Exploring Life & Business with Monique Salgado of DOULA is Doula Services

Today we’d like to introduce you to Monique Salgado.

Monique, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I never set out to start a business — I set out to serve families.

When I launched DOULA IS Doula Services, my intention was simple: to walk alongside birthing people in Los Angeles with compassion, strength, and evidence-based support. What began as a personal calling has grown into a trusted and heart-centered practice serving families across LA County.

I’ve always believed in the power of human connection that flows from a sense of self-awareness — the kind that makes others feel seen, empowered, and held. I realized how many families experience pregnancy and birth without that kind of advocacy or emotional support, and I wanted to change that. That conviction led me to train and deepen my expertise in pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and beyond to stress and trauma, physiology, sociology and pedagogy. I immersed myself in listening — to stories of births, to the anxieties and hopes of families, to the wisdom from experts in physiological birth.

When I officially launched DOULA IS Doula Services, it was humble, micro-focused, person-to-person companionship whenever the opportunities came. I started by serving a few clients, pouring hours and hours into rapport building and education prenatally and then showing up night or day, walking into hospital rooms, homes, birthing centers — wherever the birth was happening — and offering unwavering presence.

Over time, word-of-mouth referrals grew. In this field, trust is built slowly, birth by birth. Each family, each birthing person teaches me something new: about fear, trauma, trust, resilience, communication, and how to better serve.
Throughout, I’ve stayed anchored to one truth: this work is relational. Every birth is unique, and every person deserves someone who shows up — without ego, without judgment, but with fierce dedication and love. It is all founded on love.

Today, DOULA IS is known throughout Los Angeles for providing professional, compassionate, and inclusive doula care. The journey continues — every family I serve reminds me why I began: to make sure no one has to walk their birth journey feeling unseen or alone.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As demand has increased, I’ve had to adapt — without losing the heart of why I started. I have had to increased my business acumen by seeking out professional mentoring and guidance. I’ve structured service offerings (e.g. prenatal education packages, lactation follow-ups, virtual offerings), refined policies for clients (so that boundaries, clarity, and safety remained intact), and strengthened my network of allied professionals (partner doulas, obstetricians, postpartum care providers).

I have also learned to lean into educating prospective clients about what doulas really do, and what I specifically do, and why continuous, non-medical support matters. That means speaking about topics that can feel hidden: trauma, fear, decision fatigue, and birth equity.

I have learned over time to ask the right questions in the discovery call and seek and build partnerships with clients that have a shared vision and align with my practice style.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about DOULA is Doula Services?
DOULA IS is a full-spectrum birth support practice based in Los Angeles, offering trauma-informed birth doula support, one-on-one childbirth education and preparation, lactation education and counseling, Spinning Babies® courses, infant massage instruction, prenatal newborn care and development support classes, and mother blessing events. We combine evidence-based information with grounded, compassionate presence to help families feel confident and cared for throughout their birth journey.

Our mission is to create safe, empowering experiences for all birthing people — centering education, advocacy, and emotional support. Every client’s story is unique, and my work focuses on meeting them exactly where they are, honoring their values, identities, and personal histories.

What sets DOULA IS apart is our trauma-aware approach to care. I understand that each person carries their own experiences — sometimes joyful, sometimes painful — into the birthing space. My role is to hold that awareness with sensitivity and respect, creating an environment that feels safe for self-discovery and healing. I use Motivational Interviewing techniques to help clients explore their goals and values, guiding them toward empowered, authentic decision-making.
Additionally, I integrate somatic coaching and awareness, helping clients reconnect with their bodies, regulate their nervous systems, and process emotions that arise during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. This body-centered approach fosters resilience and trust — both in the birthing process and in oneself.

Brand-wise, I’m most proud that DOULA IS has become known in the LA birth community for being heart-centered, inclusive, and deeply attuned. Clients often describe feeling truly seen and supported, not just as parents but as whole people.
At its core, DOULA IS exists to honor birth as a profoundly human experience — physical, emotional, and spiritual — and to ensure that every birthing person feels safe, respected, and deeply empowered.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
The most important quality behind my success has been presence — the ability to hold space with calm awareness, deep listening, and genuine care.

In birth work, presence means more than simply being there. It’s about attuning to each person’s emotional landscape, their body language, their breath, and the stories that shape how they experience this moment in life. Every client carries a history — sometimes layered with joy, sometimes marked by trauma — and my role is to honor that with sensitivity and compassion.
My trauma-aware approach allows me to meet clients where they are, without judgment or assumption. I use Motivational Interviewing techniques to help them explore their beliefs and values, guiding self-discovery rather than directing it. Through somatic awareness and coaching, I help clients stay grounded in their bodies — noticing sensations, releasing tension, and reconnecting with their innate strength and wisdom.

This work goes deep, what I do with my clients is incredibly intimate, whether it be holding a weeping father after a birth that was fraught with fear and unknown and medically urgent moments, or being face-to-face, looking into the eyes of a mother and sharing my confidence in her capacity to do this hard thing without saying a word.

This kind of presence transforms the birth space. It builds trust, dissolves fear, and reminds families that they already have what they need within them. I believe that’s the essence of successful support — not doing the work for someone, but walking beside them as they step into their power.

Pricing:

• $3,500 Birth Doula Support and Lactation Counseling Complete Package
• $1,050 Education & Postpartum Preparation and Virtual Labor Support Limited Scope Package
• $300 Spinning Babies® Birth Preparation Class ( 2 Sessions)
• $200 Infant Massage Instruction ( 2 sessions)
• $200 Lactation Counseling Session

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.DOULAis.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doula_is_doula_services
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/doula-is-los-angeles-5?osq=doula+is+doula+services