Ginny Whitten - Founder, The Empowered Mommy Project

Ginny Whitten

Ginny Whitten is the Creator and Founder of The Empowered Mommy Project.

Ginny has been obsessed with all things birth and breastfeeding since she was a little girl. She would obsessively watch A Baby Story on TLC. At 13 years old, her aunt was gracious enough to allow her to be apart of her unmedicated labor and birth. It truly changed Ginny’s life, and she went on to become a Registered Nurse and worked in Labor & Delivery, Postpartum, and ICU.

Ginny had an incredibly beautiful and empowering unmedicated birth with her 1st daughter. After that experience she decided to become a doula and start teaching childbirth and breastfeeding classes. In the last 7 years, Ginny has had three unbelievably different birth, breastfeeding, postpartum, and motherhood journeys. She is incredibly passionate about women receiving the education they need to have the empowered pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, postpartum, and motherhood journeys they all desire.

From this passion is where The Empowered Mommy Project began I’m so excited for you guys to connect with Ginny, check out her work, and follow along as she continues to share #empoweredmommyproject to change the conversation around pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, postpartum, and motherhood one person at a time.

I'd love it if you'd introduce yourself, what you do, and what you're working on.

Hey Y’all! My name is Ginny Whitten and I am the creator and founder of The Empowered Mommy Project. I have been married to my high school sweetheart for 11 years and we have three incredible and beautiful little girls. Avalynn- 7; Asher- 3; and Arleigh- 8 months. I’m a registered nurse, childbirth and lactation educator, and doula.

How did you get started?

After nursing school, I went into labor & delivery and helped deliver hundreds of babies. After the incredible and empowering birth and breastfeeding journey with our first daughter, I developed my own curriculum, and started teaching birthing and breastfeeding classes to expectant parents. Shortly after that I became a doula to continue making an impact in other couple’s birth experiences.

What inspired the work that you're doing?

I had been a part of so many births as a labor & delivery nurse and when it came time for the birth of our first daughter, I felt so fortunate to know exactly what I wanted and what I didn’t want. Through the births and postpartum periods of our three daughters I have had three completely different experiences. But one thing has remained the same throughout all three of my births, because I was educated and knew the “why” behind all of my decisions, I have felt incredibly empowered in all of my decisions. The reality that most women don’t feel empowered about their birth, breastfeeding, and postpartum journeys lead me to start The Empowered Mommy Project.

What is your biggest passion? Do you feel like you're living your passion and purpose?

My biggest passion is to empower women in their motherhood journeys and that begins with the mother’s pregnancy and birth. We live in such a fear-based birth and parenting culture, and I feel so honored to educate women in all their many choices and help them become empowered mothers. I’m so thankful to be living my passion and purpose every day.

What is your joy blueprint? What lights you up, brings you joy, and makes you feel the most alive?

My joy blueprint includes: Watching my girls love life and grow into loving and caring young ladies. Creating a crazy, messy, beautiful life with the incredible man that I fell in love with almost 20 years ago. Spending time with my girlfriends who have been there with me through thick and thin. Being close to my family. Hiking Kennesaw Mountain. Drinking a lavender latte from Crazy Love Coffeehouse. Eating my mama’s country fried steak and mashed potatoes and my mother-in-law’s coconut cake. Enjoying all things pumpkin and crunching in leaves in the fall. All things home décor. Getting my nails done. A really tough workout. A rainy day by the fire watching movies. Auburn football. And being a witness to the incredible gift of bringing life into this world. I’ve been a part of hundreds of births, and each and every time its just as joyous and special as the last.

How do you live intentionally? Are there tools/resources/practices that you rely on to help you stay mindful and grounded?

I live intentionally by always trying my hardest to stay true to myself- my dreams, my passions, and what I want my life to stand for. And most importantly, that I always speak kindly and respectfully to myself so my girls grow up being shown how to love themselves. Every morning I fix coffee, cause lets face it, I’m just a better mama if I’ve enjoyed a cup of hot coffee before my kids wake up. After fixing coffee, I write down three things I’m grateful for. And they have to be specific. This starts my day in a positive light, allows me to be a more compassionate wife, a more present mother, and stay grounded in the things that are most important. Also, making a to-do list every morning of the things that have to get done and the things I’d like to get done for the day. Being organized also allows me to stay mindful and grounded.

What would your younger self think about what you're doing now?

I believe my younger self would be terrified that I’m going for my dreams because there is a lot of risk and fear of failure when we decide to finally go for the things that mean the most to us. But I also know that my younger self would be incredibly proud that I’m going for the risky dreams that will hopefully change many women’s lives for the better.

Do you have a go-to mantra or affirmation?

“I’d rather have 30 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special.”

What is your biggest dream?

My biggest dream is to one day have a platform that educates and empowers women on pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and postpartum all around the world.

To learn more about Ginny and her work visit her website www.empoweredmommyproject.com and on Instagram @empoweredmommyproject YouTube here and on Facebook here

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