4 p.m. Mondays — Pregnancy and labor prep, postpartum recovery, workout group
• 6 p.m. Tuesdays — Teen pregnancy and parenthood
• 6 p.m. Thursdays — Pregnancy and child loss
• 10 a.m. Saturdays — Pregnancy, postpartum and parenthood

Locations can vary, and Greenwood encouraged those who might be interested in joining to contact her.

For more information on Steel Magnolia Doula Services, contact Kailee Greenwood at 970-761-0018 or email office assistant Mary Longwell at steelmagassistant@gmail.com.