Why the lemons?

My maternal grandmother and I share the same birthday, and she liked lemons. Over the years, I have adopted the lemon as part of my identity, and even had a lemon inspired wedding! To me, lemons are not only the sentimental thread connecting me to my grandmother’s memory, but are also a symbol of refreshment, vitality, beauty, healing, the yin and yang of sweet and tart, and under the right conditions, can be grown anywhere. I am an active gardener and many of those philosophies transcend beyond a yard - I enjoy the practice of cultivating the environment around me, connecting with resources to ensure my “gardens” thrive in every sense, and to nourish so people can flourish.

This is my approach to supporting you as your doula, childbirth educator, & photographer - through pregnancy, birth, & postpartum.

How Can I Best Support You?

Marissa Hathaway, MPH
Owner & Doula

Hi there! Here’s a little about me:

I love gardening, photography, & building community. We just welcomed our girl-boy twins, Eloise & Waylon, in April, 2023!

My career started in global maternal health, human rights, and reproductive justice. I am dedicated to reducing maternal health inequities via intersectional collaboration and cultural humility. I earned my B.A. from Boston University, in International Relations and Public Health, and went on to earn my M.P.H. in Global Health Leadership and Administration at the University of Haifa, in Israel. I worked for several years as a program and practice manager, while keeping the thread of 1:1 support going with training in rape crisis counseling, family planning/contraception counseling, and refugee health.

My approach to supporting families is centered around:

  1. Embodied Consent & Informed Decision-Making

  2. Partner Support

  3. Mental Health & Wellbeing

I use my extensive operational and administrative background with my clients by presenting clean, organized, high impact resources and documents for late pregnancy, birth, & postpartum. I incorporate my counseling experience and academic experiences by acknowledging the balance of seeking education/validation and empowerment/self-direction. I support your informed choices, facilitate support for you and your partner (you are both my clients), and guide you through the adjustment into parenthood. My passion for public health shows in my appreciation for evidence-based practice, while also understanding that you are an individual family unit and deserve to make choices based on what YOU feel is right.

Areas of Expertise & Passion

  • Empowering Partners through the Perinatal Period

  • Supporting Trauma Survivors through the Perinatal Period

  • Perinatal Mental Health

  • Reproductive Lifespan Counseling

  • Reproductive Justice

  • Miscarriage & Fertility Journey (I have personally experienced two recurrent miscarriages, then conceived twins via IVF.)

  • Mindfulness, Breathing, and Visualization Strategies

  • Physical & Emotional Coping Techniques

Qualifications

  • Certified Perinatal Doula

  • Certified Birth Doula CD(DONA)

  • Certified VBAC Doula (VBAC Link)

  • Photographer

  • Trained Childbirth Educator

  • Lactation Educator

  • IVF & Infertility Doula

  • Certified Rape Crisis Counselor

  • Certified Family Planner & Contraception Counselor

  • Certificate in Refugee Health

  • Certificate in Perinatal Mental Health for Allied Professionals from Postpartum Support International (PSI) - in progress

  • Familiarity with Spinning Babies

  • Familiarity with Aromatherapy for Labor & Delivery

 
 

Lemons & Labor, LLC. Perinatal Doula Services

9 South Main Street, Topsfield, MA 01983

Hours: By Appointment Only

Email: marissa@lemonsandlabor.care