About Us
Supportive doula care for everyone at every stage.
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Our Mission
Founded by Julianne Curtis and Katie Piccolo, Northern Colorado's top labor doulas, the Northern Colorado Doula Collective is your go-to source for comprehensive support throughout your parenting journey. Our mission is to offer unparalleled care from preconception to parenting, anchored by our five core services: Labor/Birth Support, Postpartum Support, Lactation, Education, and Bereavement Support.
With our combined expertise and a commitment to personalized care, we ensure every family receives the support they need in a way that's best for them. Our team is committed to you at every stage of your journey.
Our Promise To You
We are so proud to bring you the benefits of the Noco Doula Collective. Some of the benefits of working with our team include:
Diverse Skill Sets: Our team offers doulas with different backgrounds, expertise, and specialties. Within the collective we are able to offer a vast array of services such as certified labor/birth doula support, hypno-doula support, postpartum doula services, belly binding, lactation, education, parent coaching, bereavement services and more. This diversity allows each client to find a doula who aligns with their specific needs and preferences. There is someone for everybody here.
Continuity of Care: We provide backup support for each other, ensuring that clients have continuous care even if their primary doula is unavailable due to illness, scheduling conflicts, or other reasons. We very much believe in the relationships that are built in our work and want you to have a team you feel comfortable with and can get to know well.
Shared Resources and Knowledge: Doulas within our collective have a vast amount of life and professional experience to be shared with each other. We also share resources, such as books, training materials, and best practices. We collaborate to solve problems and learn from each other's experiences, which ultimately benefits the clients we serve.
Community and Peer Support: Being part of a collective provides doulas with a supportive community of peers who understand the unique challenges and joys of doula work. This support network can be invaluable for personal and professional growth. We also love helping newer doulas get their start in business and experience. The work of a doula can be very lonely when you don’t have that team or community to support you.
Increased Availability: With multiple doulas available within the collective, our clients have a better chance of having a doula who is available to support them during labor, birth and postpartum, even on short notice.
Client Choice and Flexibility: Clients have the option to meet and interview multiple doulas within the collective before selecting the one they feel most comfortable with. This choice ensures that clients can find a doula who fits their personality, birth philosophy, and individual needs.
Collaboration with Healthcare Providers: Our collective strives to continue our positive reputation with providers in the community. We follow our scope of practice well and help to build relationships with healthcare providers, such as obstetricians, midwives, and hospital staff, which facilitates better communication and collaboration during the birth and postpartum process.
Inclusivity, Advocacy and Empowerment: Our Doulas share a commitment to helping our clients learn ways to advocate for themselves from conception through postpartum. We support our clients choices during pregnancy, labor, and childbirth without judgment. We aim to empower the knowledge our clients have for their needs and teach them that they deserve to feel safe, supported, heard and respected. This advocacy helps empower clients to make informed decisions about their care and feel more confident in their birthing experience.
Overall, our doula collective offers a supportive and collaborative environment for both doulas and their clients, promoting better outcomes and experiences during one of the biggest life transitions people will go through. We look forward to supporting your family.
Julianne and I have been eager to join forces for years, aiming to offer even more exceptional support for the families we serve, while also fostering a space where seasoned doulas and newcomers alike can thrive.
The opportunity to have a village of doulas dedicated to delivering outstanding, evidence based care to families in Northern Colorado from birth through the postpartum period and beyond is truly a dream come true for me!
- Katie Piccolo, Co-founder, NoCo Doula Collective
Our Core Services
Julianne and Katie bring a wealth of experience to provide physical, emotional, and informational support during labor and birth, ensuring a positive and informed birthing experience.
Transitioning to life with a newborn can be challenging. Our postpartum support offers practical help and emotional support, making the early days of parenthood smoother and more enjoyable.
We provide professional lactation support to address any feeding concerns, ensuring a comfortable and successful breastfeeding experience for both mother and baby.
