Jayni Angeli — Doula & Labor and Delivery Nurse in Kalamazoo, Michigan

All photography provided by Jayni Angeli

"Remember this, for it is as true as true gets: Your body is not a lemon. You are not a machine. The Creator is not a careless mechanic. Human females, for millions of years, have squatted in contentment, giving birth. More women should lift their voices and use their strength to support and be present for each other in birth."
— Ina May Gaskin

Why I Do This Work

I’m not in this for the babies. I’m in it for her.

Birth is a woman’s threshold. It is where she meets her own power, her own limits, her own resilience. My job is to witness that and stand beside her while it happens: to translate the clinical language of medicine into something she can actually use, to make sure she is heard when decisions are being made fast, and to advocate when her autonomy is on the line.

I don’t have a preferred birth. Epidural or unmedicated, induced or spontaneous, vaginal or cesarean, hospital or home: my job is to make sure the choice is genuinely hers, and that nobody moves her past a decision she hasn’t understood yet.

I’m Jayni Angeli, a labor and delivery nurse and certified birth doula based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I have stood on both sides of that hospital bed — once as the nurse reading the monitor, and once as the woman’s person, the one whose only job is her.

From Marketing to the Labor Room

My path here started sideways. I was working in marketing and brand management, and something was missing — a hole in my heart I could not talk myself out of. Around that time I met a woman who was in town for doula training, and our conversation stuck with me for months. Eventually I stopped thinking about it and went to a doula training myself, just to see what it was.

I fell in love with it immediately: being present with a woman during the most vulnerable and transformative hours of her life, and watching her find out exactly what she is capable of.

After my first birth as a doula, I knew I could do more. That sent me to nursing school. Today I work as a labor and delivery nurse, which means I have seen the system from the inside — the shift changes, the rotating providers, the speed at which decisions get made — and I know precisely where a woman gets lost in it. One day I hope to become a midwife.

Credentials and Training

Jayni Angeli, BSN, RN, RNC-OB, C-EFM, CD/DONA

  • BSN, RN — Registered Nurse, Bachelor of Science in Nursing

  • RNC-OB — Board-certified in Inpatient Obstetric Nursing

  • C-EFM — Certified in Electronic Fetal Monitoring

  • CD/DONA — Certified Birth Doula through DONA International

Practicing labor and delivery nurse. Currently working toward midwifery.

Where I Work

In-person birth support is for the greater Kalamazoo, Michigan area. Everything else travels: 1:1 hospital birth preparation, birth story debriefing, the breastfeeding class, and postpartum support all happen virtually, wherever you are.

Outside the Birth Room

I travel, chase art and food, run, practice yoga, and stay an active part of my community. Recent trips have taken me to Italy, Jamaica, and a string of National Parks, where I went looking for hidden gems, good meals, and the kind of experiences that remind me why being fully present matters.

Let’s Work Together

If you want someone in the room whose only job is you, start with a free 30-minute discovery call. We will talk about where you are, what you are hoping for, and what you are afraid of. If we are a fit, I will tell you. If we are not, I will tell you that too.

You can read about Bedside Birth Prep, my 1:1 hospital birth preparation program, explore all services, or hear from women I have worked with. Not ready to book yet? Grab the free birth plan template — it is the same one I give my clients.