About Herbal Doula
Herbal Doula is a woman-centered natural remedies database. It’s the first database to systematically compile and curate traditional medicine and scientific research safety data about natural remedies during pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and postpartum. It’s also a resource about natural pregnancy and birth with a focus on physiological birth, homebirth, and freebirth.
Beyond pregnancy and birth, Herbal Doula is a community for women to be inspired about mothering and taking care of the whole family with the support of nature and our intuitive wisdom.
About Me
I’m Ana Aleksic, the founder of Herbal Doula. I’m a natural pharmacist, herbalist, natural birth and health coach, writer, and homebirthing and freebirthing mom of 4.
Although I have an MSc in Pharmacy, I never considered myself a typical pharmacist. Yet, thanks to my background in research and pharmacy, I’ve been able to come up with a holistic system for systematically compiling and curating the safety data about natural remedies for Herbal Doula. For each herbal monograph, I take a deep dive into the traditional literature, plant energetics, scientific research, ethnobotanical research, and real-world use and personal experiences.
I founded Herbal Doula after the birth of my first child in 2020. It’s the resource I wish I had when I was pregnant for the first time.
I’m a passionate writer, communicator, and community builder. Before I founded Herbal Doula, I worked as an academic researcher, freelance health writer and editor, and natural health coach. I’ve written 400+ articles and blog posts, edited 800+, authored several ebooks and book chapters, and am the author of the only book about homebirth in Serbia (“Moc Radjanja“).
I’m based between Canada and Serbia and am equally in love with the nature of both countries. My first pregnancy took me back to Serbia, opening up the pandora’s box of interacting with the medical system and eventually finding my path toward (mostly) wild pregnancies, homebirth, and freebirth.
My eldest son was born at home in 2020 with the support of a traditional midwife. I freebirthed my daughter in 2022 after a peaceful wild pregnancy.
And, in 2023, I gave birth to twins (boy and girl) at home, after an unexpected and demanding pregnancy, convinced that I was carrying triplets. It’s been a crazy journey, but I’m grateful for every bit.
My births and pregnancies have transformed and inspired me in ways I would never have thought possible. I’ve learned to expand, give, surrender, create, and share in a much greater capacity than I previously knew—and Herbal Doula emerged as part of this organic, messy, beautiful process.
What Makes Herbal Doula Different?
Herbal Doula is woman-centered not only because it’s a resource for women but because it’s meant for sovereign women. The women who ask questions, who seek, who question the status quo, and who do things their own way.
I know that doctors don’t have the answers (although medicine undeniably has its place for rare emergencies and cases) but that each woman knows herself and her body best. The herbal monographs in the Herbal Doula database are meant to put the power of herbs and other natural remedies back into the hands of women. You may wish to consult a herbalist, midwife, wise woman, or whatever practitioner of your choice before taking a natural remedy, but ultimately—the choice is yours.
I won’t tell you to consult a healthcare provider during pregnancy or before taking a natural remedy because I know how limited the knowledge of most doctors is about natural remedies (especially in pregnancy and breastfeeding). Studies have even confirmed this, and women are being told not to take any herb or supplement while being prescribed conventional drugs or administered routine ultrasounds and other exams.
It’s up to women to decide when they see benefit from interacting with the medical system and when they consider it more beneficial to do the research themselves and, perhaps, consult someone else who may understand female physiology and natural medicine better than the typical ObGyn.
If each woman approaches her own health in a sovereign and curious way—in tune with her intuition and in gathering the best resources available to her—then she is changing our global community for the better. She is building a world more free and wise, and that’s what I believe in. I hope that Herbal Doula can be each woman’s ally on this path. May we walk it together!
How Can You Use Herbal Doula's Natural Remedies Database?
The safety categorization in each Herbal Monograph in the Natural Remedies Database is based on the most in-depth knowledge about the herb in question, yet it’s not definite. It’s only the best guess we can make. And, it’s better than generic, superficial, and fear-based blog posts.Â
Each person responds differently to herbs and supplements, and not every herb is for everyone.
Whenever you’re considering using a certain herb or supplement, have the safety data in mind and pay close attention to your individual needs and response.