Today we’d like to introduce you to Daun Duncan.
Hi Daun, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am Daun (pronounced like Dawn, the u is for Unique) a wife, a Mama to two beautiful children, a daughter, a sister, and a friend. I am a proud graduate of Spelman College and The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. I am the CEO and Owner of Daun of New Day, LLC, providing postpartum and wellness services. I have worked in the mental health and case management field for over 10 years before becoming a postpartum doula. I have always worked in the space of helping and serving others, specifically working in mental health. I have supported individuals with mild to severe mental health disorders, process traumas and triggers, while finding new ways to cope and manage stress. I have also supported children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities and seniors with physical disabilities. I have worked as a case manager, providing individual support with daily living skills and helping people manage their healthcare and social service needs. After having my first child, I felt a tug on my heart that I wanted to work in a more meaningful area, still supporting people and helping them become the best versions of themselves. Still, I wasn’t quite sure what area I wanted to transition into or how my career would evolve in this way.
Fast forward to having my second child in the fall of 2020 (so in the thick of the pandemic). I experienced severe postpartum depression. While I would like to think that many factors contributed to this, one major thing was living in isolation, thanks to the pandemic. During this time, my mother was able to work from home (a blessing of the pandemic), so she came to stay with us and supported me – like doing my laundry, cooking meals for the family, tending to my firstborn, making sure I was eating and resting, etc. She was like my postpartum doula.
After participating in a postpartum support group and learning that one of the other mothers participating had the support of a postpartum doula, I began researching this area of the profession, learning about different training organizations, and ultimately found my way to the National Black Doula Association. At the time, I did not know what I needed to do to become a postpartum doula, but a fire was lit in me, and the flame continued to burn. After completing my doula training, I took a herbalist course called “Grandma’s Hands: Pregnancy and Postpartum Herbs and Nutrition in the Southern Tradition”. This course taught me about Granny midwives, healing herbs, and soothing nutritional meals that should be utilized to help heal the body from the inside out, during postpartum. In that course, our final assignment was to make something using an herb or ingredient discussed in the course. I chose to make a herbal tea Infusion, and that was the start of the birth of my wellness product line, The After Glow: Postpartum Self-Care Recovery Kit.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It is challenging to become an entrepreneur, to say the least; it’s like you don’t know what you don’t know until you need to know it. Through it all, I had to learn how to show up in spaces and figure things out as I go along. It definitely could have been a smoother road.
As a one-woman show, I have to service clients: order inventory, craft products, market services, and products, track revenue, draft documents (invoices, contracts), troubleshoot website tech issues, etc., essentially wearing so many different hats all at once, is a challenge in itself.
As a mother of two toddlers and a wife, it is often challenging to juggle all my responsibilities, but I continue to push forward because I know I am walking toward my purpose. Because of this, I have learned to find the beauty in the process, in the process of learning all the ins and outs of being an entrepreneur. And in learning to pivot and change courses when needed.
I love that I support moms, birthing people during such a pivotal time in their lives. During this time, they are literally recovering from their child’s birth while rebirthing a new version of themselves. I love that I hold space for women and birthing people to feel seen, heard, supported, and affirmed, literally holding their hand while they (hold their baby) navigate their way through postpartum and new parenthood. And because of this love, it makes all the challenges and struggles not to seem so bad!
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Daun of a New Day, LLC?
Daun of a New Day LLC, located in Baltimore, MD, provides in-home and virtual postpartum doula services and wellness products to promote self-care and healing throughout the postpartum period.
As a postpartum doula I provide evidence-based information and compassionate support around postpartum issues such as maternal recovery, newborn care, breastfeeding/bottle feeding, baby soothing and sleeping, assistance with sibling transition, nursery organization, nutrition, mental and emotional wellness, connection with local family resources, and more. I extensive experience providing support for postpartum mental health issues, including baby blues, postpartum depression, and other postpartum mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs). This level of postpartum support typically occurs within the first three months after bringing home a new baby.
I consider myself to be a knowledgeable source for breastfeeding support and navigating life with “Two under Two.” As a mother of two, I breastfed each of my children for over a year. I have received training in Ethnobotany, specifically using indigenous herbs and nutrition in pregnancy and postpartum and I draw on this knowledge to provide support for maternal recovery.
In addition to this Our AfterGlow Postpartum, Self-Care Recovery products are handcrafted in Baltimore, MD, and address postpartum’s mental, emotional and physical aspects. These products are formulated with natural herbs that promote healing and restoration for new Mamas after giving birth. We use food-grade glass jars and steel tins to repurpose their use. Our products were created out of personal need but with every Mama in mind.
