Meet Valerie
Greetings! My name is Valerie Wezran and Belly Love is my passion for helping new and expectant families grow through beautiful and enriching experiences. As a mother, daughter, birth doula, and childbirth educator, I deeply appreciate the rich bonds of women helping women through childbirth and parenting. I have the honor of considering each and every family I work with as close friends. I truly love my work; it is a calling, not a job. My many passions include birthwork, women's health, holistic/green living and believing that we each possess the power to make our lives fulfilling and joyous.
As a birth doula, I am trained and certified through The Organization of Labor Assistants for Birth (toLabor), formerly known as ALACE.
I am a member of BirthLink, the NorthEastern Illinois Doula Association (NEIDA) and La Leche League International.
I am also a trained childbirth educator through BirthWorks International.
In my personal mothering experience, I have had two non-medicated hospital births, a premature baby in the NICU for 3 weeks and over 20 months combined of breastfeeding, of which 5 were spent exclusively pumping. In raising our babies, we have practiced infant massage, made our own baby food and used both cloth and biodegradable diapers. We are also passionate about having a green, eco-friendly home. Though these experiences hardly make me an expert, I offer my personal knowledge of these topics to the mothers and families I work with. I consider myself well-versed in these areas with many resources to share.
As a birth doula, I utilize my knowledge of yoga, acupressure, meditation, visualization, aromatherapy, holistic and natural healing modalities to help laboring mothers. I am also comfortable and familiar with Hypnobirthing, The Bradley Method and Lamaze.
I have worked with families in Chicago and as far into the suburbs as Libertyville and Hinsdale. I am willing to go as far as needed to work with families, as long as they are comfortable with my distance from their home and/or chosen birthing place.
My many varied interests in the birthing realm include homebirth, waterbirth, postpartum depression, surrogacy, VBAC and lactation support. Ultimately, I aspire to be a midwife.
My hobbies include traveling, reading, cooking, hiking, biking, knitting, woodworking, learning new languages, camping/being outdoors, rockclimbing and going to baseball games. I also love recycling and being green! As a family, we strive to tread lightly on the earth.
I earned my B.A. in Arts Management from Columbia College Chicago in 2005. Currently, I am a graduate student at the University of Illinois-Chicago specializing in nurse-midwifery.
As a birth doula, I am trained and certified through The Organization of Labor Assistants for Birth (toLabor), formerly known as ALACE.
I am a member of BirthLink, the NorthEastern Illinois Doula Association (NEIDA) and La Leche League International.
I am also a trained childbirth educator through BirthWorks International.
In my personal mothering experience, I have had two non-medicated hospital births, a premature baby in the NICU for 3 weeks and over 20 months combined of breastfeeding, of which 5 were spent exclusively pumping. In raising our babies, we have practiced infant massage, made our own baby food and used both cloth and biodegradable diapers. We are also passionate about having a green, eco-friendly home. Though these experiences hardly make me an expert, I offer my personal knowledge of these topics to the mothers and families I work with. I consider myself well-versed in these areas with many resources to share.
As a birth doula, I utilize my knowledge of yoga, acupressure, meditation, visualization, aromatherapy, holistic and natural healing modalities to help laboring mothers. I am also comfortable and familiar with Hypnobirthing, The Bradley Method and Lamaze.
I have worked with families in Chicago and as far into the suburbs as Libertyville and Hinsdale. I am willing to go as far as needed to work with families, as long as they are comfortable with my distance from their home and/or chosen birthing place.
My many varied interests in the birthing realm include homebirth, waterbirth, postpartum depression, surrogacy, VBAC and lactation support. Ultimately, I aspire to be a midwife.
My hobbies include traveling, reading, cooking, hiking, biking, knitting, woodworking, learning new languages, camping/being outdoors, rockclimbing and going to baseball games. I also love recycling and being green! As a family, we strive to tread lightly on the earth.
I earned my B.A. in Arts Management from Columbia College Chicago in 2005. Currently, I am a graduate student at the University of Illinois-Chicago specializing in nurse-midwifery.