What services does a postpartum doula provide?

A postpartum doula provides evidence-based emotional, physical, and informational support during the fourth trimester. Care includes newborn soothing, infant feeding support, parental recovery, light household organization, and guidance on infant sleep rhythms.

What areas in the San Francisco Bay Area do you serve?

In-home postpartum doula care is offered across San Francisco, Marin County, the East Bay, the Peninsula, and the South Bay.

When should expecting parents book postpartum doula support?

We recommend reserving care in your second or early third trimester, so there's room on the calendar around your due date.

Can I use HSA/FSA funds?

Lactation education and certain postpartum recovery services can often be reimbursed through HSA/FSA plans. We can provide itemized receipts for your provider.

Postpartum & Newborn Care · San Francisco Bay Area

In-Home Overnight Newborn Care & Evidence-Based Postpartum Support

Supporting new parents across the San Francisco Bay Area since 2011. Care grounded in current evidence and Brazelton newborn-behavior training, offered with attuned holding space, so you can rest, recover, and trust your own instincts.

Book a Free Discovery Call Or send a quick note →

30 unhurried minutes to talk through your fourth trimester: the support you're hoping for, your family's rhythms, and how a postpartum doula fits in.

Ashlee McKenzie cradling a newborn in a clay swaddle beside a sunlit window

Philosophy & Approach

Nurture The Roots™ was founded by Ashlee McKenzie on a foundational principle: new parents don't need more conflicting internet noise — they need an expert beside them, translating infant cues and supporting the whole family's wellbeing.

Our Philosophy of Care

Evidence-Informed, Mother-Centered Care

Guidance drawn from current, trusted recommendations, like safe sleep. Your recovery matters as much as your baby's. Medical questions go to your care team.

Non-Judgmental Contextual Empowerment

Breast, bottle, or both. There's no single right way to parent. We give clear information so each family chooses what works.

Proactive, Gentle Support

Early, steady support, so exhaustion and stress are met with care before they become overwhelming.

Psychological Safety & Respect for Privacy

The early weeks are vulnerable. We listen without judgment, handle family information with care, and share it only as appropriate and authorized.

How I Work

Developmental & Relational Science

Brazelton & Relational Healing

Grounded in Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO) training and Brazelton Touchpoints Center coursework, we help you read your baby's signals as a shared language for who your newborn already is.

Holistic Postpartum Physiology

Innate Physiology & Microbiome Care

Informed by 100+ hours of INNATE Postpartum Care training and infant microbiome science, to support your recovery and your baby's early digestion.

Responsive, Non-CIO Rest

Attachment-Aware Rhythms

Informed by The Happy Sleeper methodology, rest is built through attunement and natural biological rhythms — never through cry-it-out or leaving a baby alone with big feelings.

Clarity Over Noise

Scholarly Yet Warm Guidance

Clear, evidence-based guidance in place of internet noise, shaped around your family's values and daily rhythm.

A newborn in a striped onesie smiling up while held gently in a caregiver's hands

❦ Meet Ashlee

Ashlee McKenzie

Founder · ProDoula Certified Postpartum & Infant Care Doula · Newborn Care Specialist (trained) · Trained Lactation Educator (CAPPA)

Trained as a doula with DONA International in 2009 and practicing since 2011, Ashlee McKenzie has supported 150+ San Francisco Bay Area families through the delicate transition of early parenthood — in quiet nurseries at 3:00 AM, on living room floors, and through the tender hours of the fourth trimester.

Her practice lives at the intersection of evidence-based newborn care, developmental psychology, and relational healing. Grounded in coursework through the Brazelton Touchpoints Center (Beyond Trauma-Informed Care & Social-Emotional Development), Innate Postpartum Care physiology, and the Association for Pre and Perinatal Psychology and Health (APPPAH), Ashlee brings that depth into everyday care, so the science always stays in service of your family.

A ProDoula Certified Postpartum & Infant Care Doula who has also trained as a Newborn Care Specialist (Gentle Ventures), a Lactation Educator (CAPPA), and in infant massage (Infant Massage USA), Ashlee translates complex infant communication, sleep science, and feeding dynamics into practical, calming daily rhythms. Her work is non-judgmental, trauma-informed, and focused on helping parents quiet the noise so they can build lasting trust in their own instincts.

Ashlee's Indigenous ancestry lives inside her practice rather than beside it. Rooted in traditional Indigenous postpartum holding space and elevated by modern infant neurobiology. We honor the sacred, physiological recovery of the birthing parent while applying rigorous developmental science to soothe and support your newborn.

