Relax. Breath. Birth.
Saltwater Doulas
A Perinatal Support Collective
At Saltwater Doulas, we’re dedicated to providing unwavering support throughout your pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journey. As your trusted doula service in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine, we specialize in prenatal education, personalized birth and postpartum doula services, lactation support, and more.
Visit our space in Amesbury, MA where we hold all of our classes, workshops, support groups, and more!
Proudly partnered with Exeter Hospital as their preferred doula agency
Saltwater Doulas: Your Expert Birth & Postpartum Support
Welcome to Saltwater Doulas! We’re a close-knit collective of experienced birth and postpartum doulas bringing diverse skills and backgrounds to support you and your new family. With a wealth of experience from hundreds of births, we stand ready to empower you with the knowledge and tools necessary for a confident and peaceful birth and postpartum experience and beyond.
We take pride in our team’s collective expertise, which enables us to provide tailored support to every unique family we serve. Drawing from diverse backgrounds in education, massage therapy, fitness and nutrition, lactation and sleep counseling, fertility, Body Ready Method instruction, Spinning Babies techniques, and more, each family receives comprehensive care that addresses their specific needs.
Expert Birth and Postpartum Support in Seacoast NH, Southern NH, and North Shore, MA
Our love for supporting all kinds of families is at the heart of what we do. Whether you’re planning and un-medicated birth, opting for an epidural, scheduling a c-section, or preparing for a VBAC, we are here for you. Regardless of your chosen birthing location — be it hospital, home, or local birth center — our goal is to provide unbiased and judgement-free support throughout your pregnancy, labor, and the delicate days of the 4th trimester.
Comprehensive Doula Services & Beyond
Saltwater Doulas proudly serves families across the Seacoast of NH, Southern NH, and North Shore, MA. Our services includes expert birth and postpartum doula support, childbirth education, prenatal massage, placenta encapsulation, and in-home or virtual lactation support during both the prenatal and postpartum phases.
Empower your birthing journey with Saltwater Doulas — where expertise meets compassion for a supported and informed birthing experience.
From the Partners
“At first, when my wife mentioned that she was interested in hiring a doula for the birth of our son, I was skeptical. It seemed that between myself, the nurses, and the doctors at the hospital, there would be more than enough people at the hospital to provide care for my wife. However, after meeting with Ashley Brittain, I realized that doula’s provide a unique service which complements that provided at the hospital. Ashley stayed by my wife (and my) side during labor (overnight) and helped to provide comfort when I was out of ideas of how to help. She even stayed up while I took a quick nap during a break in labor so that I was awake and supportive during delivery! Should we ever decide to have another child, I will most definitely be hiring Ashley as our birth doula!”
“Initially, I didn’t think we needed a doula and felt like having another person in the delivery room would somehow diminish my contributions (selfish, I know, but true). Then I stuck my hand in a table saw while getting the nursery ready and was no longer in a position to pout. It was the best decision! (The doula, not the table saw thing). Ashley was a great advocate for my wife, was a calming presence for everyone involved, and made sure we had the birth experience we had hoped for. She was so great, we sued her for our second child too. Two fully intact thumbs up!”
Saltwater Doulas Services
For families looking for extra support during those first few weeks home with baby.
What does our support look like for your family?
Photo credit Kate Donovan Photography
Our Support Always Includes:
- Evidence-based information so you can make informed decisions during your pregnancy and birth
- Answers to all your questions and reliable resources
- Preparation for what to expect during birth and/or postpartum
- Discussions about any fears you and your partner may have during this life changing journey
- Continuous emotional, informational, and physical care during labor or postpartum
- A side by side approach with your provider and the rest of your support team so you and your partner can have a positive and joyous birth or postpartum experience
You will remember the birth of your child and how you felt postpartum for the rest of your life and we would be honored to walk beside you through this time as a guide, supporter, and friend.
