Meet Rachel Nelson of The Birth Ally

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Nelson.

Hi Rachel, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born and raised in sunny san diego, but actually attended High school here in AZ and moved back home to San Diego after.

I have 5 kids, my oldest is 14, and my youngest is 5. Foster care is a massive part of my life as I was a foster child myself, moving from family to group homes since I was 3. We have hope to become licensed here in AZ as foster parents and give back. I was only ever with one foster family as a child, and it was a horrendous experience to say the least. I hope to change that for other children going through the same as I did.
I absolutely love gardening messing around with herbology, and more than likely, you’ll find me in the kitchen tinkering like Professor Snape! Yes, I’m a huge Harry Potter nerd.

My journey to becoming a doula probably began as a small child. Not even joking. I was obsessed with babies and pregnancy. I had decided early on that i was going to be a “baby doctor” as i called it. My grandmother was a charge nurse at Palomar Hospital in the Labor and Delivery Unit. She used to take me in and i became mesmerized.
Fast forward to adulthood, I couldnt get pregnant. I struggled with infertility, and secondary. Not having knowledge of my family history for infertility, it was a frustrating road. I lost several pregnancies, development sepsis and spent some time in the ICU just to be a mom. I have 2 fertilty babies and 2 natural pregnancies. I also adopted my husbands daughter to complete our family. This road i walked gave me strength in the eyes of friends and the community. I knew what anxiety over cautiously expecting was like. I understood the fear, and what trepidation felt like. And how unbelievably beautiful it is to bring a rainbow baby earth side.
My own birthing experience has been a interesting one, and is what brought me to this side of birth work, many years ago.
Almost all my births have been quick and insane. I experienced birth “rape” with my first when my OB slapped my hand away from me in order to break my water. I told him no several times as I had only been in labor for an hour. He told me, “I want to be home in time for dinner”
After birthing my first and having a poor experience, being left to pick up the pieces of how my labor and delivery went, I began researching my options.
My second was accidentally born in an ambulance after an 80 minute labor. By my 3rd, I was fortunate enough to have a neighbor who was a well-known doula in my area. At first I had no idea what a doula was but my goodness was she a blessing. I’d like to think because of her and my amazing midwife, and stellar husband, my 3rd was born at home in water and it was beautiful. 3 hours total.
For my final birth, we wanted birth photos . We met with a birth photographer who also was a doula and it became very clear that we could only afford one part of this experience . So we opted for photos since I figured by the 4th I should be fine . My oh my how wrong I was. My 4th was my stubborn (still is) turd. I made it to 42+4 and my body wouldn’t go into labor for anything. Our home birth journey was halted and a hospital birth was necessary. I was already 8cm naturally, but not a single contraction. Even on pit, nothing happened. So I finally gave up, doula’d myself and bam, labor hit. 90 mins later our surprise boy came.
I also helped friends bring their little ones into the world and discovered how much i loved being there and seeing families created. Something I didn’t get to have as a child became my drive to succeed at as an adult.
My professional doula journey started after my sister asked for support from me for her first birth. We are all we have family wise. No mom to come support us, so I decided I needed to be the best I could possibly be. I began my studies and got certified. She was my first professional “job”. In washington state during covid, you had to be fully certified to enter a hospital. After seeing how horrible mothers were treated during covid in the hospitals not being able to take their masks off and to feel safe and supported I decided to work in a very large Hospital as a contracted Doula in 2021. This was at St. Joes Midwifery Birth Center in Washington State, one of the only centers with Doula care on site! I learned to quickly become best friends with the ones I helped since I only knew them the day they came in, how to engage and work with doctors and nurses and create a sense of calm and a be a team player for our mothers and their family. Since then I have created my own business called the birth Ally and have traveled out of state for births and work currently in Chandler AZ attending births, encapsulating placentas with my freeze dryer and also freeze drying breast milk for mothers. All of which I absolutely adore I have also done a lot of postpartum work just due to my experience as a mother and also as a single mother for some time. I know what it feels like to be utterly alone and to be afraid and to be most importantly mentally and physically exhausted beyond measure. Having someone show up at the doorstop and say I’m here, i got you, is probably one of the most beautiful gifts you can give someone.

