Kelly Rutan fully embraces her career as a postpartum doula – it is her passion and her calling. However, the path to doula work was not straightforward for Kelly and she spent years navigating the corporate world as an antitrust litigation attorney in a large Washington DC law firm. That work left her burned out and unfulfilled, and it became harder and harder to ignore that her passion and calling lay elsewhere – the early postpartum period. Kelly experienced firsthand the challenges associated with postpartum mood and anxiety disorders and the difficulties of navigating this journey with inadequate support following the births of both of her children. After supporting a close friend through her own transition into motherhood, Kelly knew that it was time to leave the corporate world behind forever and take the leap into becoming a postpartum doula.

Since 2015, Kelly has been providing compassionate, nonjudgmental doula care and support to the families in and around Raleigh, NC. The postpartum journey is an exciting, yet often overwhelming and vulnerable, experience for new parents. For Kelly, it is truly an honor to step into the role of postpartum confidant, expert consultant, and doula best friend to each and every family she supports. In 2017, Kelly and her business partner Heather Clements founded the thriving agency Doulas of Raleigh, and together, with their team of incredible doulas, they have provided exceptional care to hundreds and hundreds of families throughout their area.  

Kelly has been a ProDoula member since 2016 and joined the ProDoula Training & Development Team in February of 2018. She has also served as ProDoula’s Director of Education since 2022. ProDoula’s commitment to elevating the role of professional doulas is what drew Kelly to this organization. And its dedication to instilling in new doulas the real value of postpartum doula support is what keeps her passionate about being a ProDoula Trainer. It is truly a joy to share space with doulas – no matter where they are in their career – as a trainer, mentor, and colleague. Each and every training brings opportunities for growth, learning, laughing, and sometimes even crying. Kelly is honored to be a part of ProDoula’s mission to uplift and continuously move forward the doula profession. And she would love to have you join her for an upcoming training.