Birth Services

Tonya Salerno

My interest in childbirth and infant care started long before I gave birth to mine own children. In 2007, I made an intentional decision to expand my yoga knowledge to include prenatal and postpartum yoga. I have worked with hundreds of pregnant women and new mothers as a yoga instructor at a local perinatal business and helped develop continuing education for other teachers at the center. In 2010, I experienced pregnancy loss with a miscarriage at 11 weeks. It shook my world and helped me widen my empathy for my pregnant students. In 2011, during a major hurricane and a long prodromal labor I gave birth to a healthy baby via unplanned C-section. Four years later, I gave birth to my second child via an unmedicated VBAC. After laboring the majority of the time at home with a midwife, I transferred to the hospital just in time to push out a healthy 8lb baby. These two vastly different births have given me a unique first hand experience of the unpredictable nature of birth. Preparing for my second birth motivated me toward more mindfulness practice and helped me develop skills to be more present to what arises moment to moment. I believe the skills of mindfulness create a fertile ground to be engaged and present parents. When practicing mindfulness during pregnancy, we can prepare for our new life as parents and open to our children as mindfulness teachers.

I completed a DONA labor and delivery doula support training and postpartum doula training through Pro Doula. Additionally I studied medication in a year long conscious parenting and meditation course with Dr Shefali Tsabary. I completed Mindful Birthing Child Birth Educator training. I’m available as a labor and postpartum doula, child birth education teacher and prenatal and postpartum yoga teacher.