Why should you listen to me? What do I know about any of this?

I’m Emily Dwenger McDuffee. I am the mom to 3 children – my twins were born 13 1/2 months after my first baby. SURPRISE! I have been pregnant twice and have 3 young adult children.

My first baby was a boy. I was induced at 40 weeks because he was low on amniotic fluid. Near the end of that pregnancy I developed PUPPP – Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy. It’s like poison ivy in your stretch marks. It was awful, and the only cure is to give birth. They started the Cervidil to “ripen” the cervix at 8 PM and gave me an Ambien. I had one of the best sleeps of my life. At 8 AM they started the Pitocin to start contractions.

I’m a middle-aged woman starting Act IV of my life adventure. I refuse to age and love to find joy in everything. If you know the Myers-Briggs 16 Personalities, I am an ENFP. If you know the Enneagram, I am Type 2 – The Helper.

I became a doula because I had a doula assist with the deliveries of my children. She was amazing and I wanted to pay it forward. I know I can help people feel comfortable and hopefully help their birthing experience go as well as it can.

I am in nursing school, set to graduate in December 2026. I am hoping to work in midwifery, labor and delivery, or pediatrics.

I created this website as a capstone project for my doula certification, but decided I wanted to make it an easily accessible resource for all parents. I hope you find it informative and useful.