Hollie Stockdale: Showing up as a Witness & Servant to Women in Motherhood

Written by Bethany Welborn
Photographed by Carrie Cantrell

We pulled up to the house at the same time, she and I, on a quiet, well-manicured street in the north Jackson neighborhood. Fall was just beginning to tease the Tennessee breeze, and the sky seemed a deeper, fuller shade of blue than it had in the shimmering heat of July or the droning buzz of August. My first impression of Hollie Stockdale as we greeted each other on the driveway was that she was steady, wise, and kind. She paused before she spoke, not from hesitation, but from reflective consideration. She gathered up a length of colorful fabric she’d brought (a birthing aid from Mexico called a rebozo, I’d later learn), and knocked on the door of her client’s home before letting herself in. Her eyes were tired; she’d been assisting with a birth the night before until 4am, yet she graciously kept our appointment. Her voice throughout our interview, lower and softer than I expected, didn’t waver or self-deprecate. This, I felt immediately, was a woman at ease with herself and her place in the world. This is a woman who knows what she was made for. 

As we walked into the expansive living room of Hollie’s client — Veronica was her name — and got settled on the couch, I was delighted to be seated next to a gently rocking SNOO bassinet, with Veronica’s four-week-old son, Jacob, snuggled inside. Hollie beamed when she saw him, and gave Veronica a familiar hug.

My second impression of Hollie Stockdale was this: she delights in tending to mothers and babies. One of the first things Hollie mentioned as we began our discussion of how she serves the families of Jackson was that if you reach out to her for help, you won’t be turned away. 

“There should not be a barrier of time, space, income, any of that…I’ll meet [you] where [you’re] at,” she said assuredly. Hollie, an RN of 10 years, mother of five, certified lactation consultant (CLC) and owner of Hub City Doula, considers her job to be a noble calling, not just a career. Providing expectant and postpartum mothers alike with resources and compassionate support is her passion. When women contact Hollie needing help with breastfeeding or birth plans, she will always provide that information free of charge. 

In addition to her one-on-one work as a doula, Hollie also partners with the Jackson Health Department and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, serving as a consultant to help educate new moms about labor and delivery, breastfeeding, postpartum mental health, and more. She also played a pivotal role in reviving the local chapter of the Le Leche League, which now meets at the downtown Jackson-Madison County Library. The group had previously been trying to meet online, but Hollie was dissatisfied with that platform, missing those intimate moments of connection that can only happen in person. 

“We need a community of mothers, mothering each other, mothering ourselves, mothering our babies,” she said as she described the dynamic of the group. I was struck by the image of a co-mothering community. Could Jackson be such a place? If it’s up to Hollie, it will be. 

Hollie first started helping close friends and family with their postpartum nursing questions during the pandemic in 2020. As a floor nurse at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, she saw how much fear was impacting both medical professionals and patients during that time, particularly those on the labor and delivery floor. 

“Especially with breastfeeding, medical professionals didn’t want to get too close,” she told me. “You don’t want to get in a baby’s face. You don’t want to transmit anything, but you also don’t want to catch anything.” 

Hollie’s friends who were having babies and struggling to care for them knew that she was a safe person to reach out to for help and insight. Despite the risks, she was determined to be there for them. “I don’t know anything about the virus, I don’t know anything about COVID,” she recalls thinking, “but I’m going to teach you how to breastfeed.” Word quickly spread among her social circles, and demand began to rise for her services. That was the moment when she realized that this could be a feasible (and meaningful) full-time career. 

“Life is too short,” she remembers thinking. “It’s time for me to go do what I love.” She left her job as a floor nurse and established Hub City Doula later that year. 

Hollie’s passion for empowering mothers is especially evident in the priority she places on the postpartum period. She offers both daytime and nighttime doula services where she stays in the home with families, making herself available to feed or change the baby, rock the baby to sleep, and provide emotional and physical support to the mother. To her knowledge, there are no other doulas in Jackson who offer postpartum overnight services. 

“It’s such a sensitive time, and the mothers are really forgotten,” she said. “Once the baby comes, it can feel like the show stops for mom, and then the mom is on her own…” Hollie paused here, shaking her head, “I don’t want anyone to feel that way.” 