The current collection of products includes:
1. Postpartum Nourish Tea: boosts immunity and calms the nervous system to reduce insomnia
2. Mommy Brain Tea: rejuvenates the nervous system and enhances the ability to be mentally present
3. Liquid Gold Tea: boosts milk supply and confidence in the breastfeeding journey
4. Nipple Butter: a balm that protects and moisturizes the nipples from the discomforts of breastfeeding
5. Mama Massage Oil: reduces belly itching, combats stretch marks, and promotes C-section healing
6. Perineal Cooling Water: a spray that calms any perineal discomfort and soothes any perineal trauma, tearing, and hemorrhoids.
7. Sitz Bath: an herbal tea blend for your private parts. It soothes tears, bruises, stitches, and hemorrhoids.
Readers should know that recovering from giving birth, whether vaginally or via a Cesarean (-c section), can be a long and challenging process. Research shows that postpartum doulas positively impact postpartum adjustment, including reducing perinatal mood disorders, improving breastfeeding success, and increasing self-confidence. As a postpartum doula and newborn care specialist, I aid in the transition into parenthood for parents and the transition into personhood for the baby. I tailor the level of support provided to the specific needs of each Mama and family. By hiring me as your postpartum doula, your family can focus on what is most important; bonding with your new baby!
Any mama (parent) who would like extra help once the baby is born could benefit from a postpartum doula. However, the services of a postpartum doula would significantly benefit you (and your partner) if:
-You are first-time parents or new parents with limited experience with newborns
-You are parents expecting multiple and caring for multiple children
-You have little to no local support
-You are at risk of experiencing postpartum depression and anxiety
-You experienced premature birth, a difficult delivery, and a Cesarean birth
-You are a mama who has been on bed rest throughout pregnancy
-You are preparing to return to work after maternity (parental) leave
-You need support with breastfeeding, pumping, bottle feeding, and formula feeding
-You have a baby with special needs
-You have a baby with colic or reflux
-You need support with newborn sleep practices
-You are experiencing postpartum mental health issues, including baby blues, postpartum depression, and other postpartum mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs)
-You need resources for additional providers such as nutritionists, therapists, chiropractors, pelvic floor therapists, etc
Brand-wise – I am most proud of The After Glow Postpartum Self-Care Recovery Kit – not only have I birthed beautiful beings and a business, I then birthed 7 unique hand-crafted products filled with intention and hopes for Mamas and birthing people to love and care for themselves during their postpartum recovery.
Audre Lorde stated that “Caring for yourself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” So, I believe my work as a postpartum doula is radical. My self-care wellness product line is radical – and here’s why: As a Black woman, it is common to adopt this narrative of being the strong Black woman, not needing or asking for help, and that’s great. It helps motivates us to get all the things done. But it should not be to the detriment of our health and lives, causing us to not ask for help and not to take time to rest and recover. So I am on a mission to remind Black women, especially, to take time to take care of themselves. After you have a baby, during postpartum, one of the most delicate times in a woman’s life, she is recovering from an experience in which giving birth is a matter of life and death, especially for Black women. Black women are 3.5 times more likely to die from birth-related causes between 6 weeks and 1 year postpartum. So I want readers to know how important it is to practice self-care in life in general, but specifically how important it is to do so during the postpartum period. I want Black women, especially, to know that this level of support exists, that it should be utilized, and that they also deserve the help they need during the postpartum period!
We’d love to hear about your fond memories of growing up.
One of my favorite childhood memories has to be one of my family’s Fourth of July Cookouts in my great-grandmother’s yard. It was one of the few times a year that my entire family would all be in the same place. My great-grandmother had 7 kids, and their kids had more kids and more and more. So, I have a pretty big family.
But on the Fourth of July, we celebrated life, love, and family. I can still smell the food cooking on the grill, some of my cousins in the street playing football, and my other cousins playing double dutch. I remember the old-school jams playing on the radio and my grandmother and her siblings dancing in the yard. Now that I am an adult and many of my family have relocated to different cities, it is hard to get the whole family together in this way. I cherish this childhood memory so much that many years later, I decided to get married on The Fourth of July just so I could get my whole family together again in the same space, celebrating life, love, and family!
Contact Info:
- Website: Daunofanewday.com
- Instagram: @daun.the.doula
Image Credits
Two professional photos of me were taken by Lola Snaps Photography
