Thræd is a new maternity wellness platform providing virtual doula support for mothers at all stages of pregnancy.
Meet Thræd, the Maternal Wellness Platform Expanding Access to Doula Care
Over the course of her pregnancy with her two sons, editor and designer Celia Lee Roach found her journey into motherhood to be radically transformative. It was a time that helped her gain greater personal autonomy by learning to “self doula,” and inspired powerful, life-altering introspection. "I was able to turn off the outside world for a bit and focus all of my attention inward, unapologetically," explains Roach. "It was this spiritual, out-of-body experience, while still feeling every bit of sensitivity to this sort of physical metamorphosis taking place."
Roach took inventory of all the tools she used during labor, delivery, and postpartum—from breathing exercises and affirmations to finding the courage to speak up and ask for her physical self-care needs—and thought deeply about she could share them with other women. "I certainly am not the first person to experience this, but with all of the women that had given birth around me, I had wondered why everything surrounding this life-changing experience was not being discussed," she explains. "I wanted to get the conversation-thread started, so to speak." So Roach, who has dedicated her career to empowering women as a fashion and beauty editor and through her home and accessories line supporting Kenyan craftswomen, needle+thræd, trained to become a birth and postpartum doula and certified lactation counselor. After learning how to support, educate, and coach a mother-to-be throughout her pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journey, she wanted to amplify her resources and ultimately, innovate and give back to the space. Enter: The launch of Thræd, a new maternity wellness platform providing virtual doula support for mothers at all stages. "It's the work I am most proud and passionate about, both personally and professionally, and a natural evolution of where I stand as a woman and mother today," says Roach of her new endeavor, which offers virtual full spectrum doula support throughout the entire reproductive journey and certified lactation counseling because, as Roach puts it, "breastfeeding is a journey all its own."
This story originally appeared on: Vogue - Author:Lauren Valenti
