moe & kris elle

Mother of Ease is a Black maternal and family care practice whose principal focus is the birthing experiences of Black folk.

Delivering education, preparation, and support for Black women and families journeying the childbearing continuum in the U.S, where good birthing care remains elusive— Mother of Ease founder, Kris Elle, Certified Doula and Certified Lactation Counselor®, is a mother of five with seventeen years of embodied experience navigating maternal care systems, designing practical ways for birthing nourishment. Elle hosts community classes and workshops; writes and speaks to matters of Black maternal health; consults parents and care providers, and remains inspired by the folks she comes from. She is a Southern California native living near Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and children. With her leisure time, Kris writes, reads, watercolors, and travels.

Hi there, Kris here

I was born in the Winter of December in Long Beach, CA, to two young Black lovers from Watts and Crenshaw. Raised in the suburbs of Southern California, as the oldest of four, I spent my childhood soaking up the sun and the everyday nuances of Black family life in America. My most cherished university experience was spent as a student at the University of Southern California, before ultimately (have a lot of community college experience in there, too) completing my undergraduate studies at Loyola Marymount University in L.A. with a B.A. in Communication Studies. I’m a researcher and writer at heart—a consistent student. I love nonfiction works and deepening my understanding of histories, preparing loose-leaf tea & tisanes, traveling, reveling in nature, being with the family I’ve helped create, every FaceTime and real time with my dearest girlfriends, and spending good time alone, restorative yoga, watching sophisticated and not-so-sophisticated tv shows, baking and eating good food and frequently saying yes to old and new ways of living a life.

I married my best friend and the forever love of my life in Los Angeles in January of 2008 and we’ve since welcomed five beautiful children to complete our family. When I became pregnant with our first child, I was a healthy, college-educated, newly married, twenty-something Black woman with less than desirable health insurance coverage. I quickly found myself at the imposing whims of medical care providers and a hospital community with little interest in my preferences or personhood—from pregnancy to postpartum. After enduring a highly medicalized continuum experience, and suffering from undiagnosed postpartum depression—this womanhood & motherhood of mine inspired my extensive exploration and years of detailed research, and eventual success in finding alternative, respectful, supportive models of care for my future pregnancies, birthing experiences and postpartum healings. It helped build the framework for this particular work I would be called to in my life, for the women and families who would one day welcome me as their doula.

I have given birth in hospitals and at home and in three different states —Tennessee, California and Colorado. I have experienced care from OB/GYNs, CNMs, and CPMs. I have been financially unwell and pregnant and financially stable and pregnant. I have relied on government health insurance and private health insurance. I have labored with Pitocin® and an epidural, and journeyed four births without medical induction or pain medication. I have known long labor, quick labor, and one precipitous labor that led to my husband standing in for the midwife. I’ve studied hypnobirthing on my own and been successful with implementation, which guided me toward my easiest laboring experience. I’ve mothered five children, seven and under, and homeschooled those five children from preschool to now (we have a high-school student, wow). I strive to flow every bit of what God graces me with into my most worthy work and the truest joy of my life: our family of seven. Humbled by my own experiences, I serve professionally as a Certified Doula and Certified Lactation Counselor.®

Education & Experience

in Communication Studies | Loyola Marymount University | Los Angeles, CA | 2008
With a collection of units and collegiate experiences at the University of Southern California, Santa Monica College, West Los Angeles Community College, and the Riverside Community College District.
After college, working for the City of Los Angeles, and marrying my now husband (hey, love) in 2008, we moved away from our beloved Los Angeles, welcomed our first child, and I began mothering and educating at home (and everywhere else).
2009 | Firstborn | Chattanooga TN | Low + High Risk OB/GYN care, Hospital, Medical Induction of Labor, Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) assisted
2012 | Secondborn | Chatttanooga TN | Low-Risk CNM care, precipitous labor, hospital, CNM assisted
2014 | Thirdborn | Chattanooga TN | Low-Risk CNM care, precipitous labor, hospital, on-call OB/GYN assisted
2015 | Fourthborn | Riverside CA | CNM care in TN, Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) care in CA, precipitous labor, hypnobirthing, home, called midwife late, husband caught baby, xo
2017 | Fifthborn | Fountain CO | complete out-of-hospital prenatal visits, CPM care, quick labor, hydrotherapy, home, midwife assisted
Mama Glow Professional Doula Training Program | 2021
One Year Journey to MG Certification | 21-22
Mama Glow Certified Doula | 2022
Hospital-Based Training | Doula Impact Program | 2022
Breastfeeding Mother x 5
Healthy Children Project Inc. | 2021
ALPP® Certified Lactation Counselor® | 2022
Mama Glow First Foods Justice Scholar & Advocate | 2024
Founded | November 2021
First Client | December 2021
Faithful Practice | 2021 - Present