Wherever and however you wish to birth, we are a community of doulas here to support you.
About us
In ancient Rome, Lucina was the title given to Juno, the goddess of childbirth who safeguarded the lives of women in labor.
We are a female-owned group of experienced doulas working in the Denver and surrounding areas to provide expert-level support services for our clients during pregnancy, birth and beyond.
Our goal is simple: provide an environment of safety, positivity and support for birthing people and their partners.
Our founders, Hirut and Carlee, created Lucina Rising BirthWork with one mission: make sure you have a confident and empowered pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience.
We are here to support, comfort, and encourage you, offering you a wealth of services throughout your entire journey.
Why us?
500+ families supported & 50+ years of combined experience. We provide cohesive support through pregnancy, birth and beyond by offering a variety of classes and support options.
Comprised of a team of doulas who care deeply about improving birth outcomes in our community, we participate in continuing education to provide modern, evidence-based care for all of our clients, regardless of how and where they wish to birth.
Meet our team
Hirut Endris
CO-FOUNDER
BIRTH DOULA / DAY & NIGHT TIME POSTPARTUM DOULA / ADVOCATE DOULA*
-
Hirut is originally from Ethiopia but lived most of her life in London. She now has settled down in Denver with her husband and two children.
Before her own birth story led her to birth work, Hirut worked as a surgical assistant in London. Her role always involved supporting and caring for others and using comfort measures on patients to relax them while they were undergoing surgical procedures using only local anaesthesia.
Hirut is now a birth and postpartum doula, she strongly believes that we are worthy of a positive birth story no matter who we are and where or how we choose to birth our children. Hirut believes every family deserves to be heard and respected in this big and beautiful time in our lives.
Carlee Bond
CO-FOUNDER
BIRTH DOULA / BIRTH & NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER / CHILDBIRTH EDUCATOR / ADVOCATE DOULA*
-
On an average day, you can find Carlee adventuring outdoors with her husband and two littles. She enjoys hiking and being around water, eating good Mediterranean and Mexican food, reading, drinking iced americanos, a solid thunderstorm, the spontaneity of birth, and playing games with her friends and family.
Carlee has been a doula since 2016. She provides intuitive care to her clients, knowing and believing that they will each have different goals and visions for their birth experience. She makes it her priority to connect with the families she works with and to help them feel comfortable and supported through the unpredictable journey that pregnancy and birth can be. Her ultimate goal is to carry peace into this season of transition for folks. Carlee cares deeply that her clients feel heard, seen, and validated in their emotions and their experiences.
She believes in creating a safe space for her clients to learn all of their options and then supporting them on whichever path they choose. Her work as a doula brings her immense joy and purpose! It is a perfect fit for her passionate, caring, and empath self.
Madison Swann
BIRTH DOULA / BIRTH & NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER / CHILDBIRTH EDUCATOR / ADVOCATE DOULA*
-
Madison is originally from Colorado and lives here with her husband and son. She is passionate about mental health, inclusivity, birth justice, and evidence-based education.
She has felt a passion for pregnancy and birth for most of her life, and after witnessing the gaps in her own care with the birth of her son, she finally decided that it was time to pursue a career in birth. She wanted to help birthing people become educated so that they can make informed decisions regarding their care. She wanted to help birthing people and their partners feel empowered to ask questions and voice concerns in the birth space. Most of all, she wanted to help make birthing experiences powerful transformations for the families she works with. Madison believes that not only babies are born during births, but parents are born as well.
Some of Madison’s favorite things are her family (her husband Nick, her son Finnley, and her 2 kitties- Nacho and Esqueleto); spending time outdoors, especially anywhere near the water; creating-writing, painting, and such; FOOD! (She loves trying things from different cultures); and learning new things- she is always trying to expand her knowledge base and absorb all the info she can!
Rebeka Torres (Beka)
BIRTH DOULA / BIRTH & NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER / DAYTIME POSTPARTUM DOULA / ADVOCATE DOULA*
-
Rebeka is a goofy, down to earth, light-hearted presence. She believes all birthing people should feel safe, heard, supported and empowered throughout their whole journey. Beka was raised in Texas and relocated to Colorado in 2021 and immediately became integrated in the Colorado birth scene. When not at a birth, you can find Beka out enjoying the beauty of Colorado’s scenery; trail walking, relaxing by a lake, roller skating or simply enjoying the weather.
