Deu Almeida, DrPH, MBA

FOUNDER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

As a mama of three, maternal health leader, full-spectrum doula and music therapist, I started my doula practice with one goal in mind: to meet multicultural families where they are!

Plain and simple: I love all things pregnancy! After working in the music industry for nearly ten years, I experienced a deep and abrupt shift in my life trajectory upon becoming pregnant. Prior to my pregnancy, I had already declared my path of Maternal & Neonatal Health in my DrPH program, but experiencing the true miracle we call life confirmed that Maternal & Neonatal Health are in fact a huge part of my purpose, even so much so that I was willing to partially cut ties with the music business to fulfill this duty. That’s why and how I’m here for you today — I truly believe I was called to do this work.

I’ve always had an interest in the unknowns of pregnancy. I was born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia, and have lived my life with a star-shaped G-tube patch and midline incision scar that represent the intersectionality of pregnancy, what can go wrong and how we can fix it. And upon marrying my husband, a heart transplant recipient, I became even more enthralled by the specialty of disease prevention in infants.

Many wonder why I took the DrPH path as opposed to a traditional MD degree, and the truth is that nothing I’ve ever done in my life was conventional. It is my belief that addressing Maternal & Neonatal Health issues from the standpoint of public health practice is not only effective, but is also fulfilling. As a public health practitioner, I address the risks and patterns of pregnancy complications as a population-wide problem. I’m not a medical doctor because I am not interested in treating these conditions: I am a public health doctor because I am committed to preventing them altogether.

EDUCATION

DRPH — Fellow, Maternal & Neonatal Health

MPH — Global Epidemiology

MBA — Entrepreneurship

BM — Music Therapy

Minor — Psychology

Member — Postpartum Support International

Certification — Labor Doula

Certification (Pending) — DONA International

Certification (Pending) — Medical Assistant

Certification (Pending) — Postpartum Doula

Certification (Pending) — PMH-C