Meet Kara, Exhale Doula
Kara Walsh
Hello! My name is Kara and I LOVE babies. I’ve been carrying around baby dolls and baby siblings ever since I was a baby myself. I’ve always known I wanted to be either a teacher or a nurse and I found the perfect mix of the two when I became an Occupational Therapist. My experience in infant and toddler development allows me to provide education and support to parents and their developing babies grounded in my professional experience and training. I am able to share techniques and strategies to assist parents of young children, educate on age appropriate milestones and optimize proven approaches that best support early childhood development.
Working with families and their newborns, infants and toddlers is incredibly rewarding to me; this is why I also provide postpartum doula services. Both professions are motivated by my innate desire to nurture. I am described as a “baby whisperer” and a “calming force” from people who know and have worked with me.
I have lived in Newburyport for several years and grew up on the North Shore. I love weekend getaways, hiking with our energy filled dog and spending time with good company. I can’t wait to meet you!
Education & Certifications
Bachelors in Occupational Science,
Masters in Occupational Therapy from Ithaca College
TOTs (tethered oral tissues) trained professional
Infant First Aid and CPR certified
Doula trained through DONA including Basics of Breastfeeding Course
Trained in Brazelton Touchpoints approach
Ongoing professional training through continuing education requirements to maintain OT licensure
Live-in nanny and long term nanny experience
TESTIMONIALS
Kara is the best!
Kara was instrumental to both my sons’ development! After first meeting her at their daycare and adoring her, we hired her as our live-in nanny during the summers. She is kind, helpful, fun, supportive and an all-around joy to have around. Kara truly loves babies and kids, and engaged them in both free and educational play that kept them laughing and learning. My boys are now 11 and 14, and still say Kara was their favorite caretaker of all time. She is the best!
— Mom to Leo and Nate
Kara is wonderful! She came into our lives days after we became parents of 2 under 2. She was amazing with our toddler and they instantly became great friends. She was so helpful with our newborn and she has a wealth of knowledge about baby development. Our newborn was developing a flat spot on his head and Kara had so many tips and tricks to share with us that helped fix the problem early. Kara is so reliable, caring and calm. She helped us manage a crazy time in our lives and we’ll always be grateful for the time she spent with us!
— Jamie
So responsive to our needs and really wonderful at caring for our baby.
Kara cared for our infant daughter, Willa. She was such a supportive, calm presence in our home. We came to really depend on her and were so grateful for her help when we were starting work again. I worked both at home and in the office during this time and, when I was home, sometimes I would have Kara bring me the baby to nurse when she was hungry. We were very comfortable sharing the house with her while we worked (or sometimes slept!) and she cared for Willa. Kara is really gifted with infants. She listened carefully to everything we had to tell her about Willa and all the little things she liked/didn't like/ how to get her to sleep etc. Kara was so responsive to our needs and really wonderful at caring for our baby. We felt so lucky to have her help for over a year and when we moved away leaving Kara was really hard. The time after the birth of a baby is challenging in so many ways and parents deserve to have all the support they can get. Kara is kind, calm, and understanding in just the way you need when you're sleep deprived and feeling like everything is too much. She will help you in ways you didn't even know you needed.
— Naomi L.
We cannot say enough good things about Kara Walsh and our experience working with her.
She started working with my twins when they were babies helping with some developmental issues. Kara is extremely knowledgeable and has such a kind and calm demeanor it made for a really wonderful experience. My boys who definitely had trouble going to other people took to Kara right away and to this day over 3 years later still ask to have Kara come over. I really love how she approached not only the boys but my husband and I when it came to working on different skills. She was great at demonstrating how to further their milestones and explained lots of exercises we could do with them. I could not recommend Kara enough to work with any new mother as a postpartum doula in fact I hope to use her for my next baby.
— Jillian P.