Beka creates a calm peaceful environment in the birth space, enjoys creating relationships with her clients and their families & loves capturing birth as the beautiful event it is! She is incredibly genuine in the way she approaches this work, and you can feel that through every interaction with her. She believes in the care being client-led. She is incredible at the balance of guiding clients while also empowering them to go within themselves- their feelings and desires- to help guide them in the process as well. She believes each client should feel that they are in control of what they can be about their experience, and helping them navigate the things they cannot control. With a reassuring presence and strong, grounding words of encouragement as priority, Beka helps all of her clients feel safe through their experience.
Caitlin Peace
BIRTH DOULA / ADVOCATE DOULA*
-
Caitlin is a light-hearted, fun, yet intentional presence. She will make you laugh and also help keep you steady. A few of her favorite things include cats, yoga, chocolate, traveling, cooking, Beyoncé, live music, and listening to podcasts!
Caitlin felt an ancestral calling towards birthwork in 2018 after learning more about the state of maternal outcomes for Black Women in the United States. As a self-described birth nerd, Caitlin frequently attends trainings to learn more about how to best support her clients on topics like pain management, breastfeeding, and full spectrum support.
Caitlin’s client approach is to support the whole person - physically, mentally, and emotionally. She believes in creating and supporting a space in which folks feel empowered and safe at every stage in their journey.
Elisha Hanshue
BIRTH DOULA / BIRTH & NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER / POSTPARTUM DOULA / PLACENTA SPECIALIST / ADVOCATE DOULA*
-
Elisha is a kind and warm person, who will immediately make you feel comfortable and like a friend. Some of her favorite things are rainy weather, listening to podcasts, photographing all the flowers and plants, grilled cheese sandwiches, seeing live music and comedy, dismantling learned belief systems, and ice cream.
Elisha has attended a few different birth doula trainings which has enabled her to approach her clients with a wealth of information and a collaborative mindset made of different viewpoints on how to be a great doula that she learned from each training.
Elisha views birth through a lens that shows us how deeply transformative and connective it can truly be. She loves being able to share her adoration of physiology alongside with utilizing her empathy and believes that doula work is the perfect pairing of both. She strives to educate and advocate for ALL parents and families to create empowered and positive outcomes - however birth unfolds.
Ambrosia Meikle
BIRTH DOULA / OVERNIGHT POSTPARTUM DOULA / CHILDBIRTH EDUCATOR
-
Ambrosia is extremely kind and intentional and is incredibly skilled on meeting people exactly where they’re at. A few of her favorite things include hiking, skiing, a warm London Fog, and the enjoyment of flossing regularly!
It is Ambrosia’s commitment to create a safe space powered by aligned guidance and education for birthing people and their partners. Since launching her childbirth services in 2016, Ambrosia has served hundreds of families as a birth and postpartum doula. Before taking on her role as a childbirth educator and postpartum nurturer, Ambrosia was a surrogate for a family overseas.
What Ambrosia loves most about Doula work is being the calmest energy in the room. Being safety allows her to support birthing people into connecting with their own innate knowledge.
Bentley Porterfield-Finn
LACTATION EDUCATOR / CHILDBIRTH EDUCATOR
-
Bentley is a calming presence who brings a wealth of knowledge to the birthing space. Raised in Colorado, the mountains are her favorite place to be. Her ideal day is spent exploring alpine lakes with her husband and their daughter. Some of Bentley’s favorite things are chocolate, hiking/backpacking, mystery novels, baking sourdough, and road trips.
Birth equity and inclusivity drive Bentley’s work both in and out of the birthing space. As a Black woman, she is passionate about improving birth outcomes for marginalized communities. She has experience support BIPOC and LGBTQ+ families in Colorado. She also received her Master’s degree in Communications Studies from Colorado State University, where she researched the intersections of social support, identity, and health communication in the birthing contexts. And most importantly, Bentley loves the deep and long-lasting relationships she forms with her clients.
Bentley’s intention is to empower birthing people by providing them with evidence-based tools to inform, and trust, their intuition.