We'd love for you to reach out
What Saltwater Doulas clients are saying
Having Ashley as our doula was the best thing we could have hoped for. From our prenatal meetings to her postnatal home visit, Ashley was caring, supportive and excited to make the birthing/ postpartum experience the best it can be. She came to our house at 4 in the morning and helped me to labor […]
Alyssa was our birth educator and doula for both of our births. I felt pretty confident going into the first birth with all the knowledge I had from taking her birth education class. I truly had no idea before taking her class the widespread options there are for so many things when it comes to […]
We took a two part childbirth education class with Alyssa, and we loved her so much she ended up our doula for the birth of both of our sons. As a childbirth educator, Alyssa came prepared and her vast knowledge of all things birth is unprecedented. She made the class fun and it didn’t feel […]
My husband and I recently attended the Childbirth Education class at Saltwater Doulas, taught by Alyssa. The class was SO informative and evidence based (read: no bias), leaving us both feeling more confident in our decisions and the highly anticipated birth day! We are so glad we chose Saltwater Doulas for education – this is […]
We can’t recommend Madison highly enough! She was truly incredible with our newborn, provided endless education to us about all things newborn & infant, always so organized, reliable, and trustworthy. Amazing overnight and daytime care. Thank you for all you’ve provided to our family these past 3 months! You helped us get on our feet […]
After experiencing an unplanned c-section with my first born, I was nervous about welcoming my second. Besides the recovery process, the sleepless nights made postpartum an incredibly lonely journey. I knew I needed help the second time around – enter Madison from Serene Moments. I wasn’t familiar with a doula. All I knew was overnight […]
Thank you so much for the wonderful support during labor & for helping us bring our beautiful boy into this world! your hands are absolute magic and I do not think I would have lasted as long as I did unmedicated if it weren’t for you. Your presence helped me focus and not stress about […]
Thank you so much for everything you did for us during my pregnancy, labor, and *baby’s birth. We cannot imagine a birth experience without your support, guidance and encouragement. It made a huge difference and I look back on *baby’s birth with nothing but positivity, love and joy. Thank you.
Kenzie kept our room calm, and was the best support I could have asked for in the delivery room. She helped keep me sane, and knew what I wanted & needed without me having to say it, and kept me in the best mental state possible to help me through all the pain. It was […]
When it came to the actual birth of our son, it’s hard to put into words how invaluable and how grateful I was for Kenzie. She was enthusiastic, encouraging, hands on and intuitively knew what I needed emotionally and physically. She helped guide my husband to be such a supportive partner and we both agreed […]
Genna was so great to work with during my pregnancy and birth. We had a great and easy connection right away. She is so friendly and kind and has such a sweet disposition. During the birth, I couldn’t have asked for a better or more helpful person to be there for me and my husband. […]
Genna was an incredible asset to my birth team from the very beginning. She’s professional, compassionate and very knowledgeable. From the time we met, she answered all of my questions with patience and was always there to offer assurance. She checked in with me frequently in the last weeks of my pregnancy. During my birth, […]
We are very grateful for Corrine’s presence throughout our birth journey. She provided amazing support, sound advice, and a sense of calm and comfort. She walked me through several prenatal stretches that successfully alleviated my backache and helped prepare my body for birth. She also knew exactly what positions I needed during birth to help […]
Corrine was absolutely amazing from start to finish! Her home visits helped prepare my birth preferences so that I truly felt empowered in my decision making at the hospital. Her tools for comfort measures allowed me to have the natural birth of my first baby that I was hoping for — with minimal medical intervention! […]
I don’t even know where to start! Michelle was such an amazing and key part of our birth experience. I don’t think I would have been able to stick to my birth plan without her! Between her support and my partner, I felt spoiled during labor & delivery. She worked so well with my partner […]
Working with Michelle was absolutely AMAZING! I wanted a natural, unmedicated birth with no interventions, jokes on me cause a severe pre eclampsia diagnosis led to a 4 day long failed induction that ended in a middle of the night emergency c section…Michelle held mine and my husbands hand through the whole thing and helped […]
