About Us
About Healing Internationale
At Healing Internationale, we are passionate about supporting your journey into parenthood. Whether you're expecting your first child or expanding your family, our birth education and therapy services are designed to help you navigate this transformative experience.
Natalie Peña
Founder · Healing Internationale
“Every birth is a sacred act of creation.”
— Natalie Peña
Meet the Founder
Natalie Peña
I am Natalie the founder of Healing Internationale, and my journey as a full-spectrum doula started in 2014. In 2016 I became a certified health educator and 2017 a Certified lactation consultant. In 2019 I became a sex therapist, intimacy consultant, and couples therapist to support couples in staying together and navigating postpartum as a team. My work has been deeply shaped by my passion for supporting families through life’s most transformative moments. Throughout my career, I’ve had the honor of witnessing and supporting individuals and families during home births, birth center births, and hospital births. I have worked in high risk care,IVF, Endo/PCOS, post cancer pregnancies, and low-risk unmedicated home/ hospital birth. All while holding space for their unique experiences.
As a Certified Lactation Consultant and trauma-informed educator, I’ve always been drawn to the power of transformation that comes with parenthood. I find deep fulfillment in supporting families through this sacred journey, offering care that honors their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. My work spans from prenatal care to doula services, and couples therapy, with a focus on holistic perinatal care and community health education.
At the heart of my work is my passion for reproductive justice and health-based advocacy, especially within immigrant communities. I am deeply committed to helping families build new legacies in the face of complex challenges, and it is this passion that drives my work in both community organizing and provider training. I facilitate educational spaces where parents and providers can learn together, creating opportunities for intergenerational health and healing. I am a first-generation Dominican, and my background shapes every aspect of the work I do. I earned my BA in International Community Health and Reproductive Justice, and my master's in Clinical Sexology and Couples Therapy always striving to stay informed on the latest, most holistic approaches to perinatal care. Through Healing Internationale, I bring together an interdisciplinary team of professionals who are committed to offering people-centered, holistic care. My mission is to support families and communities through education and advocacy, and I’m honored to be a part of their transformative journeys.
The People Behind the Care
Meet the Team
Natalie Pena
Founder - Couples Coach - Sex Therapist - Lactation Consultant - Childbirth Educator
Natalie Peña (they/she) is a full-spectrum doula, sex therapist, intimacy consultant, and couples therapist. She has had the honor of supporting homebirth, birth center birth, and hospital birth since 2014. She has been a Certified Lactation Consultant since 2017 and trained to be a doula. Natalie has worked in reproductive health systems since 2012 as a sex educator, reproductive health support and medical trainer. They have always loved to be a witness to the transformation of people into parenthood. Natalie is the founder of Healing Internationale where she spends most of their time working on reproductive justice, and health-based advocacy, as well as training providers and community members. Natalie is passionate about childbirth education and body literacy, she starting teaching CBE in the clinic and now teaches for Healing Internationale as well as creating curriculum and consulting reproductive health organizations . They bring laughter and excitement to supporting families’ transformation and transition during the perinatal period, especially with those building a new legacy as immigrants. From prenatal care to doula work, to couples therapy, they have a deep need to create education for sexuality through the lifespan and create spaces for intergenerational health and holistic healing. Their practice focuses on holistic perinatal care, community health education, and lactation consultancy. They are also a first-generation Afro-Dominican community organizer and facilitator offering educational training to parents and providers. She received their BA in International Community Health and Reproductive Justice in 2015 and their master’s in Clinical Sexology and Couples Therapy in 2020. Natalie is passionate about bringing together different health professionals in the interdisciplinary practice of holistic people-centered family care.
