Articles

At Women's Web, we believe we can not only create unique content but that by doing so, we can also allow girls' and women's voices to resonate with sincerity, conviction and passion.

Our authors have knowledge and expertise in a broad range of areas, from parenting and body image to relationships and nutrition … and everything in between.

Authors and contributors

Jennifer Vanderlaan

Check out Jennifer's articles in our Pregnancy section!

Jennifer Vanderlaan is a childbirth educator and doula who has been helping families give birth since 1999. She studied physiology and psychology at Michigan State University, earning her BS in both subjects. After the birth of her daughter, she certified as a childbirth educator and began teaching independent childbirth classes in 2000. That led to her working as a doula, and she has been certified with Doulas of North America since 2002.

Jennifer has been active improving women’s access to birth services. In 2001, she created a volunteer doula program to provide free doulas to pregnant teens and single mothers in her area. She also created the Natural Childbirth Directory, the largest free listing of childbirth educators, doulas and midwives around the world, to help women find support wherever they may live.

Her web site, BirthingNaturally.net, provides a wide selection of articles about pregnancy and giving birth to help families educate themselves and plan for birth. Her articles and materials are used by childbirth educators and doulas around the world. Her most uniqe contribution has been the Virtual Labor, a game that uses random responses to help women explore comfort measures for giving birth. She was also involved in the creation of a certification program for the Cascade Christian Childbirth Association.

Jennifer's passion for birth goes beyond the experiences of women in developed countries, so in 2007, she created the Global Day of Prayer for Birth to help raise awareness of the needs of women in developing nations. As a result of the first prayer day, Jennifer began a program to train skilled birth attendants in Central Africa. The first trainings will be held in August 2008.

Jennifer continues to expand her skills and knowledge. She is currently pursuing nursing education, expecting to have her BSN in December 2009 and then moving straight into masters level training. She will use this education to help train more skilled birth attendants in central Africa and other regions of the world that lack health services.

[ Back to Top ]