About Us

Birth Companions Doula Service
Diane Tinker, Certified Birth Doula & Childbirth Educator

About Me..........

After the birth of my first child in 1993, I was profoundly affected by the power of birth and how deeply it can impact a woman's life forever; including her ability to mother her baby. With this new found realization, I began to pour over library books - specifically any book that I could get my hands on that was about birth. It was in a few of these books that I came across the concept of a doula. I was very interested in the role of a doula and wondered if having a doula at my birth could have benefited the outcome of almost having a cesarean.

To my surprise, there were not any doulas in the Des Moines area in the early 1990's nor in the state of Iowa. After the birth of our second child in 1995, I decided to be a stay at home mom to my two sons. I quickly realized that I needed a hobby or an outlet for me to put some energy in to. It was in early 1996 that I decided to embark on what has been more of a life changing journey than I had ever imagined at the time. I did some research and found Doulas of North America (DONA), now know as DONA International. I decided to become a member and to also begin the certification process to become a birth doula.

I was the first doula in the Des Moines area and all of Central Iowa and only the second doula in the state of Iowa at the time. I also became a certified childbirth educator with International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA). Along the journey I began attending births in the fall of 1996 and also had a 3rd child, a girl, in 1997. Being a birth doula has been an amazing journey that has not only given me the opportunity to work with women of all childbearing age and their partners and families but has led me to a career that is nearly as rewarding as being the mother of my three children.

I am passionate about birth, women & babies. I feel that the birth experience that a woman has lays the groundwork for the mother/baby bound and how she will nurture& mother her baby. As a doula, it is my role to help women & their partners to have a positive birth experience that will carry over to an enjoyable, positive experience as they begin parenting the new baby & integrate the little on into their family.

This passion has given me the opportunity to support women in hospital and home birth settings; medicated and non-medicated births; vaginal and cesarean births; and many,many successful VBACS (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). I have had the privilege and honor to attend hundreds of births since 1996 and have come to specialize in VBACS & homebirths.

About My Family..........