Credentials
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant
Certified Birth Doula (Childbirth International)
Trained Postpartum Doula (Childbirth International)
The VBAC Link Certified Doula
Birth Monopoly Know Your Rights Graduate
Spinning Babies Trained
So nice to meet you.
Hi, I’m Erin Mattingly, a lactation consultant and birth doula serving the Jackson, Mississippi area. I’ve been in love with babies and birth since I was a little girl and my friend handed me her newborn sister to hold. I’ve always seen the power in women and women’s birth stories, and soaked them up from my mother, aunts, and friends, even before I had children of my own.
Now I’m a mother to eight kids, from young adults to elementary kiddos, and their births opened my eyes to the kind of support families need in this transitional time. Birthing my children started with a scheduled c-section for my twins, and was followed by 6 VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) births. I’ve had nearly every kind of hospital birth imaginable: multiples and singletons; induction and spontaneous labor; epidurals and unmedicated births; lengthy, difficult labors and straightforward, easier ones; preemies and full term babies; traumatic births and beautiful births; formula feeding and breastfeeding; and NICU stays and babies that went home in my arms. This breadth of experience in my own birthing and feeding journeys helps me to have empathy and understanding for it all. I remember all of those feelings — you will never see any judgment from me. I want you to have your birth, your way, with your choices.
I realized sometime around baby number six that I should have educated myself much more than I did. I was too dependent on my providers to educate me about birth and help me through labor, and my first few birth experiences always left me feeling disappointed. There were times when I felt out of control and even taken advantage of. It took me many years to understand the connection between preparation and empowerment. This is particularly important for VBAC births. My goal for the families I work with now is to help them feel informed, educated, and prepared for birth and the postpartum period, so that when they are faced with decisions, they will be able to move forward confidently. Birth is a tremendously powerful experience no matter how it happens — I want the families I work with to feel supported and in charge, so it can be positive, too.
In addition, I struggled with breastfeeding for a long time because I had no knowledge and no support. After formula feeding my first three children, I found an angel of a lactation consultant who patiently taught me to breastfeed and changed my life. I learned the importance of asking for help, and in particular I learned that needing help didn’t make me a bad mother. I breastfed my last five babies between one and two years each.
I’ve worn a lot of hats in my life. After college and graduate school, I was a middle and high school history teacher for several years before staying home with my family. I’ve been married to my husband Mike for 24 years, and we made our home all over the country for the 13 years he was in the Navy. Now we’ve settled in Madison, Mississippi, where I love the small town vibe and have learned to love chicken spaghetti! Lending support and education to birthing families during pregnancy, birth, and lactation is my passion! I love rainy days, books, British crime dramas, the feeling of a newborn snuggled against my neck, and tea. So. Much. Tea.