Ashlee McKenzie and both parents gathered close around their swaddled newborn in a San Francisco nursery

Ashlee McKenzie providing in-home postpartum doula support to a San Francisco family, reviewing a newborn care book together

Verified Credentials & Education

ProDoula Certified
NCS Trained (Gentle Ventures)
Lactation Educator Trained (CAPPA)
Brazelton NBO Trained
INNATE Postpartum Care Training
Infant Massage USA Trained

Primary Credentials

ProDoula Certified Postpartum & Infant Care Doula (Cert # PICD13124)
Newborn Care Specialist, trained with Gentle Ventures
Trained Lactation Educator (trained with CAPPA)

Developmental & Relational Science

Brazelton Touchpoints Center: Beyond Trauma-Informed Care — A Developmental and Relational Framework for Healing
Brazelton Touchpoints Center: Supporting Healthy Social, Emotional, & Relational Development
Brazelton Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO) System Training, Level 1

Perinatal Psychology & Physiology

Innate Postpartum Care: 9-Month Holistic Physiology & Psychology Training (100+ Hours)
APPPAH: Pre & Perinatal Educator Course
Microbirth Plan: Birth & Infant Microbiome Science

Infant Wellness & Safety Trust

Infant Massage USA Trained
California TrustLine Registry Cleared (CA Registry #7511071345)
American Red Cross Adult, Child, & Baby First Aid/CPR/AED Certified
Trained as a doula with DONA International (2009)
Fully Insured (Business Liability)

Offerings

Care is shaped around your family. Most families begin with one offering and weave in others as their needs change.

Which support do I need?

Need sleep?

→ Overnight Newborn Care

We take the night so you can rest deeply. Gentle feeding support and soothing, all night long.

Navigating recovery & feeding?

→ Postpartum Doula Support

Daytime in-home care for your healing body, your feeding questions, and the whole household's rhythm.

Want expert guidance & routines?

→ Newborn Care Specialist

Newborn expertise since 2011: sleep rhythms, soothing, multiples, and developmental milestones.

Overnight Newborn Care

We take the night so you can sleep. Feeds, soothing, and gentle help learning day from night — guided by your baby's cues. You wake up to a calm nursery and a short note on how the night went. Clients are also invited into the private beta of Vela, our fourth-trimester maternal health platform.

Learn more about Overnight Newborn Care

Ashlee McKenzie providing in-home postpartum doula support, gently caring for a newborn at the changing table

Daytime Postpartum Doula Care

In-home daytime support for your healing body, your feeding questions (breast, bottle, or both), hands-on newborn care you can learn by watching, and a calmer household. Clients are also invited into the private beta of Vela, our fourth-trimester maternal health platform.

Learn more about Daytime Postpartum Doula Care

A newborn on a tan play mat beneath a wooden play gym, with a caregiver gently supporting the baby's feet

Newborn Care Specialist Support

Newborn expertise since 2011: sleep rhythms, soothing, multiples, and developmental milestones.

Learn more about Newborn Care Specialist Support

Lactation & Infant Feeding Education

Practical, judgment-free feeding guidance from a trained Lactation Educator (trained with CAPPA): latch and supply, bottle feeding, pumping schedules, and combo feeding.

Learn more about Lactation & Infant Feeding Education

Ashlee McKenzie holding a swaddled newborn against her chest in a bright nursery near a bird mobile

Gentle Sleep & Rhythm Guidance

Attachment-aware sleep support built around your baby's natural rhythms and cues, using responsive, no-cry-it-out techniques inspired by The Happy Sleeper.

Learn more about Gentle Sleep & Rhythm Guidance

Wondering how a postpartum doula, a Newborn Care Specialist, and overnight care differ? Understanding Overnight Newborn Care.

In Bay Area Nurseries Since 2011

Practicing since 2011, with 150+ families supported across San Francisco, Marin, and the Peninsula.

References from past overnight care and postpartum families are shared directly during your discovery call.

Book a Free Discovery Call

The Four-Step Journey

Rooting

Weeks 0–3

A gentle check-in on your recovery, a nursery that works for you, getting to know your baby's cues, and protected sleep for you.

Settling

Weeks 4–7

Reading your baby's hunger and tired cues before the tears, easing tummy troubles, steadier night feeds, and soothing your partner can do too.

Deepening

Weeks 8–11

Helping your baby learn day from night, calm wind-down routines, and feeds that feel easier.

Integrating

Weeks 12–16

Planning for your return to work, more predictable naps, and the confidence to carry on as a family.

Moments of Care & Connection

A glimpse into quiet nights, tender fourth-trimester mornings, and confident beginnings.

Ashlee holding a baby cheek to cheek beside a sunlit window in a Bay Area home

Ashlee swaying with a swaddled newborn in a plant-filled, sun-warmed living room

Parents' and Ashlee's hands resting together around a swaddled newborn

Ashlee visiting with new parents in their nursery while holding their baby

Ashlee walking parents through a fourth-trimester book together on the couch

Ashlee offering a reassuring hand to a parent rocking their baby late at night

A wide-eyed baby with a pacifier resting on a changing table during a calm diaper change

A quiet lamp-lit bottle feeding during an overnight newborn care shift

Two gentle hands settling a swaddled baby into a bassinet for safe sleep

Practicing Since 2011
150+ Families Supported
TrustLine Registered
Red Cross CPR Certified
Women & Indigenous Owned
LGBTQ+ Welcoming

Ready when you are

Tell us where you are in your journey — there's no pressure here, just a beginning.

Book a Free Discovery Call

30 unhurried minutes to talk through your fourth trimester: the support you're hoping for, your family's rhythms, and how a postpartum doula fits in.

Frequently Asked Questions

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