Today we’d like to introduce you to Maris Feeley.
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?
This year marks 10 years of full-spectrum doula work for me, which is hard to believe! In 2016, I began my journey with DC Doulas for Choice, a volunteer-run doula collective, supporting hundreds of patients in DC-area clinics. I fell in love with the doula role and trained under a midwife with Birth Arts International to become a birth doula in 2018, becoming a doula full-time. In 2019, I moved to Raleigh and started as a birth doula with Carolina Birth & Wellness (CBW). Over the years, I also trained and practiced as a postpartum doula, certified as a childbirth educator, and stepped into co-ownership of CBW to oversee our expanding operations. I’m grateful every day for the work we get to do!
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?
The road has certainly been full of twists and turns. I began doula work the same month I graduated college, so I came into this work very early on in my career. While initially starting in a more traditional 9-5 profession, I took a leap and quit to doula full-time, working multiple jobs that gave me the flexibility to be on call. I became a co-owner at Carolina Birth & Wellness in 2021, after working more or less any job I could for us first! CBW started in 2017 but we’ve massively expanded to encompass support across the spectrum of reproductive health and wellness, from fertility to birth to postpartum journeys; we’ve very much had to collage a blueprint together for everything we’re doing. Overall, I’ve essentially spent the last ten years building the plane as I’m flying it, career-wise.
And all of this before I got around to having my own child in 2025, which was an amazing and wild experience to have firsthand after supporting countless families! Now I get to figure out how to be a business owner & a mom, a whole new adventure.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Carolina Birth and Wellness?
At Carolina Birth and Wellness, we are a holistic resource center offering physical, emotional, and educational support for all possible reproductive healthcare experiences in the Triangle area. Essentially, we’re a one-stop wellness shop for families from trying to conceive through those early years postpartum, as much as we can do along the way short of providing direct medical care, We are first and foremost doulas, but I’m incredibly proud that we can provide all types of support that families might need – lactation consultants, bodywork, classes, physical and mental health therapy, the list goes on! Our priority has been to truly expand what it means to empower and care for families across the spectrum of their reproductive journeys.
What are your plans for the future?
Individually, I’ve been sitting with the calling to expand my offerings into death doula work – I think birth and death have so much in common as life transitions. As a business, I can’t speak on the exciting things we’ve got in the works just yet (stay tuned!!) but I will hint that we’re looking to really innovate and contribute more within the full-spectrum doula community. As the saying goes: when you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carolinabirthandwellness.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolinabirthandwellness
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolinabirthandwellness
