About Us
Birthsmarter lives in the space where biology meets society, wisdom meets data, and empathy meets activism.
Our Birth Story
When our founder, Ashley Brichter, gave birth for the first time in 2014, she had experience with hundreds of families as a doula and birth educator. She already knew everything traditional birth classes were teaching. She felt like she'd done everything right. Then — like so many — her birth did not “go as planned.” Ashley went back to the drawing board. She questioned everything she learned becoming a doula, a childbirth educator, and a parent herself.
Birthsmarter is the result.
Birthsmarter was born with a single monthly birth class in Brooklyn, NY in mid-2019 and has grown into a virtual platform reaching families all over the country. In a world where it can be difficult to keep sight of what is truly important, Birthsmarter is here to model critical, creative, and compassionate thinking, to help you develop a framework for interpreting “expert” advice, and to support you while navigating a system that is built on binary thinking.
Our Core Values
We pride ourselves in being the most unbiased, inclusive, and accessible pregnancy and parenting community in the United States. We consider the following principles in everything we do.
🍼 Being Unbiased
means that we know there is no hierarchy of birth outcomes or parenting choices. That means we do not promote unmedicated births over medicated births or sleep-training over bed-sharing. At Birthsmarter, we believe that families should have the highest quality of education and support to meet them where they are. This means we do not give blanket advice or tell people what to do. We do not make assumptions or lecture on best practices. We share evidence-based resources, community anecdotes, and personal experience while recognizing that one size will never fit all! We want to make sure people feel seen, heard, and supported - NEVER pressured or shamed.
🌈 Being Inclusive
means welcoming all individuals and family structures while recognizing that Black, brown, Queer, fat, disabled, and financially limited individuals and families 1. exist and 2. might have unique needs. As one example of our inclusivity efforts, we default to neutral terms such as “pregnant people” or “partners” instead of leaning on gendered terms like “mama.” We recognize racism and implicit bias in the birth community and work to unpack our own biases and limitations as leaders in the field.
💛 Being Accessible
means meeting people where they are! We offer an alternative pricing policy to make sure every family can access Birthsmarter regardless of their economic status; provide closed captioning in virtual classes; offer classes in multiple formats; and have designed a curriculum with an eye for different learning styles.
Our Team
We're a small group of pretty smart and extremely thoughtful parents/doulas/educators/movement professionals; providing practical wisdom and guidance to you: pretty smart and extremely thoughtful families.
Ashley Brichter, CCCE, CBE
Founder + CEO
Ashley is the Founder & CEO of Birthsmarter, Founder of Plumb Line, LLC, and Co-Founder of MOVE Your Marriage. She is a Certified Fair Play Facilitator, Birth and Postpartum Doula, and Lactation Counselor who has worked with families, healthcare professionals, and mission-driven organizations nationwide. Ashley still pops into the classroom and occasionally teaches all of Birthsmarter’s classes. She lives outside NYC with her two kids and is rarely “off” — if she’s not building a company, she’s probably renovating something, reorganizing something, or dreaming up the next big idea. Ashley won the 2026 Grazing Board Extraordinaire Fundy for bringing small pieces together and making something greater than the sum of their individual parts!
ashley@birthsmarter.com — Instagram: @birthsmarter
Beth Hardy
Childbirth Educator, SLC
Beth Hardy is Birthsmarter’s Utah Regional Lead. She is also the founder and owner of Heart Tones Doula Services, Salt Lake City’s most inclusive doula agency. A board-certified music therapist, birth and postpartum doula, Beth teaches childbirth education and newborn classes with Birthsmarter. She is passionate about inclusivity, empowerment, and helping parents find their voice during labor and early parenthood, and works extensively with LGBTQIA+ families. She lives in Salt Lake City, UT with her two kids, and can be relied on to raise standards whether that’s through organizing, crafting, or hosting. Beth won the 2026 Rocky Mountain Beacon Fundy for guiding Birthsmarter’s expansion in Utah.
beth@birthsmarter.com — Instagram: @hearttonesbirth
Sam Dawson Tandy, DPT
Childbirth Educator, SLC
Sam is a Doctor of Physical Therapy specializing in pelvic health and the founder of Live Embodied PT in Salt Lake City. She works extensively in perinatal rehabilitation, helping clients move confidently through pregnancy and postpartum recovery. Sam is committed to changing the status quo of perinatal care by bridging clinical expertise with real-life function. She teaches Childbirth Education to expectant parents in Salt Lake City and offers continuing education workshops on the benefit of Childbirth Education to perinatal professionals with Birthsmarter. Sam lives in Salt Lake City with her husband, son, and daughter and feels most grounded in the mountains (or experimenting in the kitchen). Sam won the 2026 Your Right Way Fundy for coming back to Birthsmarter after maternity leave with so much intention.
