Meet the Organic Birth Team!
Melissa Mann
Placenta Specialist & Certified Doula, Family Mediation Practitioner (KwaZulu Natal Region)
I attended a homebirth as a young teen and consider it one of the turning points of my young life. When I got married and my husband and I were considering having a baby, my friend’s experiences were quite different to that first birth I had experienced. Many of them felt unsatisfied with their birth experiences and were unable to breastfeed. This led me to my work in birth after I certified as a doula in 2007. I am passionate about supporting families in whatever decisions they make around their major life experiences, by offering them the guidance and support to do what they really want to do. Most of the time it’s just encouraging them that what is happening is normal. I have been offering Placenta Encapsulation services through my company, Organic Birth since 2012, after a client from the States, who was a Placenta Specialist herself trained me to do it for her. Since then, I have improved my skills and training relating to this and have aligned the process with international standards as well as developed a local course specifically for the South African market, including all legal aspects and hospital protocols. I have trained five further Placenta Specialists that have or do currently work under the Organic Birth umbrella. I encapsulated my placenta after the birth of my second child and my post-partum experience was worlds away from my first. Most of all, I had so much energy, and the lack of sleep didn’t affect me at all. That in itself is enough benefit for me to encapsulate for any future babies I may have. I currently work as a family mediator and with those who have lost loved ones. Three beautiful children call me mommy.
“For birth companions to simply be, to do nothing when nothing is all there is to be done, to offer support without judgement, guidance without attachment, love without conditions – that is perhaps the greatest challenge and the greatest gift.” Vicki Chan, Midwife
Shannon Roach
Placenta Specialist, Midwife Assistant & Certified Doula (Gauteng Region)
I have always been very interested in natural birth and watched too many friends be forced unnecessarily into caesarean section births. I began studying direct entry midwifery in 2010 and supported mothers during their births as well as assisted at a local birth centre. I did my Placenta Specialist training in 2012 as the second in the Organic Birth team and took over from Melissa in Johannesburg when she moved to Durban. I fell pregnant in 2013 and gave birth to my daughter who was stillborn at term. I encapsulated my placenta after her birth which assisted greatly with the depression and loss of my daughter and in this way managed to steer away from anti-depressants. I was even able to donate milk for NICU babies for several months. During this time, I also decided to officially study as a doula through Childbirth International and I currently work for an esteemed private midwifery practice as their assistant, doing their administration, bookings and assisting at births as well as doing placenta processing for Organic Birth. I have a beautiful son named Fynn.
Charlene Yared-West
Placenta Specialist, Certified Doula & Hypnobirthing Practitioner (Western Cape Region)
I am founder of the Relax Into Birth programme and I am a WOMBS trained birth doula and postpartum doula, Hypnobirthing practitioner and hypnotherapist (non medical). I also have a degree in Journalism (2003) and I write for a host of South African women’s monthly magazines, including Longevity and Life Healthcare. In addition to placenta encapsulation, I also offer holistic massage using Colour Therapy through Reflexology and Usui Reiki Ryoho for pregnancy and the postnatal period.
When I fell pregnant, I could not believe nor trust my body to attempt natural birth, but through education and encouragement, I changed from planning an elective caesarean in hospital to having a homebirth with an independent midwife and assistant midwife/doula in attendance.
Working as a doula and creating the Relax Into Birth programme has given me a very practical perspective on birth. My aim at every birth is to mirror exactly what the mother needs in any given situation, so that the experience she has is a positive one. My experience has taught me how important it is to educate and support mothers through their pregnancy, labour and birth so that they know they have options available to them to make informed decisions at every point on their birthing journey. It is also the reason why I love being able to offer the service of placenta encapsulation to mothers to help in the postpartum period. I always say that if I have another baby, I will be encapsulating my placenta. I didn’t know this option existed when I had my son in 2011. His placenta is buried under a most fruitful lemon tree in our backyard!