Tayna Chessman
Licensed Midwife · Certified Doula · ProDoula Trainer · MomI have always known that my place was in maternal health — in the room where families are changed forever, and in the weeks that follow when everything feels new and uncertain and overwhelming and beautiful all at once. Since 2019 I've supported families through pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period across Southern California. I'm a licensed midwife, a certified doula, a ProDoula trainer — and a mom. I know what it feels like to need someone genuinely in your corner.
Graduate of the National College of Midwifery. Licensed to practice midwifery in the state of California.
Certified through ProDoula. Supporting families through labor, birth, and the full postpartum period since 2019.
Training the next generation of labor and postpartum doulas in California and virtually worldwide.
Enrolled Medi-Cal provider. Contracted with Kaiser, IEHP, Health Net, Blue Shield Promise, and Community Health Group.
I always knew I wanted to be here — in this work, with these families
Some people find their way to birth work through a single moment that changes everything. For me it was more like a deep, quiet knowing that had been there all along. Maternal health was always where I was meant to be. The question was just how to get there — and how to build something that could actually reach the families who needed it most.
I started by becoming a midwife. I graduated from the National College of Midwifery and earned my Licensed Midwife and Certified Professional Midwife credentials in California — one of the most rigorous paths to midwifery in the country. That clinical training gave me a depth of understanding about pregnancy, labor, and postpartum physiology that shapes every interaction I have with families, even when I'm working as a doula.
Being a licensed midwife doesn't make me a better doula by title. It makes me a better doula because I understand what's happening — clinically, emotionally, and physically — at every stage of the journey.
I became a doula because I saw a gap. Midwifery is profound work, but doula support fills a different space — the continuous presence, the emotional advocacy, the person who stays by your side for the whole labor and doesn't rotate off shift. I wanted to offer both. So I did.
In 2019 I started supporting families across Southern California. I became certified through ProDoula, eventually joined their Training and Development team, and started training other doulas — because the need for qualified, insurance-enrolled birth professionals in California far outpaces the supply. Every doula I train is another family who gets support they otherwise wouldn't have.
And then there's the personal part. I'm a mom — more than once. I know what it feels like to be pregnant and scared and hopeful and exhausted and overwhelmed by the weight of how much this moment matters. I know what the fourth trimester feels like from the inside. That knowledge doesn't replace my training — it deepens it.
SoCal Doulas grew out of all of this. Not as a corporation, but as the infrastructure I wished had existed when I started — a team, a billing system, a backup network, and a pathway for doulas who want to build sustainable careers serving the families of Southern California.
"I've always believed that every family deserves to feel genuinely cared for — not processed, not managed, but seen. That belief is what built SoCal Doulas."
Tayna Chessman — Founder, SoCal DoulasCredentials tell you what I know. This is how I actually show up.
My midwifery training means I understand what's happening at every stage of labor and postpartum recovery. You get doula support with clinical context behind it.
I've built real infrastructure behind my practice — backup coverage, insurance billing, and a team — so you never fall through the cracks when it matters most.
Epidural or unmedicated. Hospital or birth center. VBAC or repeat cesarean. I support your choices without an agenda. Always.
I don't hand you off to a stranger when labor begins. I show up — for the whole labor, however long it takes, because that is what I committed to.
- Birth doula support — prenatal visits, labor attendance, immediate postpartum
- Postpartum doula care — daytime and overnight in-home visits
- Midwifery services — prenatal, birth, and postpartum midwifery care
- ProDoula labor and postpartum doula training — in-person and virtual
- Insurance billing — Medi-Cal, Kaiser, IEHP, Health Net, Blue Shield Promise, and CHG
What started with one doula became something bigger
SoCal Doulas — formerly Inland Empire Doulas — is a fully managed doula agency based in Winchester, California. What started as my private practice has grown into a team of certified doulas serving families throughout Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles counties.
I built SoCal Doulas around a belief that most doulas are locked out of opportunities because the systems are hard to navigate alone. Insurance credentialing, billing, client acquisition, backup coverage — these are all solvable problems if you build the right infrastructure. So I built it, and then I opened it to other doulas who want to serve families without reinventing everything from scratch.
Most of our families qualify for $0 out-of-pocket doula care through Medi-Cal, Kaiser, IEHP, Blue Shield Promise, Health Net, or Community Health Group. We check your benefits for free — no commitment required.
- Riverside County — including Winchester, Murrieta, Temecula, and the Inland Empire
- San Bernardino County — including San Bernardino, Fontana, and the High Desert
- San Diego County — including Chula Vista, El Cajon, Escondido, and Oceanside
- Orange County — including Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Irvine
- Los Angeles County — including Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Compton
If you're looking for someone who will genuinely show up for you — I'm here
Reach out to schedule a consultation, check your insurance coverage, or just ask a question. No pressure. Just a conversation.
Get in Touch