Meet Briana Smith of Birth and Beyond, Inc.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Briana Smith

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Briana Smith is an Certified Birth Doula, Postpartum Doula, Childbirth Educator, Breastfeeding Peer Counselor, and Placenta Encapsulation Specialist. Her advanced training and certifications include When Survivors Give Birth, Rebozo Use in Labor, Postpartum Belly Binding Professional, Systemic Racism & Implicit Bias in Perinatal Health, and Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness.

Briana received her BS in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where her passion for maternal and reproductive health sparked. She went on to receive her MPH from East Carolina University. She has experience supporting couples, single parents, advanced maternal age, VBAC/VBA2C, sexual trauma and assault survivors, high and low risk births, cesarean births, and families who have experienced or are expecting a loss.

Briana has extensive experience working as a doula and an educator in all of our local area hospitals, birth centers, and in home. She is passionate about providing evidence based, unbiased education and helping her clients to make their own informed decisions.

Briana had her own baby in 2022 and he was premature. Breastfeeding was extremely challenging for her, so she went on to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), and now provides in home support. Briana is in network with most insurance companies.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Some of the struggles I have experienced in this space is the lack of insurance coverage for birth doulas and postpartum doulas. This kind of support is a large investment, and can be considered a luxury for many people. I believe everyone deserves birth and postpartum support, and lactation support should they desire to breastfeed. I am a fierce advocate for policy and societal changes in this realm because of this.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Birth and Beyond, Inc.?
Birth and Beyond, Inc. is a full-service doula agency serving the Triangle area of North Carolina. We provide birth doula support, postpartum doula support (both overnights and days), childbirth and early parenting education, placenta encapsulation, and infant feeding/lactation support with an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. For lactation support, we provide in home visits and are in network with most insurance companies which is a nice value add for families, providing the convenience they need.

For birth and postpartum doula support, families can expect consistency in care from a couple of doulas to provide them with end to end support from prenatal education all the way through the first year of life. Birth and Beyond specializes in supporting families with high risk pregnancies, home births, breastfeeding challenges, families experiencing mental health concerns, and more.

The collaborative approach Birth and Beyond facilitates is what sets us apart from other doula agencies in the area. We pride ourselves on providing accessible, comprehensive care to families in their perinatal period.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned along the doula journey is the power of truly listening. Every family’s reproductive health experience is unique, and every person has different needs, desires, fears, and preferences. Taking the time to deeply listen and hold space for these individual experiences helps create a supportive, non-judgmental environment. It’s not about having all the answers or being in control, but rather about being present and offering gentle guidance when needed. This creates a trust-based relationship, where families feel empowered to make informed choices, which ultimately leads to a more positive experience.

Pricing:

• Lactation Support: In network with most insurances with $0 cost to the patient.
• Birth Doula Support: $1800
• Postpartum Doula Support; $48/hour (discounted packages available)
• Classes: cost varies
• Placenta Encapsulation: $325

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.birthandbeyonddoulas.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birthandbeyonddoulas
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/birthandbeyonddoulas