We had the good fortune of connecting with Jodi Graves and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jodi, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I suffered immeasurably at the hands of doctors with birth of my first child and then later during my postpartum recovery with my second child. I suffered with postpartum anxiety & depression so severe that I was hospitalized without my consent and treated like a criminal. I sat with this pain and the subsequent shame for nearly 17 years before I could even start to tell my story….I had no choice but to turn my experiences into something besides that pain & shame. And so….my agency (Michigan Family Doulas) was born!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
What sets MFD apart from countless others is that our purpose is clear and always has been-we do this work so that women and their families feel supported and cared for, listened to and respected. We do this work so that women don’t have to die at the hands of a medical system that is both ill equipped and also only cares only about their bottom line. We believe the best advice is evidence based and professionalism & integrity are a daily way of life.
I want the world to know that MFD stands up for birthing people and their rights. We stand up for informed consent!
Make no mistake, even though we are principled and have goals, none of this has been easy. Sometimes I have to make things up as we go….sometimes I have to ‘phone a friend’ to get advice about what to do about a problem. But, I have built this agency from literally nothing more than a dream and some rage as fuel and I won’t stop until everyone knows what a doula is. I won’t stop until we re-vamp our entire birth & postpartum care system in the United States. I won’t stop until no more women die unnecessarily or report feeling abused in labor & delivery. There’s so much more work to be done!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Gosh, there’s so much to do here! I take her to the BCAT (Brighton Coffee House & Theatre) for coffee and gluten-free pumpkin muffins and to come up with a plan for the weekend. We decide to make a trip to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, so my friend can enjoy the beauty and majesty there. If the trees have turned because it’s fall, it’s the perfect time for a bit of a drive to look at all the colors! After a day at Pictured Rocks, we would have to go to Traverse City to one of the beautiful Bed and Breakfasts there-get ourselves all checked in and leave our luggage to head out to take in a few wineries for some wine tasting. Whew, what a day! A good nights sleep fixes that and off we go for a drive to Petoskey to see the town my family is from and take advantage of some of the great food there and a good long look at the lakeshore. We breakfast at Roast & Toast and have a great lunch and brew at Beard’s Brewery. From there, a little hike in the beautiful sunshine to burn off our lunch. As it’s getting closer to late afternoon, we hop in the car to head back down state to Brighton, where we head back to my place to sit by the fire and chat. We have friends coming by to play Euchre tonight!
The next morning, we do some shopping downtown Brighton at some of the great shops like the Artisan’s Bench and Wallflower Mercantile. She wants to take some photos of Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor before we meet friends for dinner in Birmingham at 220 Merrill. I surprise her with an overnight at the Detroit Foundation Hotel, where we have a good non-alcoholic craft cocktail before we collapse into our beds for the night. It’s been a whirlwind few days and we have loved every moment. The next morning, we have breakfast in bed in her room, talking about how much fun we had and what we want to do next time she comes to visit. I drive her to DTW and wave goodbye as she heads back home to her family! Michigan is a beautiful state to take in all the sites!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate this shout out to my beautiful children-without them, I would never have dreamed of becoming a doula. And to the love of my life, Ken, who is my rock and my strength. Who has believed in me from the moment we met and never stops, no matter how hard life gets!

Website: https://michiganfamilydoulas.com

Instagram: @michiganfamilydoulas

Linkedin: @jodigraves

Other: Spotify/ITunes: @teawithjodi

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