Our Team

Natalie Maniacci

Owner of A Brighter Birth Charleston

My doula journey began 5 years ago while living on the beautiful island of Hawaii. Living in Hawaii was such an experience for me. The culture and dynamic on the island was truly eye opening, especially the birth culture. I started supporting clients during the peak of covid, which led me to really focus on childbirth education due to the limitations in the hospitals at the time. My first two babies were the traditional induction/hospital births and after my training and working with families, I was able to apply my knowledge with my last baby. I hired a doula for myself and was able to see how wonderful our bodies truly are. My passion for birth and supporting families only grew from here. I am so passionate about bringing families the education and support they desire while they embark on this wonderful journey of parenthood!

Bringing A Brighter Birth to the Charleston area has been such an experience! Melanie + Hunter have created such a magical community over in RVA that I strive to bring here to the lowcountry. I love getting to work and collaborate with so many other maternal & women’s health related services. Our goal for ABB-Charleston is to make sure that everyone feels loved and SUPPORTED on their journey through, not only pregnancy & birth, but throughout all the years to come. ABB is growing day by day and I am so fortunate to have such amazing role models and ladies by my side. I can’t wait to see this birth community blossom here!

Lets Connect!

info@abrighterbirthcharleston.com

Meet The Founders

  • Founder of A Brighter Birth

    I fell in love with Birth while having my own babies. 4 in 5 years to be exact. Each of their births were different, transformative and important. I learned a lot about myself through those experiences: 1) that I was stronger than I ever imagined; 2) that my body was full of magic; and 3) that my soul purpose in life was to support other people through this highly intense rite of passage. My intended career in fashion design and graphic arts flew out the window, and while raising my rapidly growing family, I trained to become a Certified Childbirth Educator, Lactation Counselor, and Certified Professional Birth Doula. My future began to unfold.

    I started teaching A Brighter Birth CBE classes out of my living room in 2008, with my 3rd baby sprawled across my lap or strapped to my chest. I quickly found that beyond childbirth education, my students were hungry for trusted resources who spoke the same language around birth. Practitioners + businesses who were aligned with what they cared about: a safe birth but also a positive, individualized experience with their health and wellness. A personal and intimate take on care.

    After my 4th was born in 2009, I decided to put my Doula Certification to work and started attending births. I also began collaborating with other Birth Doulas, business owners and care providers; true pioneers in and outside of Richmond’s abundant reproductive health network. The search was on for people that were giving the same kind of care and the same quality of experience to my students/clients as I was.

    Since then, the Collective has more than tripled in members. I myself, have attended over 500 births, taught thousands of families their childbirth education classes and have counseled many, many new parents with feeding/newborn/postpartum challenges. I became the Executive Director of ToLABOR, an international Birth Doula training and certifying organization. I’ve also facilitated CenteringPregnancy prenatal appointments alongside Midwives and Obstetricians at VCU, and am currently the “Office Doula” for West End Midwifery at Henrico Doctors Hospital. All of these roles and trainings have further allowed me insight and understanding of empowered birth in home, birthing center and hospital settings.

    As a mother to now 6 children, and the founder/owner of A Brighter Birth: a collective of now over 30 different practitioners, I understand what new and seasoned parents want and need in pregnancy, labor, birth and beyond. Meeting people where they are, respecting their individuality and finding what they truly need to feel safe and supported. ABB’s mission continues to strive for every person who comes through our doors to feel personally cared for and to LOVE their experience, be it through pregnancy, birth, parenting or wellness.

  • Managing Partner

    Hunter Moore is a ToLabor trained and Certified Professional Birth Doula, a Certified Lactation Counselor through the Healthy Children’s Project, the Collective Coordinator of A Brighter Birth Richmond, VA and an A Brighter Birth Childbirth educator. Hunter holds a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies, with a focus in business, from Virginia Commonwealth University. Prior to birthwork she worked for years in fashion merchandising and retail management. 

    Hunter is a mother of two and it wasn’t until after the birth of her own daughter in 2015 that she realized how comprehensive birth education and genuine support from community could successfully impact the journey to parenthood. Hunter dove into birth work in 2016, desiring to become the in-person support that she recognized could have positively impacted her own experience. She finds so much joy feeling settled into her true calling of supporting parents and families through birth. Since 2016 Hunter has supported over 250 families in Richmond, VA as a birth doula and so many more through education and lactation support. After personal and professional experience navigating the journey she also holds a special place for supporting VBACs. Hunter believes everyone deserves to have access to information, questions answered with respect and to feel love and support through their birth and parenting journey.

    Looking forward, Hunter is excited about the growth of A Brighter Birth and expanding this unique model of care into new areas! She is honored to utilize her knowledge in business and deep experience in birth-work to help establish effective ways for families to have easy access to the comprehensive and compassionate birth support and education they are looking for. Hunter is overjoyed to partner with Melanie and Natalie to bring A Brighter Birth to Charleston, SC!