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

Hi Tonya, who had the biggest influence on your career?
My biggest influence has been my own midwives. I met them through my pregnancies as my provider. They supported me mentally and physically. They acknowledged me and made my births feel so so special. Those days in those moments I was the only person in the world bringing a baby into the world. In turn I came to use their inspiration to govern how I treat my own clients and their families. I genuinely love each one of them and feel completely honored to be there. No matter how many births I attend.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I got to where I am today by being a part of the “team”. I am respectful of the partner’s place at a birth. I am respectful at their place of birth and try my hardest to talk with their providers like we are a birth team of people and everyone respects their own jobs…but can collaborate to give mom a good experience. getting to where I am now was not easy. I served a LOT of people and made myself drive however far it took to get births and back other doulas up. I learned that I cannot want something for someone more than they want it. Help them feel educated and have informed consent and then whatever their choice is fully support them. They will always remember the way you made them feel on the day their lives become extra special.

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
So living in DFW provides a plethora of fun activities, restaurants, art…you name it. I would probably take her to Waco for a day to go to Magnolia Land, then dinner at The Stockyards. We could ride a train to Dallas and go to Dallas Museum of Art and find all the cool sculptures in Dallas like the huge eyeball. I would take her to White Rock Lake and or Lake Ray Roberts to go paddle boarding and end a day with tacos and margarita’s. We may even take a drive down to tube the river and visit the little town called Gruene.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My “shout out” would be to my inspirations, Robin and Kim. you guided me into a passion I didn’t know existed. Also to my husband Rick for being so supportive no matter what direction I want to take with my business.

Website: www.righthanddoula.com
Instagram: @righthanddoulaservices
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/righthanddoula/

Image Credits
DeborahGlenn.co
Lifediagramsphotography.com
krobertsonphotography.com
www.birthisbeautifulbyina.com
www.bfamilyfilms.com

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