08/31/2026
Growing Your Family? Meet Some of the Women in Our Community Who Are Here to Support You.
Starting a family is one of life's biggest journeys. Whether you are thinking about having a baby, preparing for pregnancy, planning your birth, bringing your newborn home, or navigating those first months of parenthood, having the right people around you can make all the difference.
That is exactly why I love what happens when local women-owned businesses come together.
Recently, Celebrate Our Town had the opportunity to sit down over coffee with several incredible women who serve families throughout our community. Our conversation was all about one thing:
How can we connect families with the resources, education and support they need during one of the most important seasons of their lives?
And this is just the beginning.
Meet the women behind these local resources:
Andrea Bukiewicz — Stateline Midwives
Stateline Midwives provides primary midwifery care for families choosing home birth, with a focus on personalized prenatal, birth and postpartum care. Their approach centers on education, informed choices and honoring the individual experience of each family. Stateline Midwives is based in Salem and serves families throughout the surrounding area.
Tonya Schieler — Dawn Doula Services
Dawn Doula Services offers birth and postpartum doula support, helping families navigate pregnancy, labor, those first weeks at home and even newborn sleep. Tonya provides physical, emotional and informational support while helping parents feel more prepared and confident in their own choices. She serves Kenosha, Racine and Walworth counties as well as northern Illinois.
Jenell Jackley — Balanced Baby Lactation
Balanced Baby Lactation offers specialized infant-feeding and lactation support, including breastfeeding, pumping, bottle feeding, feeding transitions and newborn support. Jenell is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and she provides personalized home and virtual support throughout Southeastern Wisconsin and Northeastern Illinois.
And connecting these resources with our community is Keelin Cannon, Celebrate Our Town Community Connector & Advocate, who helped bring this conversation together and continues to look for ways to connect local businesses and families with valuable community resources.
Why does this matter?
Because there isn't one "right" way to become a parent.
Every family is different.
Every pregnancy is different.
Every birth story is different.
And every new parent has different questions, hopes, concerns and needs.
Sometimes you need someone to help you prepare for birth. Sometimes you need support during labor. Sometimes you need someone in your home after the baby arrives. Sometimes you simply need someone knowledgeable to answer the question you were afraid to ask.
And sometimes the best resource is simply knowing who to call.
That is what Celebrate Our Town is all about — connecting our local community.
We love discovering the unique women, businesses and professionals right here in our own backyard who are doing meaningful work for local families.
So, if starting a family or growing your family is part of your journey, take some time to explore these local resources. You may discover a woman, service or connection that becomes an important part of your family's story.
This is what happens when local women collaborate instead of compete — we create a stronger community for everyone.
And who knows? This little coffee meeting may be the beginning of some wonderful collaborations to come.
Celebrate Our Town — connecting local businesses with the people who call our communities home.
