Your BirthWise Buffalo Doula Team
I graduated with my degree in Occupational Therapy at just 20 years old and began my career at Buffalo Occupational Therapy—a small, woman-owned practice specializing in the research and treatment of neurological and neurodegenerative conditions. Our mission has always been to provide compassionate, continuity-based care, often walking alongside our patients through every stage of their lives.
During my time at Buffalo OT, I also served as an occupational therapist in an elementary school and returned to my alma mater as an adjunct professor, teaching in the very program from which I graduated. These experiences deepened my commitment to patient and caregiver education, which remains my favorite aspect of being a therapist.
After welcoming our first son in 2023, I was struck by the lack of education and support in the maternal healthcare space. Despite preparing extensively for pregnancy, labor, delivery, postpartum, and breastfeeding, I still felt blindsided by the reality of the journey. This realization led me to pursue additional certifications as a birth doula and breastfeeding counselor.
Hannah DiFrancesco
COTA/L, NASM-CES, CBC
Kirsten Moll
I originally earned my degree in Business Marketing, but my heart was drawn in a new direction after witnessing a dear friend bring her baby into the world and walking through my own birth journey. Those experiences opened my eyes to the strength, beauty, and depth of childbirth and sparked a passion for walking alongside families through this incredible season of transition.
Since then, I have welcomed another baby of my own and become a certified birth doula through DONA International. Experiencing pregnancy, birth, and postpartum again has continued to shape the way I support families and has given me an even deeper appreciation for how different every birth journey can be.
As I have walked alongside families and witnessed the many different ways birth can unfold, it has only affirmed this calling to serve and support women and their families. I feel honored to provide encouragement, education, and steady support while recognizing God's presence and role in each family's unique journey into parenthood.
After the birth of my son, and while preparing for labor and delivery with my next, I became deeply enlivened by the desire to support women through this incredible and yet vulnerable time. I truly believe that enough knowledge, support, and encouragement can transform your birthing experience.
While the birth of my son was one of the best days of my life, the experience still left me feeling a bit dismayed and unequipped, despite what I thought was thorough preparation. When I got pregnant with my daughter, I was determined to have a redemptive experience. The Lord was truly gracious during this time and opened my eyes to the beauty He built into birth, and the innate strength and wisdom He gave women to birth their babies. As my understanding of birth began to shift, I yearned for more women to have this same faith-filled and evidence-based narrative, alongside of a deeper knowledge of their physiology and its profound ability.
My goal as a doula is to walk alongside each mother in creating and protecting her ideal birth space and preferences while helping her to feel informed and confident to navigate the process.
Annie Samuel
"And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
Colossians 1:17 (ESV)