Meet Kelsey And Aurora | Holistic Birth and Postpartum Doulas

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelsey And Aurora and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelsey and Aurora, what inspires you?
We feel most in flow and inspired when working with and collaborating with other women on our team and in the birth community. We believe in the power of the village, and we recognize the profound impact it has on the community when women work in harmony to support other women. Women supporting women is the foundation for better birth and postpartum outcomes; it’s woven into our DNA.

As birth workers, we’re inspired by the deep roots of ancestral birth work, which honors the primal wisdom and strength passed down through centuries of women. There’s so much we can learn from sacred practices across many cultures. Our current generation is saturated in fear of birth and has a heavy reliance on modern medicine, but in recent years there’s been a resurgence in women desiring to reclaim their primal power in the birth space. It’s so inspiring to witness a woman stepping into her power without fear of what her body will do during labor. Above all, as doulas, we’re inspired by the belief that all women are beautifully made to give birth; women have the incredible power within themselves to bring life into the world with strength, grace and empowerment. Every birthing and postpartum woman we have the honor of supporting recharges our souls with so much inspiration; women are so powerful and magnificent!

What should our readers know about your business?
The idea for our business came out serendipitously when we met four years ago in January 2021. At the time, Aurora was already a doula but still working as a nanny for a consistent income. Kelsey had built a successful career in software sales, but after quitting her job to embark on a solo soul-searching backpacking trip, she returned with a deep sense that she was meant to work with women and use her hands as a healer. As Kelsey integrated back into life at home after seven months abroad, she, too, was nannying and working as a pseudo-postpartum doula, which helped her connect to her true calling and ultimately led her to meet Aurora. We became instant best friends after meeting at a casual doula gathering, and we felt so called to help one another grow professionally. Within a few short weeks, Kelsey began helping Aurora with business and marketing strategies, while Aurora mentored Kelsey on the hands-on work of being a doula.

It didn’t take long for us to realize that we could create something even more magical if we combined our talents and passions. It felt so natural – like it was our true calling to build something together. Once we made the decision, we moved fast, and in less than six months, Soul Shine Birth was born. It’s hard to say we took a risk when founding Soul Shine. It didn’t feel like taking a risk, it instead felt more like answering a soul calling from the universe. It would have felt riskier to continue to climb the traditional corporate ladder or stay in the steadiness of a consistent nanny career when both of our souls were ignited with so much passion to serve and support women.

The intention behind Soul Shine was to create a sustainable doula business that would serve hundreds of families and last many years without burning out from the demands of the doula on-call schedule. We created and introduced a unique duo model, which was intended to help us find work-life balance, and lovingly built a unique single-day childbirth education curriculum to serve a broader range of families. We wanted to build a business that would last as long as our passions stayed alive for serving women. Ultimately, we knew we wouldn’t do this work alone, so it quickly became the mission of our business to help other doulas in our community succeed along the way through doula mentorship and creating a welcoming team where we could serve more families in the community.

The success of our brand stems from the passion we pour into everything we do. This isn’t just work for us – it’s truly what we love to do, and this energy shines through in every aspect of our business and our lives. By staying authentically ourselves in everything we do, we’ve naturally attracted clients who are aligned with our values and vision. They seek us out because they connect with the genuine heart behind our brand, and this has been key to building lasting relationships and trust. Our slogan is, “Start as our clients, and stay as our friends” and it has been the driving force behind our success and the soul of Soul Shine.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We’re sunshine, beach and foodie girlies, and so for us, SoCal living is all about a beach stroll, sipping coffee on a patio or enjoying lunch in the sunshine! There’s a few favorite local OC spots we’ve spent countless hours making our visions come alive as we’ve built Soul Shine. We frequently meet clients and colleagues for a delicious lunch at What a Dish in Dana Point followed by a Harbor walk in the sunshine. Costa Mesa’s East Borough and Ferm Farm are also amongst our fan favorites for meeting colleagues and friends for lunch. Of course, there’s also Greenleaf in Costa Mesa where we first founded Soul Shine and worked in flow for so long that we opened the restaurant with morning coffees and closed out with cocktails at happy hour. Other regular patios you’ll find us enjoying are Urth Caffe in Laguna, Nomads and Chaupain Bakery in San Clemente and Wall Writers in Irvine. When we’re working on the go, Newport Backbay and the San Clemente Pier are regular places we recharge with a nature walk.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Our shoutout is dedicated to all the women we’ve had the honor of supporting over the last four years. We’ve been welcomed into the most beautiful and intimate moments of their families’ journeys, and we’re so grateful. Without each of these families we have the opportunity of serving, Soul Shine Birth wouldn’t be what it is today. We thank you for trusting us in your most memorable moments!

Website: soulshinebirth@gmail.com

Instagram: @soulshinebirth

Other: TikTok: @soulshinebirthdoulas
Google Maps: Soul Shine Birth

Image Credits
Julianne Rose