Meet Carmen Stramara | Co-Founder of Happily Raised & Postpartum Doula

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carmen Stramara and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carmen, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
There is so much noise and misinformation saturating parenthood and it’s creating doubt, anxiety and fear for so many new parents. With Postpartum Mood & Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) on the rise and a huge gap of support after birth, I wanted to find a way to fill the gaps and insert more compassionate, nonjudgemental, and evidence-based care into the postpartum space.

That’s where Happily Raised comes in! We gathered a village of experts to help support and smooth the transition into parenthood and the journey ahead. We brought together essential perinatal resources to provide new parents with vital information they didn’t know they needed with affordability & accessibility in mind. Topics covered in our First Year Bundle include sleep, feeding, motor development, safety, relationships and more!

It’s my belief that helping heal and support families in the postpartum space is a direct way to help heal and support the world. When parents are provided the supportive, evidence-based care (that we all deserve) early in their parenting journey, they can more confidently step into the fulfilling role of raising the next great generation. Our goal is to set new parents on a path to happier parenting!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
-BS in Business Administration from University of Arizona in 2008

-I have moved 8 times in the past 16 years. My partner’s career has moved us often and while it’s been an exciting adventure, each time it required me to find and create community FAST and also gave me the opportunity to know and learn from so many people. This lifestyle helped to refine my purpose of lifting those around me and strengthen each other along the way. While growing and raising our family, I have sought opportunities to learn from a diverse community and explore continual modes of self-improvement.

-My first child, Coen, was born a month after moving to a new house in Germany and my second, Finley, was born 3 months after moving to Savannah, GA. I felt disconnected from community and local postpartum resources both times and didn’t know where or what to look for to find support.

-I started volunteering as a postpartum doula 7 years ago in New Hampshire for a non-profit organization. This experience solidified my desire to pursue birthwork and exposed the need for supportive postpartum care nationwide.

-Trained and certified as a postpartum doula with DONA International and started 4th Love Doula to help families one at a time.

Moved to Southern California in 2022 and the stars aligned when I googled “postpartum support resources near me”. I connected with Cristina Gamarnik, Founder of The Mommy Center, and became the facilitator for the postpartum support Mommy & Me classes. We have now helped bring support to over 3000 OC parents!

-The framework and vision that has inspired and grown The Mommy Center’s success has guided us to create Happily Raised – which will bring the same level of compassionate support and evidence-based information to a nationwide audience!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Being relatively new to OC, I am still finding gems on a weekly basis – something I LOVE to do!

Some of my “musts”:
Hike on Top of the World trail with my two scruffy dogs (to tire the dogs out enough to not eat my kids’ homework later)

Urth for brunch and then walk around Heisler Park (in Laguna)

Next stop, BLK Dot Coffee for an iced VTM

Art Gallery hop down PCH riding the free trolley along the way!

Gelato Paradiso (whatever the new seasonal flavor option is) and walk to Main Beach to watch the sunset

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Cristina Gamarnik is the co-founder and visionary of Happily Raised. She has believed in me and helped stretch me from my comfort zone to co-create something so incredibly important. We have been able to lean on each other’s strengths to create Happily Raised and I’m incredibly grateful for her talents and vision – they are helping change the world for the better!

Website: www.happilyraised.com

Instagram: @happilyraised

Facebook: Happily Raised

Other: carmen@happilyraised.com