Solymar Serrano
BIRTH DOULA / POSTPARTUM DOULA / YOGA INSTRUCTOR
-
Soly is incredible at making people feel safe and calm and find their inner peace through yoga and in the birth space. Some of their favorite things are staying up late with a book, singing, holding space, holding babies, fresh flowers, and sweet potatoes in any form.
Soly has been holding space for others as a yoga teacher since she was 19 years old, and uses their experience to make any space feel safe and sacred. They use their anatomical knowledge from yoga to help birthing people find movements and positions that help them cope during labor.
Birthwork has taught Soly that birth is about more than making babies, and she takes great honor in supporting people as they birth themselves into parents.
Sondra Hamilton
DAY POSTPARTUM DOULA / HERBALIST / AYURVEDIC POSTPARTUM CAREGIVER
-
Sondra carries an extremely warm and calming energy and presence. She works intentionally with the wisdom and elements of Mother Nature. Sondra has lived all over and spent many years living in Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru.
Her work as an Ayurvedic Doula focuses on balancing the elements of ether air, fire, water, and earth in the body; by means of herbal teas, belly binding, sitz baths, whole foods of your ancestry, abhyanga (oil massage) and ritual. By bringing the birther back to their constitutional balance then their nervous system can regulate the baby's nervous system. Sondra brings a wealth of wisdom from the indigenous cultures she has lived among and the importance of honoring the forty-two days of rest, while at the same time awakening the physiologic postpartum care, the re-membering of our global postpartum traditions. Sondra also provides optional services in various rituals for the mother and father, birth story integration and ceremony of burying the placenta.
Sondra holds a safe container and supports the birther in healing on all levels physically and emotionally. Her passion for this work extends by offering families postpartum care for miscarriages and honoring the grief.
Shaina Khalid
BIRTH DOULA / DAY & NIGHT POSTPARTUM DOULA
-
Shaina is determined to create a difference in the community that surrounds her through her work as a birth and postpartum doula. Some of her favorite things are moody flower arrangements, her hairless cat Thursday, a good cup of coffee, and kettle head toasted cinnamon popcorn.
Shaina provides a safe space for birthing people to express their feelings, concerns, and joys during this transitional phase. She offers empathetic listening and validation, helping parents navigate the rollercoaster of emotions that often accompany the postpartum period. Whether it's assisting with newborn care, light household chores, or meal preparation, Shaina lends a helping hand to alleviate the practical burdens that tend to overwhelm.
Kassidy Phelps
OVERNIGHT POSTPARTUM DOULA
-
Kass is a mother of two boys, doula, and somatic practitioner. She lives just outside of Denver as she has for 8 years since she moved from Southern California. Some of her favorite things are sitting outside in the sun, meditation, dancing, travel, fresh summer fruit, and conversations about the beauty of life, energy, and motherhood.
What Kass love most about birth work is the opportunity to hold loving space for families in such big transitions. Being able to answer any questions, help calm the mind, and help to provide a safe and calm birthing or postpartum experience is such an honor. In her doula work she has learned that having someone to cheer you on or fill in the gaps (with education, listening ears, or evidence based support) can make a world of difference.
Eyde Cerda
PLACENTA SPECIALIST
-
Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Eyde relocated to the Denver area in August of 2022 with her wife, JJ. Since arriving, she's happily switched out her summer wear for a good pair of Blundstones and is loving calling Colorado home. Some of her favorite things are movie nights at home, fresh tulips, fancy grocery stores, loud thunder, and hosting dinner for friends and family.
Eyde brings a great amount of intention to this work. Shas worked in many capacities since becoming a certified birth doula in 2017. From attending births in both hospitals and homes to managing a team of midwives for a high-volume birth center in downtown Dallas, she has gained invaluable wisdom from the vibrant birth community throughout Texas where she was fortunate to begin her practice. A Bachelor of Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies, Eyde is passionate about social justice and the feminist framework of intersectionality. Though excited about serving any and all families, she has intentionally designed her work to support and protect the birth experiences of LGBTQIA+ families, teen parents, and single parents.
* Advocate Doula: This doula has taken a specialized training, Keeping your Power:Advocacy in Action, with TraciDoula to learn how to be a strong advocate for birthers in their birth space, with special attention to advocating without creating animosity with your birth team.
