By JACQI LEYVA-HILL
Special to the PRESS
A birth and postpartum doula who is known as Doula Yarlett Navarro, serves families across the Rio Grande Valley, including the entire Laguna Madre area.
She is working to expand access to personalized birth support in the region. Her path to doula work began after the birth of her second child, when she hired a doula and experienced firsthand the difference of continuous, compassionate support made physically, emotionally, and mentally. She shared that the experience inspired her to pursue formal doula training and begin offering care to families.
Doula Yarlett is trained as both a birth and postpartum doula and also works as a childbirth educator and birth photographer. Her training and background allow her to support families through evidence-based education, hands-on comfort measures, and emotional care during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. She has been serving the community for two years. She said the region is meaningful to her because of its close-knit nature, cultural richness, and strong family values, and she saw a real need for accessible, personalized birth support.
Her services include birth doula support, postpartum doula care, childbirth education classes, and birth and maternity photography. Her care typically begins with two prenatal appointments focused on education, comfort techniques, and preparing for labor and personalized birth preferences. Beginning at 38 weeks, she is on call 24/7 and provides continuous support during labor, birth, and the immediate postpartum period. After birth, she offers postpartum support that may include emotional check-ins, newborn care guidance, feeding support, and practical help as families transition into parenthood.
She said one of the biggest benefits of doula care is continuous, unbiased support during a time that can feel overwhelming. A doula is a trained support person who assists families during pregnancy, labor, and the early postpartum period by offering non-medical support such as education, comfort measures, encouragement, and guidance. Doulas do not replace medical providers but instead focus on emotional and physical support for families throughout the birth experience.
According to Yarlett, doula care helps families feel informed, confident, and supported in their decisions. She said emotional reassurance, physical comfort, and advocacy can significantly reduce fear and stress during birth and help families feel more empowered and satisfied with their experience.
Yarlett noted that doulas are not very common in Port Isabel or South Padre Island. She believes part of the reason is a lack of awareness about what doulas do and how doula care can benefit families, along with limited access to training and mentorship in smaller or rural communities. She also identified challenges such as hospital policies that may not always align with continuous labor support or individualized birth preferences and families learning about doula support late in pregnancy or not at all.
She believes demand is growing as more families seek personalized and supportive care. She said that increased community education, collaboration with providers, and broader insurance or Health Savings Accounts/Flexible Savings Accounts (HSA/FSA) coverage would help make doula care more accessible.
HSAs and FSAs are special accounts that allow people to set aside pre-tax money to pay for qualified medical expenses. Some families use HSA or FSA funds to help pay for doula care when it is eligible under their plan.
Families can learn more about her services through her website at mujerespoderosasdoula.com or through her social media to contact her directly for a consultation.
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