We’re looking forward to introducing you to Heidi Snyderburn-Campbell. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Heidi, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: When was the last time you felt true joy?
I was in the mountains this past weekend with my elementary aged boys. We got up early every morning to sit on the porch (me with coffee and them with hot chocolate) and watch the morning break open. While we were there the dogs were running through the babbling brook and my youngest wrote a poem called “Sounds of the Morning” and I looked out over the mountains and soaked in the joy and gratitude for this life.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I like to be busy! Enneagram 7 wing 6 here!
I’m a Certified Birth Doula (DONA), a Certified VBAC Doula (VBAC Link) a Certified HypnoBabies™ Doula, the entrepreneurial guru behind Birth Story Media™, Birth Story Boutique™, a former pharmaceutical and medical device consultant, and a mom with a passion for writing and storytelling. I felt “called” to my practice as a doula early on in life—in fact at age 12, I supported my own mom through her birth. Since then, I have attended over a thousand births throughout my 21-year doula career and I am currently on-call. Yup! I am actively practicing today and part of the Birth Story Boutique doula team.
I differentiate my services by offering holistic, evidenced-based care for my birthers, mamas and their partners (if applicable). I absolutely believe in partnering with the medical team and empowering moms and birthing persons to navigate the journey of pregnancy and childbirth with as much information as possible.
Alongside my doula work, I am a medical professional. I spent 2 years studying medicine, the body, physiology and pharmacology at the CMR Institute. I achieved my MBA and I have 16 years of experience in healthcare pharmaceuticals and medical device consulting, training, and leadership. During this part of my career, I led teams consistently to top 10% national results and built long-term client relationships. I trained doctors and HCP’s on dissecting clinical trials and their statistical significance and relevancy. I even guided neurosurgeons through device implants.
Then, I became a mom myself! After my own very short 6 week maternity leave at my Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company, I came back to work on a mission to change the experience I had to be better for the moms and birthers who would birth after me. I designed, inspired, and successfully led a project to greatly improve parental leave policies and support- in fact more than doubling the leave time for all parents, guardians, and birthers.
In 2017, I came home from my 4th trip to Africa after working in an orphanage in Uganda. My family had a new laptop waiting for me with a sticky note that said, “Write your book.” In 2018, I officially left the corporate world and founded Birth Story Media™ to provide multiple birth education resources to expecting parents and their loved ones.
In 2024, I opened Birth Story Boutique’s first location in Charlotte, NC after working solo for 22 years.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
My earliest memory of feeling powerful is the same moment that brought me to doula work. I got off the bus and my mom was miscarrying one of my siblings. I didn’t even know she was pregnant but she was pretty far along. She was so calm, but she needed me in a way I had never been needed before. I helped her stay strong, loved on her, helped her deliver the baby and then lay the baby to rest. I was 12 years old. I knew then I was given a very powerful gift to help others.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Trust your calling into birth work. Don’t be afraid you won’t have any money because you will have everything you need for a joyful life. Run towards the light in your dreams where you cradle women in their most vulnerable state and in their magic. Forget the MBA, forget the student loan debt, and trust your inner wisdom.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
Changing birth outcomes. Our medical system both means well and is broken. Most providers believe they are rescuing women in childbirth by providing IV ports with fentanyl flowing and epidurals and cesarean sections and invasive exams. But the hill I will die on, is helping change the narrative that childbirth is just painful and hard and something to be afraid of. It is magical and wonderful and arduous and exhilarating. Women are strong and all of the innate wisdom inside of us is there to give birth. We don’t need fluorescent lights and drugs. They are there as tools and options if we do. But I wish to help the medical system use soft voices and soft lights and treat every birth as the sacred portal it is and every pregnant person as the sacred vessel they are. When we help women feel safe and supported and aid them in moving their bodies and being upright and not accepting drugs, then we also find women not needing to go to the operating room. Birth rarely needs intervention and I hope my legacy is that I helped enough women embrace the joy of birth and let go of the fear.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
That she loved and nurtured the world and everyone in her sphere unconditionally. That she had a gift for meeting people in their pain and in their joy alike and that she always made time for those in need even when there was no time to give. I hope they will also say that I was very funny, loud and inappropriate with those I loved the most.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.BirthStoryBoutique.com
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/birth.story.academy
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidi-snyderburn-campbell-96835625/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyDoulaHeidi
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/birthstorypodcast
Image Credits
Katie Burns Photography
A.M. Stewart Photography
Bluegrass Bebe Photography