Alyssa Sylvester’s childbirth classes were engaging and thorough and left my partner and I feeling empowered in our birthing journey. I loved all the evidence based information and also the physical demonstrations of coping measures for partners. From guidance on developing a birth plan, and answering all our questions (even the weird ones), I would […]
My husband and I both agree that hiring a doula during pregnancy was the best decision we made! We were first time parents, and our intention in hiring a doula was to have another person on our team who could help support both of us during delivery. In reality, Alyssa offered so much more than […]
Initially, I didn’t think we needed a doula, and felt like having another person in the delivery room would somehow diminish my contributions (selfish, I know, but true). Then I stuck my hand in a table saw while getting the nursery ready and was no longer in a position to pout. It was the best […]
At first, when my wife mentioned that she was interested in hiring a doula for the birth of our son, I was skeptical. It seemed that between myself, the nurses, and the doctors at the hospital, there would be more than enough people at the hospital to provide care for my wife. However, after meeting […]
I have to start by saying Ashley is an incredibly kind, caring, and thoughtful person, qualities that make her a truly amazing birth doula. Ashley was so supportive and wonderful as a birth doula for the birth of my first child that I knew I would hire her for the birth of my second child […]
Ashley was my birth doula and she was amazing. My birth experience with my twins in general was smooth but having Ashley there just made it an even better experience. I greatly appreciated her presence, experience and support through it all. So calm and supportive. Knowledgeable and caring. She supported my husband and I in […]
Ashley was our birth doula and we couldn’t have been more happy with our experience. She not only provided support for myself and my husband during our long labor but has been an amazing resource through our pregnancy and postpartum journey. We are so pleased to have found her and cannot express how truly grateful […]
I worked with Ashley through the Portsmouth Hospital Doula Program, and had a wonderful experience. Ashley was our lead doula – she was kind, knowledgeable, and a wealth of knowledge. I wanted to highlight what specifics made our experience with her exceptional. – Birth Preferences: She helped us identify our birth preferences, and helped us feel […]
When my partner and I found out I was pregnant, we knew we wanted to work with a doula to have the best possible birthing experience. Ashley was an invaluable member of our team from the jump, helping us to shape our birthing plan and define our priorities, as well as guiding us to helpful […]
We reached out to Ashley after deciding the Hospital group birth classes were not working for our style. We decided we would like a more personalized approach as we prepared to welcome our first child into the world. We are so grateful that we found Ashley! She was exactly what my husband and I needed. […]
If you’re considering hiring Ashley, just do it! She was such a pleasure to work with – very knowledable, kind and caring. My first birth experience was pretty traumatic – active pushing for 5 hours, vacuum delivery, OP (face up baby), 4th degree tearing, retained placenta, hemorrhage, and a trip to the OR – and […]
There was no way to know ahead of time how medically complex my birth would end up being, and having Ashley on our team was a huge part of what made such a wild, chaotic, adventurous birth still somehow a wonderful one. It’s hard to adequately express how much her support, grounding, kindness, humor, steadfastness, […]
Ashley is wonderful. In the hospital, she was very competent, attentive, caring, and kind. She helped with the pain management, as well as the pain of organizing all else and communicating with the health professionals. On top of all that, during the labor, she was carefully observing my symptoms and she might have even saved […]
It takes a certain person to be a doula and Ashley is just that! I’m so glad we found her and I would recommend her to anyone who’s searching to have a doula for their pregnancy journey. When we found out we were pregnant I knew having a doula would be helpful. Ashley was just […]
Ashley is an amazing birth doula. She is very knowledgeable about the whole birth experience and what to expect. As a new mom, I was scared of the uncertainties associated with labor but Ashley helped ease my fears. Ashley was great in helping me create a birth plan. For example, she took the time to […]
