Hi.  My name is Heather Hannon, and I am a fully affiliated Bradley instructor and doula with six solid years of experience.    I have an undergraduate degree in Biology from Tufts University in Boston, and a master's degree in Nursing from Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard.  While I hold a strong background in oncology nursing and women's health, BIRTH is my passion!  I became part of the Richmond birth community 10 years ago, and to date, I have helped over 200 couples prepare for the birth of their child.  Each class is unique and exciting, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to meet so many inspirational couples.  I truly love the work I do as an educator and doula. 

In addition to childbirth, family is my other passion.  My husband, Craig, and I are the proud parents of four children (3 boys and 1 girl).  Unfortunately, we did not do much to prepare for labor with our first pregnancy, and as you can imagine, we felt pretty overwhelmed during our oldest son's birth.   Our desire to have a safe and more rewarding birth experience lead us to discover the Bradley Method when we were pregnant with our second child (our daughter), and with the help of The Bradley Method, our daughter and her three younger siblings were born without medications and/or inteventions.  Because of the tremendous impact Bradley classes and our birth experiences had on our life, it became our desire to help other couples experience childbirth as the joyful and meaninful experience it can and should be.

I am grateful to have had a such a wide variety of birth experiences (hospital and home, medicated and un-medicated, OB and midwife).  Each of my own births taught me something important about myself and the birthing process and gave me a better understanding about the pieces that are needed to navigate the ups and downs of labor and acheive a positive and safe birth. 

While welcoming my own children into the world taught me that childbirth can be a re-warding and even life-changing event, I feel strongly that there is no right or wrong way to give birth.  Whether you are delivering in the hospital, at a birth center, or in your home, it is critical that you feel safe, encouraged, understood, and respected throughout the process.  My goal is to provide you and your partner with the knowledge and tools you need, not only to partner with your practitioner and particpate in your care, but ultimately to help you make a smooth and healthy transition into the world of parenting.