Dana Patterson, SBD, CCCE

Getting to Know Dana

Hi! I am Dana. I do hope that we can meet in person soon, but until then, I will share a little about myself to help you determine if I will be a good fit for your birth team.

Background

I have been married to an amazing man for almost 21 years and together, we have journeyed through 9 positive pregnancy tests, 8 births, and are raising 7 incredible kids who will make the world a better place. I am a native of the Upstate of South Carolina… and I am totally biased when I say that there is no better place to raise a family.

Personal Birth Experiences

My personal birth experiences span a range of issues, so I like to think that the Lord has brought me through a lot so I can reach out to help others. I have had 9 pregnancies and 8 third trimester births (my 7th pregnancy ended in a first trimester miscarriage). My third child was born via an emergency cesarean (j-incision) at 36 weeks. I was told I could never VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), so my next two babies were born via a scheduled cesarean. Baby number six didn’t want to wait for his scheduled cesarean and arrived via an unplanned homebirth. Baby number seven was a planned homebirth, and baby number eight was a hospital induction, but I was able to birth without pain medication (my 3VBA3C).
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During my first few pregnancies, I didn’t know much about pregnancy, labor, or delivery. I went to a birth class with my first pregnancy and read What to Expect When You are Expecting, and I thought that was all I needed. When I was pregnant with my fifth baby, I started learning everything I could about pregnancy and birth in the hopes that I would VBAC. I ended up having that baby by cesarean (my last c-section), but I fell in love with the amazing way that our bodies work. After my amazing VBA3C with baby number six, I was hooked on natural birth and continued to grow in knowledge and understanding.
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With my expansive personal experience with birth, along with the knowledge I have gained through training and serving clients, I greatly desire to help other families during their special time of pregnancy, labor, and birth.

It is an honor to be welcomed into the lives of the families I serve and each and every birth has touched me in a special way.

Ministering to the Bereaved

In addition to “happy birth”, I have a heart for ministering to parents who experience a loss. My second child was a 37 week stillbirth. Losing a precious baby is the hardest experience of my life, but the Lord was my strength through it all. Since Grant’s birth, I have had the privilege to walk beside countless families during their darkest moments of loss. I once again felt the pang of loss in 2011 when we lost a precious baby to a first trimester miscarriage. I believe that every life has value and should be honored. In 2014, I became a certified Birth and Bereavement Doula through Stillbirthday. The training equipped me to better assist families through various situations including miscarriage, stillbirth, and poor/fatal prenatal diagnosis, as well as those who are expecting a Rainbow Baby (baby after a loss). In addition to serving families with my training, I have also served SBD doula students as a Doula Mentor to encourage them as they train to serve families.

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