sam@birthsmarter.com — Instagram: @liveembodiedpt
Lauren Lorow
Director of Operations, Head of Community + Partnerships
Lauren serves as Chief of Staff at Birthsmarter, supporting sales strategy, partnerships, and brand growth. With a background in marketing, wellness leadership, and performance coaching (including coaching at solidcore), she brings both big-picture vision and serious follow-through. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two daughters, where she spends a surprising amount of time navigating sibling dynamics like a seasoned diplomat — and still finds energy for adventure. Lauren won the 2026 Scrooge McDuck Fundy for understanding what everything was going to cost and measuring Birthsmarter’s ROI!
lauren@birthsmarter.com — Instagram: @birthsmarter
Anna Carapetyan
Newborn Care Educator, NYC
Anna is one of New York City’s most experienced and active birth and postpartum doulas. She brings years of hands-on experience supporting families through pregnancy, labor, and early parenthood, in addition to her background in coaching and professional dance. Anna is passionate about honoring physiological birth and helping families feel steady in life’s most vulnerable transitions. She teaches Birthsmarter’s Newborn Class. Anna lives in Brooklyn with her family and is known to host spontaneous kitchen dance parties between births. Anna won the 2026 Co-Regulation Fundy for helping us all take a big breath!
anna@birthsmarter.com — Instagram: @annacarapetyan
Michelle Arvin
Childbirth Educator, NYC
Michelle is a Queens-based doula and birth educator with additional training in the areas of trauma-informed care, holding space for loss, abortion, queer/trans families, lactation/body feeding, and physiology of labor. She loves working with “older” parents, athletes/movers/performers/artists and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Prior to birth work, Michelle worked as a professional baker, circus performer, teaching artist, and landscaper. She lives with her son, two cats (who are not friends), and a varying number of fish. She’s an avid bike commuter, community gardener, knitter, and bibliophile. Michelle teaches Childbirth Education, newborn care, lactation, and postpartum planning in NYC and online. Michelle won the 2026 Road Warrior Fundy (as you can always find her on a bike)
michelle@birthsmarter.com — Instagram: @michelle.arvin.doula
Erin Eichhorn
Childbirth Educator, NYC
Erin teaches Childbirth Education classes with Birthsmarter. She brings a background in birth and postpartum doula care and performing arts, and has worked supporting families throughout New York City. Erin is passionate about compassionate postpartum care, emotional wellbeing, and helping families feel deeply prepared for life after birth. She lives in NYC, and can often be found passionately discussing placentas at dinner parties. Erin won the 2026 11-Star Fundy (for literally having the most 11-star reviews).
erin@birthsmarter.com — Instagram: @babiesandart
Harmony Stempel, CBE
Childbirth Educator. NYC + Hudson Valley, Class Operations Manager
Harmony is Birthsmarter’s Class Operations Manager and teaches Childbirth Education and Newborn classes. She is also a postpartum doula who came to birth work after a career as a professional artist and performer. She brings creative presence, emotional fluency, and deep attunement to the families she supports. She lives in Brooklyn with her child, Homer, and can often be found wandering Green-Wood Cemetery or dreaming up her next creative project. Harmony won the 2026 Front of House Fundy for making sure our students always have the best experience.
harmony@birthsmarter.com — Instagram: @birthsmarter
Pam Skop
Childbirth Educator. NYC + Hudson Valley
Pam has always had an immense passion for supporting those in the perinatal period. From a young age Pam took care of children and later became a nanny for infants which opened her eyes to the need for more support for parents. Pam became a licensed mental health counselor, yoga teacher, Birthsmarter childbirth educator, and is the owner of EveryBody Psychotherapy in an effort to increase the support she can offer to new and expectant parents. Pam is also a specialist in the treatment of eating disorders and uses the connection between the mind and body in all of her work supporting others.
Lauren Kaelin (LK)
Creative Director
LK leads creative strategy and brand storytelling at Birthsmarter. A former Creative Director at Esembly Diapers and Ample Hills Creamery, she is also an illustrator and artist in her own right, with a gift for translating big ideas into visuals that feel human and alive. She lives in Brooklyn with her wife and two kids and takes Halloween costumes extremely seriously. LK won the 2026 Everything Is Prettier with LK Around Fundy for obvious reasons.
lauren.kaelin@birthsmarter.com — Instagram: @laurenkaelin
Katie Jennings
Childbirth Educator, NYC
Katie teaches Childbirth Education classes with Birthsmarter. With a Master's of Education in Human Sexuality Studies from Widener University, Katie brings expertise in human sexuality education and K–12 teaching, and has worked in schools and early childhood education centers across NYC. Katie is passionate about empowerment, body autonomy, and building emotionally intelligent communities. She lives in New York City, and can often be found turning big topics into approachable conversations.
Sherraine Ashley
Childbirth Educator, NYC
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Lindsay Dougal
Childbirth Educator, SLC
Lindsay Dougal is a Birthsmarter Childbirth Educator as well as a Birthing From Within Childbirth Educator, doula, and trauma-informed birth professional. A Utah native, she brings grounded wisdom, fierce compassion, and years of experience supporting families through pregnancy and postpartum. She lives in Utah with her deeply supportive partner and four children (three earthside, one in the stars). She eats cookies like it’s her day job, ferments just about everything, swears with enthusiasm, and proudly embraces her introverted INFJ life.