Meet Ashlee
I'm Ashlee McKenzie — a Certified Postpartum Doula, Newborn Care Specialist, and Fourth Trimester Expert based in San Francisco. For more than fifteen years, I've helped families navigate the fourth trimester with clarity and confidence.
My work is grounded in newborn communication, developmental science, and the lived realities of early parenthood. I help families read their baby's cues + states, build developmental rhythms, and move through identity transitions with steady, responsive care.
Where My Work Comes From
Long before I had the training, I had the instincts: to listen closely, to observe, to protect the vulnerable, and to pay attention to rhythm.
I come from Sinixt and Chinook ancestry — peoples whose traditions hold care and continuity as central. For much of my life I didn't have the language or access to fully understand that inheritance. Through research and reconnection, I've come to name it, and it shapes why I've always been drawn to identity, relationship, and the earliest weeks of a baby's life.
That history is the foundation. The work itself is grounded in newborn communication and developmental science.
A Life Shaped by Identity and Belonging
My own story — adoptee, foster care, and years of family research — taught me early that identity and belonging aren't abstract ideas. They shape how we attach, how we parent, and how we understand ourselves.
That understanding informs how I work with families:
- I treat the fourth trimester as a real developmental period, not a task list.
- I support parents through identity transitions, not just newborn logistics.
- I help families build systems that fit their actual lives and values.
- I focus on responsive care and clear, evidence-based guidance.
Professional Training & Experience
Over the past 15+ years, I've supported more than 500 families across the Bay Area. My work blends:
- ●newborn behavioral observation (trained through the Brazelton Institute's NBO System, Level 1)
- ●developmental + relational guidance (Brazelton Touchpoints Center)
- ●newborn communication and cues + states
- ●responsive care and early regulation
- ●attachment-supportive practices
- ●support through identity transitions
- ●family systems support
- ●postpartum planning and continuity
I am trained in newborn development, lactation education (CAPPA CLE), infant massage (Infant Massage USA), and the Brazelton Touchpoints/NBO approach — the foundation of how I read and respond to newborn communication.
I am also TrustLine-cleared, CPR/First Aid certified, and trained through DONA, Gentle Ventures, and APPPAH.
And my deepest education has come from the families themselves — hundreds of real fourth trimesters, each one its own story.
The Nurture The Roots™ Framework
My work is shaped by four pillars — the synthesis of my experience, my training, and what I've learned alongside families:
Identity
Postpartum support starts with the parent — your values, your instincts, and the identity transitions of early parenthood.
Lineage
The patterns and stories you carry shape the ones you pass on — what you keep, and what you set down.
Relationship
Newborns communicate from the beginning. Reading cues + states is the foundation of connection.
Rhythm
Families do best with developmental rhythms that fit their real lives, not idealized schedules.
Together, they shape how I support every family.
Explore the Framework
My Role in Your Fourth Trimester
In your home, I'm not there just to manage tasks. I'm there to help you understand your baby's cues + states, support early regulation, build developmental rhythms, and move through identity transitions with confidence.
My approach is calm, steady, and responsive — relational, developmental, and evidence-based. The goal is always the same:
to help your family feel confident and connected from the very beginning.
Step Into Your Fourth Trimester With Support
Every family's needs are different. A consultation is a calm, pressure-free conversation to explore what support would feel right for your family.