Birth and Postpartum Education
Knowledge is empowering. We offer comprehensive workshops on various aspects of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care to equip families with the information they need to make informed decisions. Our workshops are included with most packages and are meant to compliment your childbirth education classes, not to replace them. These workshops are also offered to those who are not using our doula support for a fee.
In times of loss, our bereavement support provides compassionate care, helping families navigate their grief and honoring their experiences.
Working with Us
Choosing the Northern Colorado Doula Collective means gaining a team that truly understands the diverse paths of parenthood. We're committed to providing the tailored support and care each family needs, respecting your unique journey every step of the way. Whether you're preparing for birth, adjusting to new parenthood, or seeking specialized support, Julianne, Katie, and our entire team are here to guide and support you.
Labor & Birth
Postpartum
Education
Lactation
Bereavement
What Working With Us Is Like...
Here's what others have to say.
"Julianne really is your doula for life. She's a great support and advocate during pregnancy, birth, and after."
- Rebecca
"Throughout the entire journey into parenthood Katie always encouraged my husband and I to follow our instincts, and I think that is what makes her unique."
- Riley
"We had an idea of our ideal birth, but she gave us ideas and thoughts that allowed us to make an even more informed decision.
- Nicole
Our Media
Top Tips for Picking a Pediatrician
Top Tips for Picking a Pediatrician
As a new parent there are lots of important decisions to make when it comes to the health and well-being of your new baby. Choosing the perfect pediatrician is one such decision. As your trusted Fort Collins doula, I want to help you make the right decision for you, your family, and your baby. Rather than choosing off of a list of in-network HMO providers, web searches, or even referrals from friends and family, it’s important to choose a healthcare provider that aligns with you and the type of newborn and postpartum experience that you desire. Not only do you need to feel comfortable and at peace with this person, but you’ll more than likely be sitting in their waiting room for around 30% (give or take) of your life from your child’s birth to age 18, so it’s a much better experience all around when you feel seen, heard, and validated.
Here are a few tips to make sure that your pediatrician is the perfect fit for you.
First of all, it’s important to know what you want out of a health care provider. What experience do you ultimately want and what philosophies do you adhere to? Only from this point of knowledge can you choose a pediatrician that aligns with you and your wishes.
Make sure you understand how they approach certain situations such as newborn weight loss, breastfeeding, nutrition, newborn sleep, immunizations and vaccines, or any other topics that you may feel strongly about or are open to learning more about. A conversation about these topics will give you insight into the philosophy of the pediatrician.
What are the dynamics of the office? Are there multiple doctors that rotate calls? Is it easy to get through to your doctor or is there red tape? Do they return phone calls? Do all the doctors in the practice have similar philosophies? If the doctor is independent, who do they use for backup for vacations or illness?
Ensure that the practice is current when it comes to training and education regarding especially around infant sleep and feeding. They should be providing up-to-date evidenced based resources to you and your family.
Do you feel good about how after hours/weekends are handled? Do they have someone on-call to speak too or text with? Do they provide virtual or 24×7 options for care? It never fails, kids tend to get sick outside of normal business hours. Many providers now offer subscription services that include home visits, text/call support for 24 hours a day.
Once you choose a pediatrician, pay attention to how you feel when you’re in an appointment, how you feel when you leave the appointment, and how the staff makes you feel. If you ever feel off, unheard, or just downright shitty or anxious at any point when interacting with your pediatrician, it’s not a good match. You should your appointments feeling like an amazing capable parent, not a failure or a parent that isn’t taken seriously.
And remember, it’s always ok to switch if you’re not getting what you need. Because if you’re not getting what you need, your baby isn’t getting what they need.
I encourage you to be thorough in this process of choosing a pediatrician. Be as thorough in your research as you would be when buying a new car or house. This is an important decision not to be made lightly.
In addition to pediatricians there is a local wealth of amazing newborn, postpartum, and breastfeeding resources available in our community and as an experiencedFort Collins birth doula in our community I have meaningful relationships with many of them. You can check out my resource guide or ask me anytime for my recommendations and I’ll be happy to help! If you need any help or have any questions, I’m always here for you.
Click here to contact me with any questions or to set up a time to chat.
