Bree Spence

I've been doing doula work for going on 5 years now, and I've lost count of how many mamas I've had the privilege to support. What inspired me most to become a doula is that I'm so grateful I didn't have any bad experiences in the birth of my children. I have 3 kids, and they were all born at a birth center. Living in Belle Glade, a rural community in South Florida that is a maternal care desert, our hospital does not have a labor and delivery floor anymore, so our women are traveling 30, 45, almost an hour to deliver their babies. As a doula and community health worker, I've been pushing to educate moms to make sure they're prepared, they know what to expect, and they know when to move. I went through training with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies in Palm Beach County, which included a weekend training and about a year and a half of extensive Zoom calls covering topics like advocating for Black women and business for doulas. Before becoming a doula, I was in the mental health field. I got my bachelor's degree in psychology from Florida A&M and became a mental health case manager working with the homeless population who also had severe persistent mental illness. I've always been someone in the community advocating, whether helping clients get their medication to remain mentally stable, finding supportive housing, or helping them with employment. When I moved back to my hometown of Belle Glade and saw the disparities and lack of resources here, I wanted to make a change. The fact that I was able to birth my babies in such a way made me want to transfer that energy here to support these moms so they feel supported and prepared as well.