Today we’d like to introduce you to Monica Wilkinson.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have wanted to be involved with childbirth in one way or another for as long as I can remember. I’ve just always been drawn to birth. I got married, had 6 children and put my dreams on the back burner as I dedicated my life to my family.
When my youngest started school I felt the need to find a new calling but I wasn’t sure what to do and my dreams of being a midwife or labor and delivery nurse didn’t seem feasible any more. So…I prayed. I got the overwhelming feeling that something was coming my way but I needed to be patient. I waited. And waited some more. And I kept praying, consistently feeling “just wait…something is coming.” This limbo period went on for 8 months.
In May of 2019 I went to my sister-in-law’s home birth to support her and take some pictures. Having had 6 children of my own (3 unmedicated) I knew intuitively that she needed a bit more support than she was getting. Her husband and midwife were amazing, birthing women just need a lot of support! So I jumped in and, with their permission, I started talking her through contractions. I didn’t know about counter pressure, helpful positions, visualization, acupressure, etc., at the time but I massaged her tired body, breathed with her, and helped with coaching and encouragement. I did this for hours. After her birth the midwife asked me how long I had been a doula. I responded “what’s a doula?”
The following days and weeks it’s all I could think about. I read everything I could get my hands on and quickly found a doula training, got certified, and started attending births. Finding this work has been like discovering my natural habitat. I love it with my whole soul.
A year into my doula work, I began noticing a gap between the births my clients were planning and the births they were actually experiencing. The gap seemed to be educational. People wanted positive birth experiences—they just didn’t have the knowledge, tools, and preparation to navigate birth in the way they hoped. So I went to work finding a training that I aligned with and became a certified childbirth educator.
In 2023, I realized I had added so much content to the course that it had slowly become my own. I was also getting more and more requests for an online version—something people could share with friends and family in other states.
And that’s how Integrated Birth, a three-year passion project released in July 2026, was born.
Integrated Birth is a comprehensive online childbirth education course designed to prepare the whole person who steps into the birth space—**body, mind, soul, and self.**
I didn’t want to lose the feeling of being in a room together, so I recorded 200+ short videos and partnered with a world-class adult learning course creator to make the experience engaging and easy to use, while still being packed with evidence-based information.
The result is a course that feels personal, approachable, and human—but gives expecting parents the depth of information and preparation they need to walk into birth feeling truly prepared and confident.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The first three years of my doula career, I was desperate for experience. It was hard to find clients, and I was constantly trying to figure out how to get into the birth room. It was 2020, and many hospitals would only allow certified doulas to attend births—but I needed to attend births in order to get certified!
I slowly pieced together enough out-of-hospital births to complete my requirements, and I became certified in early 2021. The following two years were slow. I hustled to network, build a brand, and make a name for myself.
Then, three years into my career, something shifted. In January of 2023, I was booked through June.
It hasn’t really changed since. I take 2–6 births a month, and I regularly refer people to my doula partners and friends because my calendar is full. 7 years later I’ve attended 135 births and counting. My clients become my dear friends and the relationships we build mean the world to me.
Now, I’m experiencing that same challenge with Integrated Birth. The course is new. Google doesn’t trust my website or product yet. People don’t know how dramatically this course can change the way they experience their birth.
So, I’m back on the hustle train. The difference is that this time, I know what happens when you don’t give up.
I believe emphatically in this product. I know how much work went into creating it, and I know it can change lives. The feedback I’m receiving has been incredibly positive, and I’ve seen the difference firsthand in my own clients who have taken the course.
So yes, marketing a new course is a challenge. But I’ve been here before.
I know what it feels like to start with an empty calendar and build something people believe in. I know that good things take time to gain momentum. And I’m not giving up.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Our mission : We can do better.
As a birth worker who has witnessed both the sacred beauty of respectful childbirth and the heartbreaking moments when women feel unheard, dismissed, or stripped of their autonomy, I am on a mission to change the way we prepare for and experience birth.
At Integrated Birth, we believe real change begins with education. When parents understand birth, know their options, and feel empowered to participate in decisions about their care, the standard of care begins to rise. Better-informed families lead to better birth experiences, fewer unnecessary interventions, and healthier outcomes for mothers and babies.
Our mission is simple: to simplify birth. To bring birth back to its roots by centering the woman, honoring physiology, and equipping families with the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions.
This course naturally moves parents from fear to confidence, and we can’t wait for you to see this transformation within your own hearts and minds.
Integrated Birth
Science + Soul. Evidence + Intuition.
Integrated Birth is a whole-person childbirth education course designed to help you feel confident, prepared, and empowered as you enter one of the most transformative experiences of your life.
We believe birth is more than a physical event. It is just as much emotional, mental, spiritual, and deeply personal. And because every person brings their own personality, experiences, fears, strengths, preferences, and beliefs into the birth room, preparing for birth should be about more than simply learning what happens to your body.
Integrated Birth brings together mind, body, soul, self, and postpartum to help you prepare for the whole experience.
Mind:
Develop the mental skills to stay calm, focused, and resilient during childbirth. Explore pain, coping strategies, mindfulness, hypnosis, sports psychology, communication, decision-making, interventions, birth planning, and tools for reducing fear and anxiety.
