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	ask the experts shantell herndon

Shantell Herndon
Childbirth Education, Doulas, Integrative wellness for the childbearing years

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Shantell has an eclectic and versatile background in business, arts and education. She has a B.F.A. from the renowned SUNY Purchase Acting Conservatory, and worked for the New York Board of Education as a Theatre Arts and writing teacher. She was an artist in residence at the Harlem Shakespeare Festival and the New York Shakespeare Festival and served as a mentor in the In-School programs. For over three years she served on staff at a production company in New York as a Producer and Production Coordinator. Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2004, she was hired in conjunction with various youth outreach organizations to work with pregnant teens and underprivileged minorities. This led Shantell to discover her passion for educating families. As a doula, she began assisting births throughout Los Angeles. To better serve her community, Shantell created Love the Belly, an organization centered within its own Maternity Spa & Family Wellness Center. Love the Belly is dedicated to restoring the sacredness of health for families, and aims to raise consciousness about wellness care options during the childbearing years. Their programs are based on the concept that peaceful parenting begins with conscious pregnancy and birth. Love the Belly offers Childbirth Classes, Optimal Pregnancy Nutrition, Midwife and Doula Referrals, Lactation Consultation, Acupuncturists, Chiropractors, Homoeopaths, Massage Therapists, Aesthicians, La Leche League and New Parent Support Meetings, CPR Classes, Babywearing Workshops, Breastfeeding n' Baby Care Class and a Mom/Baby Boutique. Shantell shares her life with three energetic, musical males: her husband Mizra and sons Sage and Alijah.