Kristen Karls

Birth Doula, Postpartum Doula, Certified Lactation Counselor, Birth Consultant, Prenatal and Postpartum Core Exercise Specialist, Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 200), Spinning Babies Trained

Kristen is a Birth and Postpartum Doula with Doulas of Marquette. Some of you may recognize her from her role as a prenatal and postpartum yoga teacher at Be Well. It is a passion of hers to assist women in deepening their connection to self from the birthing years onward. She firmly believes that YOU know your body best, and when you really hone in that inner wisdom, then you get to be the one in charge of your journey rather than just along for the ride.

Her journey toward women’s health and birth work began with the birth of her son. She was fortunate to have a close friend who happened to be a midwife support her as a doula. After their son, Atlas, was born they talked about how different things could have been without our birth team. She knew then that this was something she wanted to do for other women. She decided after her son was older to attend doula training with DONA International, worked as a doula for a number of years, then took some time off from doula work to care for herself and family. Her heart stayed connected to mothers through prenatal and mama and me yoga classes.

After the birth of their daughter, Indira, her focus began to shift towards postpartum women’s health. She began training as a Prenatal/Postpartum Core Exercise Specialist with Dr. Sarah Duvall, with extensive training on pelvic floor health. It brings her such deep joy to see the “ah-ha” look on a woman’s face as she re-learns better breathing techniques, better body mechanics, and better body awareness after, quite possibly, years of moving their body on autopilot.

Empowering women, whether it’s in their birth journey or health journey, is her true path in life, her dharma. It is a big part of what gives her purpose in life. Outside of work, you can find her on the trails, be it running in the summer or cross-country skiing in the winter, with her children and their dog Lucy