Brenda the Doula

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Austin, TX
Brenda the Doula

Brenda Marlin has been helping Austin-area families find their own paths to parenthood since 2003.

Brenda offers nurturing, compassionate, nonjudgmental and inclusive care and education for all types of families. MY JOURNEY:
I'm blessed to have given birth to two amazing daughters, and during my pregnancies, births, and postpartum, I experienced the power of a community of extraordinary women as they offered me sweet assistance, attention, and advice. In 2003, I was called to become part of thi

s profession that provides that same sort of support to growing families; so, among other things, my work as a doula gives me a way to give back. It has also helped me learn – both professionally and personally – the value in letting go: it is essential to moving forward. MY FAMILY:
I live here in Austin with my wife, Joye, and our daughters, Madelyn, Lizzie, Rachel, and Alex. Our days are full and a little crazy with work, school, martial arts, dance, theatre, and the calendar-coordination and driving duty they entail. During our treasured down-time together, we enjoy playing games – board, card, and video alike [we try to avoid the emotional kind!] – and indulging our shared fandoms. At our house, pets are cherished family members and nerdy is a great way to be!

05/25/2026

Who is off call for six weeks and has a huge grin? ME! IT’S ME!!! I’ve got lots of daytrips to different pools thought out. I will be working two overnights a week but will have FIVE DAYS EACH WEEK to do fun stuff! What else should I do? Who else wants to have fun this summer?

05/16/2026

I’m SO PROUD of my love ! She was honored last week as one of Teachers of Promise. This award goes to first year teachers who have gone above and beyond! Since Joye started grad school at in January 2025, she has been committed and driven to provide her students a safe environment for learning. A little back story… for the 18+ years I’ve know Joye, she has always said her retirement job was going to be teaching. The opportunity for that came earlier than retirement and she is killing it. She wanted to teach in underserved schools, to give students a place to feel supported. She is also killing that! Her students LOVE her. I knew they would! This past year and a half hasn’t been all rosy. Long hours, lack of resources and teenagers being teenagers have caused stress. Ultimately I’ve never seen her more fundamentally happy with her work than she has been this year. BRAVO my love!

05/14/2026

It never ceases to amaze me how birthing people can dig deep and do what needs to be done in chaotic situations. Way to go mama!

05/13/2026

I am 1 in 5. Trigger Warning: postpartum depression, suicidal ideation

I will always tell this story because it’s so important that we reduce the stigma!

This was taken in December 2005. Lizzie was 8 months old. I had no idea how the next 4 1/2 months would roll out. She was a deeply feeling baby from day one. That first year plus of her life I didn’t sleep for more than a few hours in a row. She wouldn’t take a bottle. She wouldn’t sleep. Every day at 5:00pm she had a meltdown. I’d cry with her as we sat in the dark bathroom with the shower on for white noise. Her sister Maddie was almost 3 years old and didn’t understand why I wasn’t available. In January 2006 I got the flu. In February, after what seemed like the billionth cold in Lizzie’s short life, she got MSRA on her face. Somehow to me it felt like I was a bad mother for not taking her to the doctor sooner. In March and April everything in my life seemed unbearable. The dishwasher overflowed and I’d sob. I couldn’t find my keys and I’d be over the edge. If only I had it more together, these things wouldn’t happen. I was a doula and somehow I couldn’t see what I was going through. I was the lowest I could possibly be and still be alive. Many times I thought my family would be better off without me. One time, I was a handful of pills from finding out. Finally my beautiful in laws recognized that it wasn’t about the car keys or the laundry or the dishwasher. They took me to my therapist and I took a nap in her office. I was in therapy, I was taking antidepressants and was doing what I should have been doing except asking for help from the right people. If someone had asked me the right questions maybe I would have gotten help sooner. Was I sleeping? Was I eating? How did I take care of myself? Can I bring a meal? Can I take the kids so you can nap? Please ask those questions of the parents in your life. Then listen to what they are not saying. Take them dinner even if their baby is 10 months old. Fortunately I had someone in my life to listen and help me. I only wish that had happened sooner. blessedtobealive

05/11/2026

Guess what I did on Mother’s Day! I got to bear witness to a sweet, caring and bada$$ birth goddess bring her beautiful boy into the world! My job never gets old.

04/28/2026

As you can imagine I have lots of birthy tees. This one is my favorite! It had gone missing for a while in my mess of a closet. I’m so happy I found it!

04/25/2026

My clients are always so generous with their donations for the and baby shower! This was the haul of formula from a client. While formula isn’t the first choice for most families sometimes it is needed and SO expensive. I hope this helps families in need!

04/17/2026

My mood tonight as I got ready for work!

04/03/2026

These cuties had a great feeding and are now conked out! There is never a dull moment supporting twins 👶🏻👶🏻

03/23/2026

WORLD DOULA WEEK - March 22-28! To celebrate my 22+ years in this work I’m reintroducing myself 😊I’m Brenda Marlin, wife, mama, and doula!

MY FAMILY:
My wife Joye and I were married in 2009. We have four people we brought earth side. I birthed two and my wife likes to say she spawned two. Ruby 29, Maddie 23, Rachel 22 and Lizzie 21 fill our home! We are a nerdy family. Everyone has their fandoms and games. I try to keep up with them. On the nerdy meter, I often fall behind. We have one dog and three cats, all rescued. We have our struggles and triumphs. With three young adults in the house there’s never a dull moment. Everyday they keep me honest and teach me how to human.

MY WORK:
I’ve been a doula since 2003! It’s so hard for me to believe how time has flown! I work with both birth and postpartum clients. Most of my postpartum work is helping families overnight. I am certified as a lactation counselor. I am also trained as a childbirth educator and prenatal yoga instructor. I don’t think I’ll ever be done training. At least I hope not.

FUN FACTS:
* I’m a devoted fan of Her music has shaped my life in so many ways. Joye and I first saw her open for the Indigo Girls in June 2008. The Story is our song and we played it at our wedding. Every time we see her in concert I cry when she plays it. Our obsession with her has made us
* Among my favorite shows are and I love the way both shows are explorations of nuanced, flawed characters and families that don’t always get things right but they do their best. Right now I’m also digging and The love story in Our Flag Means Death wrecks me!
* I cry easily. At movies, TV, music, when my kiddos complement me, you’ll see me with a tear in my eye. Mostly happy tears but sometimes not. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. It has taken a long time but I am finally coming to terms with that fact.
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Address

Austin, TX
78739

Telephone

+15122897196

Website

http://www.brendathedoula.com/

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