Hidden Gems: Meet Jodi Graves of Michigan Family Doulas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jodi Graves

Hi Jodi, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I suffered immeasurably at the hands of doctors with birth of my first child and then later during my postpartum recovery with my second child. I suffered with postpartum anxiety & depression so severe that I was hospitalized without my consent and treated like a criminal. I sat with this pain and the subsequent shame for nearly 17 years before I could even start to tell my story….I had no choice but to turn my experiences into something besides that pain & shame. And so….my agency (Michigan Family Doulas) was born!

Fast forward to today, Jodi is now the CEO of a million-dollar birth and postpartum doula agency in Michigan. Jodi is a peer-reviewed, published author, speaker, and birth & postpartum rights advocate. She became a doula in 1999, during a time when no one knew what a doula was! Jodi recognizes that there is a war against women’s bodily autonomy right now and has made it her life’s mission to help win that war.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Jodi Graves’ experience with postpartum depression and anxiety—in a time when no one believed that postpartum depression was a real thing—was the very catalyst for her business and her healing. From not being listened to, to ending up in an ER where the physician wouldn’t come into the room for an exam because he thought her suffering wasn’t real, to waking up in a psych ward with no idea where she was or why. After hiding the shame and embarrassment of that event for years, Jodi Graves thought she was alone and that no one would ever understand. One day she decided she couldn’t hold on to it any longer! So, Jodi began weaving her story into something that could help other people. That story became a mission and a purpose!

Jodi then opened her birth & postpartum doula agency from nothing more than an idea and a bit of rage as fuel and built it into a million-dollar agency that’s poised to push for the biggest changes that the birth industry has ever seen. Jodi’s story is about taking those lemons that life gives you and making a big, giant, glistening vat of lemonade that can be used to hydrate the entire country!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Michigan Family Doulas?
What sets MFD apart from countless others is that our purpose is clear and always has been-we do this work so that women and their families feel supported and cared for, listened to and respected. We do this work so that women don’t have to die at the hands of a medical system that is both ill equipped and also only cares only about their bottom line. We believe the best advice is evidence based, and professionalism & integrity are a daily way of life. I want the world to know that MFD stands up for birthing people and their rights. We stand up for informed consent! Make no mistake, even though we are principled and have goals, none of this has been easy. Sometimes I have to make things up as we go….sometimes I have to ‘phone a friend’ to get advice about what to do about a problem. But, I have built this agency from literally nothing more than a dream and some rage as fuel and I won’t stop until everyone knows what a doula is. I won’t stop until we re-vamp our entire birth & postpartum care system in the United States. I won’t stop until no more women die unnecessarily or report feeling abused in labor & delivery. There’s so much more work to be done!

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Is it possible bad luck can be turned into good luck? The idea of lemons into lemonade again! Join Jodi in this movement as she acts now to take back women and birthing peoples rights and completely overhaul the old system that is literally killing women, in record numbers. Let go of your own shame and join Jodi in this fight!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://michiganfamilydoulas.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michiganfamilydoulas/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/people/Michigan-Family-Doulas/61554668221740/

Image Credits
https://brookeleighphotographer.com/