I have helped over 178 families bring life and love into the world.

As a woman who has been through losing my family as a small child, experiencing abuse, trauma, and who has lost more than what id consider “typical”, my dream is to help guide those to motherhood with love and compassion and to blanket them with the sense of security.
Watching women turn into mothers, families be created, and hope restored has filled a void in my life that I couldnt imagine being without.

My hope is to provide comfort, support, and strength to those in need.
I feel that I am special in the way that I provide support and work very well with doctors and nurses because that is how I’ve always worked and been taught. I don’t push natural birth, nor breastfeeding on anyone because it’s not always the right for the individual. Feeling pushed to do something a woman isnt comfortable with is a recipe for trauma, bonding issues, or PPD down the road.
Instead, I educate using evidence based knowledge and facts, helping mothers and familes choose what they truly want for their journey. Care should always be based on the soul present. Just because my beliefs may differ from that of my client doesn’t mean they don’t deserve my absolute care and respect. I make sure that every single mother that I see has a voice and is seen by those caring for her. Rights should never be taken away because we ask questions. I am a firm believer that pregnancy and birth support should be obtainable to all. Everyone deserves support, which is why I offer payment plans based on individual need. I also offer my services free of cost to teen mothers.
I am certified through PALS and IDI, a member of EBB, and Spinning Babies.
I am committed to continuing my education and providing the most up to date care and services.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the biggest challenges I have faced with being a doula is time. People don’t always understand that being a doula very time consuming. We go on call for weeks at a time we can spend upwards of 60 hours at a birth. We don’t get breaks, we stay awake, stay alert, and that can be very very difficult. Also travel time and being sure you can make it to the birth. In Arizona it’s much easier to get where I need to be and make it to every birth. But I used to live in a very rural community and making it to laboring mothers would sometimes take me hours. Another obstacle has been finding a balance between my family and those I want to help. I used to take multiple births a month and now I have limited my work so that I can be there for my family because your children are only small for so long. Thank goodness I will still be doing this when all my kids are grown.
Pricing. This is a big one. Experiencing not being able to afford a doula myself I have always vowed to keep my prices as low as possible and to have payment plans. This doesn’t mean I haven’t been abused for it and take an advantage of. But I try to work with everyone to find affordability and care. Even if it means referring them out.
Lastly one of my biggest hurdles was the vaccination crisis in Washington state during covid. I am a firm believer that it is a choice and should never be mandated. But almost every Doula I met in Washington State was strongly opinionated on everyone being vaccinated for covid especially, pregnant mothers. This is something I wholeheartedly go against for myself and my family. I’ve watched some pretty scary things happen due to the covid vaccine being administered during pregnancy and will always stand firm in my beliefs. Whether a mom chooses to or not won’t stop my supporting her. I will always stand up my for myself among other birth workers even if it means loss of work. I think a lot of us have been through that.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My business name is The Birth Ally, because that describes what I truly am.
My specialty with Doula work has focused on those that have lost previous pregnancies, infertility, high risk pregnancy, previous birth trauma, rape survivors, high anxiety, and vbac. Whether her birth happens in the OR or in her backyard where she feels safe in nature, im there to support and be a sister.
Helping mothers bring their rainbow into the world has been something I will cherish forever.
I do take as many photos as possible at the birth without taking away from my ability to fully support mom.
I book VIA my website, TheBirthAlly.com and do not have a Facebook or Instagram page for my do the business because I believe that the birth of your child is a private and intimate event. I don’t put my clients on my website without their permission and am not honestly too big on social networking outside of family.
I’m sure that I could be an even bigger success had I put myself on Instagram or Tick Tock or Facebook but I have no desire to do so. I’m a little bit old school.

I also offer placental encapsulation via freeze drying, as well as breast milk freeze drying for long term storage or to make your very own “formula” for easy bottle making.

What makes you happy?
Other than the 178 + families I have helped I was also awarded with the Chandler’s Best award for 2025 and hope to keep that going in the years to come.

Pricing:

• Placenta encapsulation $200
• Placenta tincture $50
• Birth doula package $1300-1600
• Milk processing $1/ounce

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Thebirthally.com