About Bay Area Birth Education
BABE was founded by Felicia Roche, a veteran doula, doula trainer and Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator with decades of experience in birth and education. Felicia works with a team of highly experienced assistant educators, doulas and assistants during BABE classes.
Felicia is a Certified Doula through DONA International since 1998. She has been offering DONA Approved Birth Doula Trainings since 2002 and has trained hundreds of women in this time – women travel from all over the world to take her trainings. She served as the DONA Northern California Representative for 7 years.
In June 2006 she became certified with Lamaze International as a Childbirth Educator (LCCE)
Felicia has assisted over 1000 families during their labors and births in the Bay Area and continues to make a difference for women and families on nearly a weekly basis. She has successfully built strong professional alliances with many care providers and nurses at local hospitals. She is very involved in many aspects of building a doula community locally and nationally.
In 2004, the Learning Annex in San Francisco contracted Felicia to teach a course titled “How to Start a Career as a Birth Doula.” The course was so successful that in the spring of 2005 Felicia presented the same topic for the Learning Annex in Sacramento.
She previously served as the executive director and publications coordinator for Birthways, a non-profit childbirth and pregnancy resources and referral center in the Bay Area.
Before finding her calling as a doula Felicia served for many years as a rape crisis counselor, joining women in trauma and guiding them through a heightened and volatile process. She was also a sex educator and lifeskills coach for Planned Parenthood, working with inner-city school kids
Kim Knapp
Hi! I’m Kim, I’m a birth doula and childbirth educator.
I was trained through DONA and had the privilege to be part of the UCSF doula program where I participated in countless unique birth settings. I am a lifelong learner, and I am both honored and grateful to have worked alongside many other amazing birth workers throughout my career. We are each passionate about supporting and advocating for birthing families.
As a young birthing person, I personally experienced a traumatic birthing event. Buckled with my own lack of knowledge, my inexperience, the lack of care from the medical staff and my inability to speak up, I was left with years of post-traumatic distress. It was then I knew I would somehow find my way to birthwork and supporting families to have positive birth experiences.
Let’s demystify the birth process together. When you know what to expect, you can plan for how you will approach the difficult parts and celebrate your milestone wins! Knowledge is power. Educating and empowering yourself to have agency over your decisions transforms fear into confidence. Confidence makes you unstoppable!
When I am not teaching, coaching, or supporting birth families, I love movies, traveling and making memories with my family.
Looking forward to meeting you!
