Member Interview: Emma Whiteoak Lee

Emma Whiteoak Lee is a Postpartum Doula and a licensed Acupuncturist and Herbalist with a focus on women's health. The solutions she offers to her patients are unique and eclectic, born out of her vast life and holistic medical experiences. Her compassion, acceptance, humor, humility, and love shine through the medicine that she offers.

Emma blends a combination of acupuncture and bodywork and utilizes both Eastern and Western botanical medicine to help her patients feel their best. She works with women to optimize fertility and is comfortable working alongside treatments such as IUI and IVF.

In pregnancy, she is confident in helping expectant mothers with morning sickness and fatigue, body aches and pains, and mental emotional health. Emma also offers acupuncture "labor inductions" for pregnancies that have gone to term and may need a little nudge.

Her postpartum mamas get extra special treatment, such as in-home acupuncture for mothers and partners and in-home Ayurvedic Abhyanga massages to help nourish nervous systems in this tender time. Emma is also happy to work with postpartum families set up meal trains and other community support systems. You will be in good hands!

Emma sees clients at a home location in Sharon, VT and at Integrative Health in Randolph, VT. She also offers home visits.

What services do you offer to folks during conception, pregnancy, birth, or postpartum?

I offer Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine to enhance fertility, to help maintain a healthy pregnancy, and to ease the transitions into labor and motherhood. I offer in-home visits for postpartum families which are tailored to suit the needs of the family. These can include Abhyanga Massage, Shiatsu Massage, Acupuncture, and Herbal Formulation.

How did you get into your line of work?

It was both! 28 years ago, when I was 19, I began studying botany, plant medicine making, and clinical herbalism and haven't stopped since. I've traveled extensively throughout the US and beyond, integrating everything I've learned and synthesizing my own eclectic practice style. In 2009, I graduated from OCOM in Portland, OR with a Masters in Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. At the same time, my first child was born, and naturally I was steeped in the culture of birth and raising children. My passion for helping families in their unique birth and parenting journeys has never wained. In 2004 I completed my postpartum doula training at the Ayurvedic Center in Williston, VT.

What do people think you do to support folks?

I love this question! Whew, where to begin. First of all it is not widely understood that the education required to be a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist is a 4 year Masters Program. We learn a lot about western medicine, anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology in addition to grasping an ancient and complex medical system. Our dominate culture tends to undervalue herbalism for the in depth art and science that it is. People commonly think that the "right" answer is as easy as a google search or buying into the latest herbal fad, but those solutions pale in comparison to working with an experienced herbalist. Many people have never heard of a Postpartum Doula and have no idea what we offer. I believe that we are actively involved in an incredibly important movement that truly values and supports healthy family culture. A movement that brings to light how crucial this postpartum time is for grounding mothers in particular in the knowledge that their work is amongst the most sacred on the planet.

What do you actually do to support folks?

I listen with an open mind and an open heart. I help my patients see and feel the wisdom of the body. We share humor, humility, and respect. We share in joys and sorrows. In between all of that I use my hands and tiny needles and herbal knowledge to give the body the support we need to be healthy and balanced.

What is something that you feel like you are uniquely able to help people with?

Self-compassion. Feeling connected, supported, and loved. I offer them a variety of frameworks through which to think about medicine and healing.

What is the one piece of advice you find yourself telling people over and over again?

Trust your body and trust its process. The wisdom it offers is way deeper than our thinking minds can comprehend.

What are the top 3 questions people ask when they first start to work with you for support?

How long will this take (to feel better, to conceive, to feel confident as a mother)? -I don't know! Enjoy the journey. There is no destination.

What am I doing wrong? -Absolutely nothing. You are exactly where you need to be right... NOW.

Why is this happening to me? -I don't know! Reasons are sometimes revealed in hindsight. Trust that these challenges are coming up because they are part of your soul's earthly education.