About

Toni Curtis, CD(DONA), LCCE, CLC, CHW, CVD(TVL), SpBCPE, is an award-winning maternal health advocate, educator, and full-spectrum doula with more than 30 years of experience supporting families across the fertility, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journey. She is the Founder and Director of BirthWise Doula Services, a Charlotte-based practice recognized for evidence-based, holistic, and person-centered care grounded in reproductive justice and the belief that safe birth is a basic human right.

Toni began her work as a peer educator in the mid-1990s and has since dedicated her career to improving perinatal outcomes through culturally responsive education, skilled advocacy, and continuity of care. Her approach blends clinical insight with traditional wisdom, integrating childbirth education, lactation counseling, community health work, and body-based modalities including Spinning Babies®-informed techniques and other holistic practices while honoring each client’s values, goals, and medical context.

A nationally recognized leader in the field, Toni currently serves as DONA International’s Director of Advocacy, collaborating with professionals and organizations across healthcare, community programs, and public policy to expand access to quality doula support and address inequities in maternal health.

Toni is also the creator of the Physiological Birth Model: Life Span Perspective and the Physiological Birth Practitioners Program, which equip birth professionals with trauma-informed, equity-centered frameworks that strengthen informed consent, respectful care, and better outcomes. Through BirthWise and her advocacy work, Toni continues to empower families especially those historically underserved to feel informed, supported, and confident before, during, and after birth.