Shanely Marmolejos
Birth Doula Partner ( Spanish)
Shanely Marmolejos, LMSW, CD (DTI) is a bilingual Dominican-American social worker, therapist and full spectrum doula. She is a proud mom of a 3 year old girl and proud New Yorker. After her journey into motherhood in 2021, she became a doula through Doula Training International. She is passionate about maternal mental health, and providing education and resources for parents to be. She knows that support, education, access to resources make a difference in families' journeys. Shanely’s pregnancy, birth and postpartum transformed her personal life and her career path. She decided to shift from supporting students in schools to supporting moms and parents to be through her doula services and mental health services. She believes that parents deserve individualized care and support through each pregnancy, as they are all different. Her mission is to help parents to feel empowered, prepared and supported throughout this special time in their lives, whether it’s their first baby or last.
Courtney Mcclain
Child Birth Educator - Doula Partner - Health Counselor - Postpartum Chef
Hey all! I'm Courtney, a Black, Queer, NY based Full Spectrum doula, mental health counselor, childbirth educator, doula mentor and postpartum chef. My work as a doula is grounded in the idea that all birthing people deserve equity, care and autonomy throughout their birthing experience and especially during the postpartum period. My goal is to work closely with families, helping to support their unique and personal visions of birth and to also be a source of care and support throughout the postpartum period, while centering mental health and wellness. I come to doula work with 7 years of experience teaching health education in NYC public schools. This experience allowed my love of mental/emotional, and reproductive health to develop and thrive. I went on to obtain my M.S, Ed in Counseling Education as a way to help destigmatize mental health in my community while also making that care approachable and accessible. I bring all of this into my doula work with clients-- prioritizing their mental wellness and providing tools and resources for those around them to do the same. My work as a childbirth educator, doula referral coordinator connecting NYC families to free doula care, postpartum chef and full spectrum doula has provided me with unique experiences, knowledge and passion that I am excited to share with others. Outside of doula work I’m a woman who loves to laugh, cook, color, read, build LEGO sets and dream with my doula community. I look forward to working with you and providing the kind of support you want and need.
What Drives Us
Our Mission
At Healing Internationale, we use an integrative health mode to discuss the perinatal period. Integrative health is a holistic approach to health and well-being. This is a combination of therapeutic practices as well as healthcare professional practices that support clients in all areas of life. Integrative health is used in addition to healthcare practices used by doctors not in replace of it. We don't sitz-bath our way out of pelvic floor dysfunction and we can lactation cookie our way to a healthy feeding relationship. We provide practical information for every stage of fertility, birth and postpartum.
Where We're Going
Our Vision
Our vision is to work alongside clients and families supporting them in evidence based decision making but also integrating themselves to parenthood. Sometime along the way we work with families that are simultaneously healing intergenerational trauma and therapy that supports clients in transition.
Expertise & Training
Credentials & Specialties
Full-Spectrum Doula
Supporting families through all phases of the reproductive journey — from pregnancy loss to fertility, birth, and postpartum.
Lactation Counselor
Helping parents navigate breastfeeding, formula feeding, and combination feeding with evidence-based guidance.
Childbirth Educator
Teaching comprehensive preparation for labor, birth, and the newborn period through engaging group and private classes.
Intimacy Consultant & Sex Therapist
Supporting couples and individuals in navigating relationship and intimacy changes through the perinatal transition.
Postpartum Doula
Providing expert in-home support for new families during the critical fourth trimester.
What We Stand For
Our Core Values
Dignity
Every person deserves to be treated with respect and seen as the expert on their own body and life.
Empowerment
Knowledge and informed consent are the foundations of confident, autonomous birth and parenting decisions.
Inclusion
We serve families of all backgrounds, structures, orientations, and identities with full affirmation.
Healing
Birth and postpartum are profound opportunities for healing — physically, emotionally, and relationally.
Ready to work with Natalie?
Schedule a free consultation call to discuss your needs and how Healing Internationale can support your family.
Let's Walk This Journey Together
Whether you're just beginning to plan or already deep in your birth at 35 weeks or this is not your first rodeo Natalie and the Healing Internationale team are here for you.