Latham Thomas

While one look at Latham Thomas would have you thinking she's clearly just a professional Brooklyn cool girl, you wouldn't really be wrong, but she's also so so much more. Latham is a women’s wellness expert, a doula, a businesswoman, an author, the founder of Mama Glow, a mother, and plainly, just the sort of source of positivity everyone needs in their lives.

Who inspires you?
I’m inspired by the women who show up to serve as doulas. I hope to teach them everything I know. 

What do you hope to inspire in other women?
I hope to inspire them to carry the torch forward and be a blessing to women and families in birth - particularly those that are underserved or at-risk. 

Is there an example you can share of how another woman has lifted you up?
I come from a lineage of women that supported others and in a lot of that support was sacrifice. I am a part of a new generation that is reclaiming our sanctity and sanity and embracing self-care as a pathway to empowerment. I have close friends who lift me on a daily basis and we support each other’s work, ideas and dreams. My desire to support and lift others is rooted in community building and creating spaces for women to move freely. There were a lot of barriers for me in entering the space and field I am in. Nothing I have achieved has been handed to me so for those who are coming up I hope their paths will be easier to navigate. 

How has confidence played a role in your life?
Confidence is key. I know that where I focus my energy, fruit is born. I am so dialed into my purpose and I let spirit order my steps. I wasn’t always confident in myself. There were people, like my mother and other figures, who believed in me before I believed in myself. They saw in me something when I couldn’t see it yet. It took time to evolve into the person who I am today and the woman I am evolving into becoming. I know I am a work in progress- we all are. The key is to honor where you are today, knowing that growth is part of the every changing trajectory.

What's the best part of your job?
There are so many fun parts about my work but one is that I get to spend the Mama Glow Doula Immersion weekends with women from around the world. In addition to teaching in NYC, get to travel to LA, Miami and Paris to initiate women in birth work. They are each so unique and come from various walks of life. It's an honor to be a part of their doula journeys. I also really love attending births and supporting my clients. Watching them grow, learn and become confident in the process and their bodies and to witness them bring life into the world - that moment is so transformative for everyone but particularly for the woman who is born into motherhood. 

What are you most proud of?
Sometimes you’re so caught up in doing the work that you don’t really think about what strides you’ve made. But when I take a step back and look at the global community we’ve created and how they have become a sisterhood, that makes me so proud. What I am also really excited about is that we’ve grown is our new conference - The Continuum Conference. The inaugural Continuum Conference is an intergenerational and intersectional gathering for women to evoke, embody, and amplify what it means to be a woman at various phases of life. The conference will gather folks from all walks of life and be a space for our doula community to come together for a full day of learning, connecting, and supporting one another. Hosted, in partnership with the William Vale Hotel in Williamsburg Brooklyn on November 2nd and 3rd, The Continuum seeks to elevate and elucidate the conversation around fertility, pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, menstruation, abortion and loss and everything in between. This conference is something we’ve dreamt about and it’s finally happening.

What has been the most useful advice you've received? Or what is the best advice you would like to offer other women?
Like you would hire a doula to support you during the birth and postpartum journey, I am inviting you to consider the concept of enlisting what I call a Vision Doula to hold space for your nascent ideas and business ventures. A vision doula is a person who serves as a listening ear, a presence of support, one who holds you accountable, cheerleads for you, and also provides the tender emotional support that is often over looked when starting a business. Sometimes you just need someone to listen. A vision doula is someone who enrolls in the idea or concept early on and stands along side you, holding your hand as you chart untraveled territory. They are there for the high moments and serve as a sound-board for when you have low moments. As birth is unpredictable, business can also be wildly unpredictable and having someone who can help you navigate the choppy waters is not only helpful, but in many cases can be critical for new businesses.

What is your motto or mantra?
Anything we are cultivating takes patience, faith and an ideal environment for growth. 

What are you most excited for next?
I’m super excited for The Continuum Conference now. It’s November 3rd and I am really looking forward to getting to Miami for our Doula Immersion Program this November as well, it’s always a pleasure to meet the new doulas.

[Photo by Yumi Matsuo]