A Mother’s Touch

PreNatal Massage & Doula Care Service

 

My name is Demaris Rae Bruce and I am a 46-year old, happily married woman of 22 years, and the mother of three small children (including 7-year old twin girls). I work with new mothers during pregnancy, at birth, and in the home after the baby’s arrival. I am a doula.

 

I have been providing these types of services to women almost my entire adult life: my first “birth” was the birth of my brother’s child…from that day on I knew that I was meant to help women through the throes of childbirth and the challenges of becoming a mother. I became a massage therapist, specializing in pregnancy, to further this goal. I am a graduate of The Institute for Holistic Studies and have been a California state-certified massage therapist since 1986. I studied natural health and alternative healing for women with naturopaths and midwives in Oregon, Hawaii and California. I am a graduate of DouLA: Birth Partners of Los Angeles and have taken advanced labor support training from Penny Simkin, Dr. Marshall Klaus, and Henci Goer. I am certified as a birth doula by Doulas of North America (DONA) and as a postpartum doula by both DONA and NAPCS (National Association of Postpartum Care Services).

 

In 1996 I decided to expand the services I had been providing to new mothers and I opened A Mother's Touch, Prenatal Massage & Doula Care Service. We provide birth and postpartum doulas, pregnancy massage and birth consultation services to new families in the greater Los Angeles area, including Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

 

During this time I also became involved with the formation of a local professional organization for doulas and I served for three years on the board of Doulas Association of Southern California. As Director of Public Relations I established the DASC referral system and designed an internet website, as Director of Program I developed educational and informative workshops for our members, and as Vice President I established a lending library and continued to develop continuing education opportunities for professional doulas.

 

Upon leaving the DASC board, I focused my energies on doula training and co-founded The Doula Institute, an educational organization for doulas. I trained doulas for DONA, NAPCS and other organizations for a period of 5 years and am co-author of several books on becoming a doula. I also teach “Baby Basics” classes to new parents as a consulting partner to Birth and Beyond Parent Education Center in Santa Monica.

 

Before my career as a doula, I attended college at University of California (Davis & Los Angeles) and at California State University, Long Beach. I worked in the electronics industry as a financial analyst and owned and operated a small bookkeeping and tax preparation service. During my spare time I enjoy jewelry making, gardening, camping and singing, and of course, spending time with my kids.

 

But my first love is being a doula…and helping families get off to a good start, one baby at a time!

 

Postpartum Care Client References for Demaris Rae Bruce

 

 

 

Sheri Lambie

(310) 645-1694

March 2004

 

Patti Reiss

(310) 472-5997

October 2003

 

Luci Hise

(310) 390-3551

September 2003

 

Beth Kaufman

(818) 784-7019

July 2003

 

Lynde Kaufman

(310) 581-2990

June 2003

 

Christina MacCullem

(818) 597-8214

April 2003

 

Dana Wakefield

(323) 665-6610

September 2002

 

Debbie Banner Rose

(323) 954-8125

July 2002

 

Pam Cohen

(310) 839-2795

March/April 2002

 

Cindy Scott

(805) 523-7288

September 2001