Angel Mattes 

Serving Northwest Arkansas

Angel’s doula journey began with her own introduction to motherhood in 2006. Like many new parents today, she realized that she was vastly unprepared for the realities of parenthood. Her experience with childbirth, labor, and postpartum recovery was nothing like what she expected, and she learned how incredibly vulnerable, unsupported, and isolated women can be for mothers during this exciting but challenging time. This gap in support is what led her to start supporting families as a postpartum doula. She loved being able to share what she’d learned about babies, breastfeeding, and parenting, and most of all, being able to help other parents have a better experience.

Her interests in the “birth world” deepened with time, and she began working as a birth doula and lactation educator. She trained and certified as a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) and enjoys helping parents understand, shop for, and install their car seats! She received training as a doula through DONA, Birthways, and MaternityWise, and lactation educator training through CAPPA.

Angel’s passion for advocacy grew when she overcame adversity in the workplace after facing threats of termination over pumping. She not only stood up for herself and managed to keep her job, but educated the staff, advocated for fellow nursing employees, and got a lactation room established for employees! She cares deeply about improving the lives of families, and some of her long-term goals include working to dismantle the institutional barriers at play for women and their families when it comes to breastfeeding, maternity care, and postpartum support.

A lifelong learner, she enjoys reading all the books she can get her hands on, and frequently attends workshops and webinars to deepen and expand her knowledge. She is currently working on completing her pre-reqs for nursing school, and it is her dream to eventually become a Certified Nurse-Midwife and lactation consultant.

Angel’s areas of expertise include breastfeeding (including supplementing & education around nursing in public), babywearing, infant care, and all things car seats! She loves spending time educating parents on their rights, their options, and what to expect. She recognizes the burdens that parents face, with societal expectations, judgment, and information overwhelm. She enjoys empowering parents with evidence-based information and gentle encouragement, aiming to help them discover their self-confidence. She appreciates that there’s no “one size fits all” approach when it comes to parenting, and supports families to find their own path. She wants to inspire women to trust their bodies, empower them to make informed decisions, and support them to have beautiful, peaceful, and joyful experiences as they welcome their babies into the world.