About the Director
Shaden Hawley is a Santa Barbara native. She is a wife, a mother, an entrepreneur, a teacher, a doula, an avid reader, an aspiring novelist, and a multimedia artist. She has always had a passion for caring for children, which is what inspired her first career choice. Her personal experiences with PMADs motivated her to shift careers from an elementary school teacher to a perinatal health and wellness mentor. She realized the best way to help the babies was to help the mamas. “We Mother the Mother” was born from that sentiment. She has a firm belief in cultural humility, personal and professional development, and inspiring empathy. She is a Western Governors University Alumni with degrees in Early Childhood Development, Elementary Education K-8, and Business Management & Leadership. She is a certified prenatal and postpartum doula. She has several certifications in psychology as well as 18 CEUs in Psychology on the MFT track from National University. She is PMH trained through Postpartum Support International and is ACEs Aware certified in California. She lives in northern California with her husband, four children.
Our Approach
Every woman is different. We have different needs, different upbringings, different experiences, and different ambitions. When we enter motherhood, we open ourselves up to a multitude of new feels, new trials, new adventures. That journey begins at a different point with varying levels of support and resources for every woman. Our mission is to fill in the gaps; to support every woman who seeks assistance in the ways that are meaningful to her. Your program is customized to include the services that you need. We utilize evidence-based information in every implemented step to scaffold your maternal nature, no guesswork. We actively practice cultural humility so that every woman no matter what color or creed feels seen, heard, understood, and supported. Our program originates from a place of authentic experience, so although our experiences aren’t exact, we feel the empathy of what you’re going through and channel that love and instinct into our mentorship. We partner with accredited organizations with extensively proven positive outcomes to help reduce and eliminate the maternal health disparities so prevalent in our country today. We provide virtual services to extend the hand of help to the maternal deserts, the busy moms of multiple children, the women who struggled to get out of bed this morning, the new moms who are worried about getting it right, and the moms who want a private word and a listening ear. This is a safe space, with no judgment. A beacon for women trekking through their perinatal phase. A hub of physical, emotional, and social resources. We Mother the Mother doesn’t mean that we coddle women and whisper sweet nothings. We Mother the Mother means we give you the tools, the information, the support, the encouragement, and the nurturing that you need, mother to mother. We don’t tell you how to be a mother. We guide you through the journey and empower you to be the mother you want to be.
The Idea
Flora, Femme, & Fauna was conceptualized to encompass all that makes us uniquely female. The flora, the pretty, the self-sustaining, the patience, the Spring. The fauna, the volatile, the ambition, the drive, the Autumn. The femme, the balance, the holistic being, the soul, both the scorch of Summer and the frost of Winter. All the aspects of life that characterize what it means to be a phenomenal woman and spectacular mother. The program is unique in that it provides a holistic approach by encompassing the five dimensions of health and a past, present, and future model of care from fertility to up to five years postpartum. We work together to build up all that is uniquely you in order to overcome challenges, reach self-actualization, and create a happy, healthy perinatal journey and beyond. The goal of Flora, Femme, & Fauna is to increase the confidence, stability, and health of every woman venturing into motherhood by providing empathetic guidance and unconditional support. Here, we mother the mother.
Psychoeducation
01 — Cognitive Behavior Modification
CBM focuses on identifying dysfunctional self-talk in order to change unwanted behaviors. This approach aims to delineate negative self-verbalizations that are bedding debilitating actions. If you change the way you think, you will change the way you feel. If you change the way you feel, you change the way you act.
02 — Humanistic
Humanistic psychology focuses on the values of the whole person. These methods aim to encourage the intrinsic creativity of an individual through an optimistic emphasis on personal worth, motivation, and natural resilience by striving to establish each pillar of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The goal is to help each client reach self-actualization.
03 — Psychodynamic
Psychodynamic therapy is an introspective approach. The focus is on the internal, unconscious drivers of the human psyche that influence our behaviors and actions. The goal is to retrieve those hidden conflicts, rationalize them, and then release them from your spirit.
04-Third-Wave Therapies
Third-Wave Therapies integrate Eastern philosophies of mindfulness into the therapeutic journey. This approach combines Western culture with Eastern ideologies and practices. In addition, these methods address social justice issues and how the dominant discourse of society has an effect on the individual experience. Through the evocation of exception, individuals will be guided to find solutions that fit their own unique narrative.
"Mother is a verb. It’s something you do. Not just who you are."
— Cheryl Lacey Donovan
Doula Services
01-Prenatal Care
Utilizing certified doula services, we offer research-based care. Mothers will be guided through their pregnancy step-by-step by addressing all five aspects of life (biological, physiological, emotional, social, and physical). Clients will benefit from nutritional guidance, physical activity modification, unconditional emotional support, and abundant information from experienced mothers.
02- Postpartum Care
Mothers will be mothered through those tough few weeks after delivery. Sleep training, lactation consulting, nursing positions, self-care, and never-ending emotional support allow our clients to recover physically and psychologically. Mothers will be guided through this new phase in their life in a nonjudgmental atmosphere that will help establish routine, balance, creativity, and confidence.
“Motherhood is a choice you make every day, to put someone else’s happiness and well-being ahead of your own, to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you’re not sure what the right thing is...and to forgive yourself, over and over again, for doing everything wrong.”
— Donna Ball
Coaching
01- Nutritional guidance
Juice Plus+ innovative nutraceuticals are included in every program. Juice Plus+ is a company that prides itself on providing organic, whole-food enrichment that is backed by decades of research. There has never been a product recall since the start of the company. The products are supported by more than 40 peer-reviewed scientific publications. Research is conducted globally and across cultures to ensure a truly altruistic approach to a healthy diet. These essentials include 33 different fruits and vegetables harvested at the peak of freshness and then quick frozen to lock in nutritional value. They are then pulverized whole into a powder and encapsulated in a vegan, plant-based case. It is the most clinically reviewed product in the market and is supported by a vast array of professional health providers. The nutraceuticals ensure that our clients’ diets are nutritionally boosted to optimize physical health while we make adjustments to their daily intake.
02- Goal-Setting
The program works with each individual to identify areas of motivation, talent, and interest. From there, each client will establish 3-5 SMART goals based solely on their value system and what they want to manifest. Clients are then supported by their mentor with activities, challenges, accountability, and resources until the goal is achieved or adjusted.
03- Self-Actualization
Mentors work with clients to build not only the future they want but the present they deserve to have. Clients are supported continuously in their aims to be better wives, better students, better teachers, better mothers, and better women. Every client who seeks out our services is guided towards a life that is enriching and fills her with a sense of joy and balance. Women are aided in becoming their happiest, healthiest, most creative selves.