I always knew that I wanted to have a doula for labor and delivery when the time came. We chose to deliver at Portsmouth Regional, and coincidentally, they offer a doula program, which I made sure to enroll in. When the time came, we had the night shift on-call doula come in for a few […]
My name is Chloe Parcell, and I gave birth to my daughter Madelyn on March 3, 2022. Ashley Brittain acted as my doula during my birth. I had to be induced due to preeclampsia 3 weeks early. Ashley was acting as my substitute doula, and I was a little nervous before she came because we […]
Ashley is simply amazing! I was terrified of childbirth – not knowing how painful it would be or how the process would go is scary. I honestly don’t think my experience would have been anywhere as positive and relaxed if it weren’t for Ashley. I was induced so we had some waiting to do before […]
The hospital I gave birth at uses a team approach and I was free to schedule prenatal appointments with any provider I wanted but the doctor who would deliver me depended on who was on shift when I went into labor so there was a chance I would never have met him or her before. […]
The most amazing doula ever! She met with me several times during pregnancy and eased all of my fears about the birth process. We practiced spinning babies techniques (even on the day of my labor!) and I truly believe this helped me line my baby up and achieve my VBAC!! She was my right hand […]
Hiring Ashley to be my birth doula was easily the best choice I made for the birth of my first child. From our first meeting to our last, Ashley was excellent in every way. When we met with Ashley before the birth, Ashley asked thoughtful questions that prompted a healthy discussion about our goals, expectations, […]
From a husband’s perspective, I never thought I would be ok with using a Doula, but after our first two births ended in c-sections, and we found out we were pregnant with our third, we decided we would hire a doula to help try for a VBA2C. We found Ashley through DONA, and after our […]
This was my third pregnancy but my first time attempting to do it all natural. Because of my decision to labor and birth all natural I wanted to find a doula that would support my decision and help me through the process. I couldn’t be happier after finding Ashley! She helped me to feel comfortable, […]
Ashley made my prenatal, birth, and postpartum experience so much smoother and calmer than I ever could have expected! I cannot recommend her enough! She met with me during the pregnancy and educated me on what to expect, how to make for a more peaceful and less painful birth, and all of my options in […]
I should have done this review sooner, but with a toddler and a new born time got away from me. I had planned to have a natural birth, but 4 weeks prior to my due date we had to make a decision to go for a c-section. Those became some of the most difficult days […]
Ashley was a godsend during my labor. I was not someone who originally considered having a doula, however, it was the best decision I ever made! My husband and I originally wanted to keep the birth experience between us, and I assumed I would want an epidural and wasn’t sure I would need a doula […]
I had Ashley as a postpartum doula and she is absolutely amazing, so kind and caring. She helps with everything from cleaning bottles and pump parts to house keeping and laundry. She can even help you with breastfeeding and will watch the baby while you nap!! Ashley has all the local resources, which comes in […]
At the start of my pregnancy i began my hunt for a doula, when talking to women in the NH area, i really wanted to find someone who i could relate to, someone who shared my values and beliefs, and someone who i could truly talk to as a friend, not just someone i hired […]
Ashley was the perfect support for us as we went through our second pregnancy and first birth, all during the time of COVID-19. My partner and I were impressed with her blend of professionalism and down-to-earth demeanor from our first phone call straight through to our postpartum visit. She was flexible and always made sure […]
We had a beautiful and wonderful experience with Ashley as our doula. This was my second child and it was great to walk through my previous experience with Ashley and set expectations for this labor and get her recommendations. During the actual labor, she was a voice for me to the nurses and doctors when […]
Interested in becoming a doula?
We have also had the pleasure of mentoring several birth and postpartum doulas through their certification process over the past two years. If you are thinking about becoming a doula or just starting your doula journey, We would love to support you! Please check out our mentorship opportunity tab here or just reach out here!
If you would like to learn more about us and see some of the moments we have captured while supporting our wonderful clients check us out on Facebook or Instagram.