About Me
Sandra Crawford
DONA Certified Doula – Certified Lactation Counselor – Evidence Based Birth® Instructor
Charlottesville & Culpeper, VA
Philosophy
It is always an honor to be invited into a family’s journey as they welcome a new baby, and this is not an honor I take lightly. I feel that the birth of a child is a sacred family experience, deserving of an atmosphere filled with respect and absent of fear. You deserve support, evidence-based information, and tools for navigating your options and making the decisions that are best for yourself and your family. As a doula, I focus on serving women and families compassionately – I respect however you choose to give birth and am here to assist you and support you every step of the way.
It is my goal to ensure that you are well prepared to enter confidently into childbirth & the journey of parenthood.
Education and Training
The desire to serve birthing families led me to become a DONA certified doula in 2015. I believe strongly that our connections with one another give our human experience meaning, and these connections start with birth. As a doula, it is my goal to support and advocate for families so that they can welcome their little ones into a loving, connected environment and have the best start possible.
I feel passionately that families deserve access to the highest quality of care, that they deserve to know their options, and that they deserve unbiased support in making the decisions that are best for themselves and their children. The desire to provide families with access to these things led me to become an Evidence Based Birth® Instructor in 2019, offering the EBB Childbirth Class worldwide as well as workshops and seminars for parents and birth professionals in the Charlottesville community.
- DONA International Certified Birth Doula – 2015-present
- ALPP Certified Lactation Counselor – 2024-present
- Evidence Based Birth® Instructor – 2019-present
- CPR Certified Infant, Child and Adult
- Gena Kirby Method Rebozo Training – 2015
- Advanced Doula Training, Carriage House Birth – 2016
- LGBT-Inclusive Obstetrics Nursing Support – 2017
- Spinning Babies Workshop with Gail Tully – 2017
- Use of TENS in Labor, DONA International – 2018
- Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss, The Institute for the Study of Birth, Breath and Death – 2020
- Since 2015, I have supported births at more than a dozen hospitals, as well as multiple birth center and home births.
Personal Birth Experience
My husband and I have three daughters – our oldest was born in a free standing birth center and our twins were born via Cesarean. These two experiences were very different in many ways, but each experience showed me that when a woman is provided with information, options, and loving support, birth can be a transforming and empowering experience in any setting. Throughout each of these experiences, I was provided with knowledgeable, nurturing support. It is my goal to pass this gift of support on to other families as they enter into their own birth experiences.
