My name is Tatiana Smith and I’m an American Haitian woman in Jersey City, NJ. I am a mom, artist, writer, food justice activist, and health justice advocate. I am a fierce defender of Black self care and love, and I uplift nature and indigenous-based birthing practices. I fuse science and data-based empirical data with the time-treasured spiritual wisdom that has birthed generations of Black and Brown babies. My pronouns are she/her.
I offer a sliding scale fee model and I accept NJ Medicaid.
Certifications
Full Spectrum Doula – Ancient Song Doula Services
Certified Doula – DONA
Certified Perinatal Doula – Uzazi Village
Infant and adult CPR – American Red Cross
Insured CMN&F
Prenatal Yoga (RPYT) – Vedansha Yoga School, Rishikesh, India
YT200 – Yoga Blue Fitness, Tarpon Springs, FL
Supplemental Trainings
Uzazi Village
Ancient Song
Evidence-Based Birth
Spinning Babies
Prenatal Yoga
Testimonials
Tatiana Smith, Doula Testimonial
Lovely-Abena Phillips:
I had no idea how to prepare not only for the birth but for the aftermath and managing the transition in a healthy and positive way. I know so many women whose health has plummeted after birth (both physical and mental) and whose relationships have fallen apart. So, these things were real concerns for me. I felt supported from the first meeting, even before I officially hired Tatiana.
Tatiana’s wealth of knowledge and direct experience, her confidence in the process and in me, the fact that I felt listened to and advocated for, and that she was also able to include my mom who was my support gave me a feeling of relief. The approach was so holistic and covered all aspects that came up along the way – physical, emotional, and spiritual. The nutrition side of things, her advice really helped to prepare and nurture my body and my baby. The emotional side of things has been a huge factor too. Tatiana helped me to understand and navigate all the different emotions that came up all along the way and provided me with tools that were incredibly helpful to draw on at different times.
Tatiana was very respectful of the other caregivers and at no stage intruded on their work. It seemed to me that she worked beautifully together with them in a gentle yet very supportive way. I felt held by her presence the whole way through. Physically she provided snacks and labour aid drinks and massaged me and showed me stretches and positions that made me feel most comfortable. Emotionally she encouraged me with words and listened to me, so that I felt safe and knew what was happening and what I could do in any given moment to assist the process.
I am beyond relieved and happy that I chose to hire a doula; and more so that I found Tatiana. I can’t recommend the work of a doula highly enough and wish it was more readily available to women and more widely known. I have no doubt that I would not have made it through this whole process nearly quite as gracefully had I not hired Tatiana Smith. Thank you!
Olga Chechina:
I had an amazing birth experience with the help of Tatiana. She is the most compassionate, professional and caring doula who is very knowledgeable in supporting women in pregnancy and birth. Her evidence based practices are unparalleled as she is prepared to tackle any situation that arises in the unpredictable nature of birth. My planned home wanted birth couldn’t have turned out better because of Tatiana’s work. Her dedicated support began in my pregnancy when we met frequently to organize my birth space, make sure I had all the supplies and prepare for birth through nutrition and excercise. She made special teas, used pressure point massage and showed me specific exercises. When my due date came and went I was stressed, she made home visits to aliviate my stress and suggest things I could do while I impatiently waited. On the day of my labor Tatiana was by my side giving me counter pressure massage and walking with me in early labor. To get the labor going she suggested a couple of excercises and yoga poses after which I was able to have the baby in the water pool just a few hours later. My labor and birth and postpartum were so smooth and I felt honored and supported the whole way by Tatiana’s knowledgeable aid.