Body:
Understand the physiology of birth and learn practical ways to support your body through labor. You’ll explore labor positions, pelvic mobility, fetal positioning, birth hormones, cervical dilation, the stages of labor, and advanced physical comfort measures.
Soul:
Birth can be a deeply meaningful and transformative experience. Integrated Birth gives you space to explore your own spiritual journey through pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and parenthood—whatever spirituality means to you.
Self:
This is where Integrated Birth becomes truly personal. Your personality influences how you process information, respond to challenges, cope with discomfort, communicate, and experience the world around you. You’ll explore your personality, preferences, patterns, and unique needs so you can stop trying to do birth “right” and instead create an experience that is aligned with you. You’ll learn how to personalize your birth, communicate what matters to you, and curate a truly intentional birth.
Postpartum:
Preparation doesn’t stop when the baby is born. You’ll also learn about postpartum planning, breastfeeding, nutrition, hormones, your baby’s needs, your own recovery, and tools for recognizing and reducing the risk of postpartum mood challenges.
For Every Kind of Birth:
Integrated Birth isn’t just for people planning an unmedicated birth. The course provides valuable tools for those planning an epidural, those hoping to avoid interventions, those preparing for a cesarean, and those who simply want to understand their options and feel more confident navigating whatever happens.
It is designed for first-time parents and experienced parents, single parents and those with involved partners, and families planning hospital or out-of-hospital births. Partners and support people are encouraged to participate at no additional cost.
More Than Information:
The goal isn’t simply to give you more information. It’s to help you know what to do with it. You’ll learn how to ask better questions, communicate with your care team, advocate for yourself, understand your options, recognize what is happening during labor, and make informed decisions that align with your values.
Most importantly, you’ll develop the confidence and resilience to meet your birth as an active participant—not a passive observer.
Because we can’t promise you a particular birth. But we can help you prepare for it.
What they will come away feeling confident about:
You’ll come away feeling confident in your ability to understand what’s happening, know your options, communicate with your care team, and advocate for yourself throughout birth. You’ll feel prepared to navigate the unexpected, trust yourself, and actively participate in your birth—however it unfolds.
The Meaning Behind the Brand:
My brand was very intentionally chosen. Birth is a whole-person experience. It affects—and is affected by—every part of us: our bodies, our minds, our emotions, our beliefs, our experiences, our relationships, and our sense of self. I wanted the name Integrated Birth to reflect the idea that we don’t prepare for birth by focusing on just one piece of the puzzle. We prepare by bringing all of these parts of ourselves together—integrating them—so we can step into birth as a more whole, grounded, and prepared person.
The tree represents this beautifully.
The roots represent grounding, foundation, and the knowledge and experiences that shape us. The trunk represents the individual—strong, adaptable, and constantly growing. The branches reach outward, representing the many parts of our lives and the different directions birth can take. And the leaves represent growth, possibility, and the people and relationships that surround us.
There is also something important about the unity of the tree. The roots, trunk, branches, and leaves are not separate systems. They work together. What happens in one part affects the whole.
That is the heart of Integrated Birth.
We can learn about the physiology of labor, but physiology doesn’t exist separately from our thoughts and emotions. We can prepare our minds, but our minds don’t exist separately from our bodies. Our values influence our decisions. Our past experiences influence how we approach the unknown. Our relationships influence how supported we feel. And our sense of self influences how we show up in the birth space.
Everything is connected.
The circle surrounding the tree represents wholeness, unity, and harmony—a reminder that all of these pieces belong together.
And perhaps most importantly, the tree represents growth.
You don’t have to arrive at birth perfectly prepared, completely fearless, or knowing exactly what will happen. The goal isn’t perfection. The goal is to grow in knowledge, confidence, self-awareness, and trust so that you can meet your birth with as much preparation and presence as possible.
Integrated Birth is about bringing all of you to birth. Mind. Body. Soul. Self. And trusting that when those pieces are connected, you are better equipped to navigate whatever comes next.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Don’t do this work alone. Birth work is HARD. Having partners and a birth community to reach out to, back you up, process hard experiences with, and simply remind you that other people get it has been sustaining for me.
I did it alone for three years, and I wish I had partnered up or joined a community much sooner. Find your people. You don’t have to figure everything out by yourself.
Don’t quit. Every rejection is an opportunity to reflect. Ask for feedback. Pay attention to what your community wants and needs. Learn to trust the ebbs and flows of this work. When things are slow, work on your website, create content, build relationships—or rest. When you’re busy, lean on your community, ask for help, and give yourself time to recover after births.
There will be seasons of hustle and seasons of rest. Both are part of building a sustainable birth practice.
Never stop learning. Every birth that doesn’t go the way you hoped is an opportunity to learn. Instead of beating yourself up, get curious. What happened? What didn’t you understand? Where are your gaps? Then fill them. Take a class. Read the research. Talk to another doula. Find a mentor. Ask questions. Keep growing.
You don’t have to know everything. You just have to be willing to keep learning.
Pricing:
- Online Integrated Birth Course – $395
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.integratedbirth.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/integratedbirthcourse