Hollie told me she sometimes doesn’t take on too many births at a time so that she can be available for these postpartum services, and offer each client a high quality of care and presence. She also holds a mental health certification that is specifically tailored to the postpartum experience.

“I really focus on whole-woman wellness…we talk about childhoods, we talk about their families, we talk about everything. We tend to get really close…I have people reach out years after I’ve worked with them… if I’ve been your doula once, I’ll be your doula forever.”  

I was continually struck when talking with Hollie by her quiet self-assurance and calming presence; I can easily see why a laboring woman would want to have Hollie by her side. Hollie herself has experienced all manner of birth stories with her own children; she’s birthed a baby in a car, one baby’s shoulder got stuck, one labor was induced. When she first meets with clients to see if they will be a good fit to work together, Hollie said she always wants to make space for that client to share her dreams and goals for her upcoming labor and delivery, but also to process any trauma the client may have endured prior to their meeting. 

“I hold a lot of space for things that have happened in your past, so that when mom finds herself in labor, she’s not afraid.” 

This is a unique benefit of doula services, the practice of holistic, whole-body care that considers an entire life history, not just a blood pressure reading on a screen. Despite the best efforts of prenatal care providers, it can often be difficult to provide the time and space for a holistic approach in a traditional medical office. Hollie prefers to meet with clients in homes or other calming environments and is optimistic when transforming past trauma into future birthing successes. 

“Pregnancy can realign us in some ways. It produces the most potent oxytocin that you’ll ever have in your life,” Hollie described. “What if at the moment you have those powerful hormones, everything is just right? What could that do for your journey as a woman?”

Hollie could have no way of knowing how those words would impact me and my own experience of a traumatic birth, postpartum anxiety, and postpartum depression. Her compassion is a gift, the way she holds the weighty importance of a laboring mother in careful hands. 

“I always think of the moms who don’t get to take home a baby. I grieve with them, too. I pray for those moms. No matter what the situation is, I want to be there for them as a witness to what they’ve been through.” It’s curious, that word “witness” — it sounds so much like with-ness. A determination that the suffering among us will not suffer alone, the burdened will find relief in a shared load, the mother birthing her child will find herself held, seen, and taken care of.

I asked Hollie what the most rewarding part of her job is. “Seeing moms win,” she answered, a smile blooming across her face, pride lighting up her eyes. 

Every woman’s success in finding her place within the realm of motherhood fuels Hollie’s joy. It’s what motivates her to stay up all night, week after week, with a stranger’s baby, washing bottles and changing diapers. Hollie has attended approximately 80 births in the Jackson area over the last four years; she is on call at all hours, providing support via text, video calls, and in person. For the past two years, Hollie has also single-handedly organized and hosted a Community Baby Shower at the Carl Perkins Center, where any new mother from the Jackson area can come and find celebration and support. At the most recent community shower in 2024, there were over 500 participants, and more than 2,000 free diapers were distributed. Lactation consultants were available for free assessments, and local OB-GYNs and their nurses were on site to meet with potential future patients. Hollie also sourced generous gift baskets and door prizes for attendees from local businesses; she described it as a win-win for the community, as local companies get free exposure while new moms have the chance to get out of the house and feel spoiled for an afternoon. 

The role of a doula, Hollie told me, is often misunderstood.  “It’s my job to help the client voice what they’re feeling…I think there’s a lot of opinions out there about how women should birth and reproduce, but it’s really no one’s business but the mother’s. There’s not a lot of veneration or appreciation for the importance of this time in a woman’s life, and I feel like that can lead to a lot of despair for families. We want it to be joyful, a celebration, happy and fulfilling, so that they can lean into their role as a mother with the full support that they deserve.” 

Doulas, she insisted, aren’t just for “crunchy” moms. She’s worked with every type of client, and her goal is for each woman to experience her version of a perfect birth, whatever that looks like.

 “Doula comes from the Greek word [for] servant,” Hollie told me. “This is never about me; it’s about them.” She quieted, tears filling her eyes. “That’s how I view myself. I am the Hub City servant.”