Meet Dannielle Silvis

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dannielle Silvis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dannielle, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

My purpose comes from my own personal birth story. Back in 2020 I became pregnant with my first born during a global pandemic. My pregnancy journey was exhausting, frustrating, and lonely. I suffered from Hyperemesis Gravidarum, which is a severe form of pregnancy sickness. I could hardly keep down food or water and had to be placed on medication just to manage even the lightest amount of food. This lasted my entire pregnancy and when I asked why I’m experiencing this I was told several times its very common in pregnancy. On top of having this sickness my husband was not able to be apart of this experience with me. The office would only allow the pregnant person in including for ultrasounds which disappointed both of us and made the experience feel very lonely and straight to the point. I had always envisioned feeling like my questions could be answered without feeling rushed or like I was annoying a person with a question. Fast forwarding to the day I went into labor. My water ruptured prior to labor contractions actually beginning. When I went into the hospital i had a birth plan that was simple to a point but the main features on them were I wanted an unmedicated birth and I wanted freedom of movement. The freedom of movement aspect was denied without any reason, being told you have to stay in the bed, it’s our policy. So I did, not knowing my rights, not having an advocate, and not having any knowledge other than you have to breathe. One thing after another happened and after 12 hours of labor my doctor came in and said words no woman wants to here. “We need to do a c-section, and we need to do it now.” The whole process was a blur. My daughter not breathing when she came out and me being able to see her for a second before her and my husband were wheeled off. I didn’t see her for hours, I was lonely, I was scared, and nobody was there to tell me it would be alright. When I finally was able to be with my child I was struggling to get her to latch for breast feeding. My nurses in the hospital were also extremely unhelpful, telling me just give her formula, she will be fine. Unsurprisingly I developed postpartum depression. That went partially undiagnosed with my OB saying I mean your ranking high, we could give you a medicine if you want, and left it at that. I felt lost, lonely, with an extreme desire to disappear. From there I found mediation, from a yoga class a friend and my husband forced me to go to. I’ll never forget what that yoga class did for me. It made me search healing. I meditated daily and from meditation I found prayer, and from there I found God and a place where the loneliness wasn’t as bad. After 8 months I began to thing how can I ensure that no woman has to ever experience what I went through again. How can I ensure that women feel heard, seen, and have a place to feel calm. So I joined a yoga teacher training, with Third Eye Yoga, in Tavares. It was a wonderful healing experience and taught me so much. My Guru, Jaymati Weaver, gifted me a pregnancy yoga book. From there I found the word Doula and it very much aligned with what I was trying to accomplish and do. I became one through a course with The birthing company, then became certified by DONA International. From my very first experience in the birth room, to hearing how my clients never felt alone while I was there, this became my purpose. So that every woman who wanted to feel seen, heard, empowered, and not alone could have an extra person to ensure that was the case. I am able to provide education, emotional support, recourses, and physical support to my clients. Knowing that I am able to provide this service to women is my greatest gift and blessing. I couldn’t imagine a job more fulfilling than this.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m a birth doula and a yoga instructor specializing in pre/postnatal yoga. I get asked what a birth doula is all the time so I like to simply describe it as a birth bestie. I am your go to person for anything birth related. My services begin prior to a birth room though. Just like you would see an OBGYN or a Midwife during your pregnancy you see a doula during your pregnancy. Prenatally we meet twice, these meetings consist of teaching comfort measures, breathing techniques, birth plan creation, and answering any questions you have. From 36 weeks until birth I am on call for my clients, and yes that means you can call me at 2 in the morning with a question you have and I answer. During labor I come to you where ever that birth location is (ex: hospital, birthing center, home). I stay with my clients providing emotional and physical support to mom and dad. My focus in not medical focused but client focused. I pay attention to my clients needs and act accordingly. After birth I stay for a couple of hours and then meet with my clients postpartum to bring meals, talk about the birth, find out how they are doing, and provide any additional resources they might need (lactation consultation, tongue-tie specialist, chiropractor, etc). I also provide yoga services for all people, although my main clientele has been pregnancy and postpartum related. I provide 1-on-1 services either virtually or in person by creating a yoga routine specialized for that person. This would be catered to their body and needs. Something I am super excited for is offering childbirth education classes soon. I am currently in training and working on programs that will be available through my website to work on your own as well as group classes in the Central Florida Community.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I think there could be such a huge range of qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge for birth work. Every client needs a different type of person to be with them through this journey that what skills were necessary or important for me to develop might not be what is important for another person. That being said for me specifically I would say compassion, empathy, and the ability to ground yourself were the most important skills that I have developed in my doula and yoga teacher journey. The bigger side of these skills are that they aren’t just for my clients or people surrounding me they are also important to show them for myself. For anyone that is aiming to become a doula I would say you have to have a great passion for this work. It’s not a type of work you can do in a 9-5 day and then come home and relax. While this is the most rewarding job I have ever had, it’s on call work and its physically as well as mentally demanding. You may be gone from your home for 2 days at a time. The last piece of advise I would say is don’t try to change or diminish your own personality in your work. Use it to your advantage and you will work through a more authentic way that will show and keep your clients recommending you for years to come.

What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?

My biggest area of growth in the past 12 months has been my confidence in how I approach my work and my clients. Going into birth work can be super intimidating. When you are a new doula looking for certification you are hesitant and cautious praying you remember everything. What I’ve learned in the past 12 months is I don’t need to remember it all, I can trust my instincts and go all in, but also use different births as a learning experience for myself to reflect on afterwards. What worked? What didn’t? How can I improve that technique? What did my client think? I have the confidence to know I can do this but also the confidence to say I can always learn new things.

Contact Info:

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