About Us
“Molly & Carol - a fabulous team. You bring warmth and insight to all of the material. You’re wonderful guides, teachers, and now friends!”
carol O’Donoghue, CNM, FNP-BC, PMH-C, MSN, MPH
Carol (she/her/hers) is a midwife in Philadelphia. Her passion for birth work began in 1987 in a free-standing birth center, followed by two years in West Africa, then, work / study in nursing, public health and, ultimately, midwifery. Carol has been a family nurse practitioner since 1997, and a nurse-midwife since 2002. She has had both yoga and mindfulness practices since 1995, both which were so instrumental in navigating own birth experiences and parenting.
Carol was introduced to Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) via her sister Liz, who took Nancy Bardacke's class in San Francisco in 2009. The impact of mindfulness training during Liz's birth and parenting moved her to tirelessly lobby Carol to investigate teaching MBCP. It seemed a perfect fit. Deepening her mindfulness practice through teaching has provided strength, solace and wisdom as she has navigated the world of parenting, midwifery and life!
Carol has worked as a midwife and nurse practitioner at large academic medical centers, community hospitals, family planning and community clinics serving a wide range of clients and patients since 1997. She has also held faculty positions at several training programs, most recently the University of Pennsylvania’s Schools of Nursing and Perelman School of Medicine. In November of 2023 Carol left clinical midwifery at Lifecycle (formerly known as The Birth Center) in Bryn Mawr, PA to focus on a post-master’s program to become a mental health practitioner. Carol is certified in Perinatal Mental Health from Postpartum Support International. She continues to raise her two young adult-aged children (yes, they grow up! & still need parenting! ) from afar and lives with her partner in Northwest Philadelphia.
“You were both absolutely excellent! You each brought important components to the class - humor, compassion, understanding, expertise. You were both impressively accessible, always prepared, worked well off each other, and thoughtful in your responses.”
MOLLY WEINGROD, LSW
Molly (she/her/hers) has been working with children and families for over twenty years, formerly in New York City, and now in Philadelphia, wearing a variety of hats. She has a background in social work, education, and whole foods nutrition, as well as birth. She is a psychotherapist, doula (DONA), and birth educator (CEA/MNY).
Molly was inspired to work with birthing families after her own first birth, which by all external accounts went well, but which left her feeling internally traumatized. While she was "well prepared" having read many books and taken classes, she found herself ill-prepared for the transformative power of that experience. This mismatch led her on a journey toward becoming a birth professional, supporting parents through education and counsel.
Upon discovering MBCP, however, Molly found a model that includes information, education and counsel, but goes far beyond. Cultivating a mindfulness practice allows space to develop skills that support people in both contractions during birth, and contractions during life.
Molly sees therapy clients at Tending & Attending. Her other full-time endeavor involves homeschooling her four kids. She is grateful that living with 4 young people offers her many daily opportunities to practice mindfulness!
“Carol and Molly: You are phenomenal! Fun, enthusiastic, caring, and a wealth of insight. One of the most impressive things about you as teachers is your ability to balance sharing your own wisdom from life experience and professional training and letting the group explore and evolve on its own. You let us do the work of growing through practice, but still had thoughtful, meaningful answers to all the hard questions we threw at you!”
And introducing our newest member of the team as of 2023: Alumna and Assistant Teacher Extraordinaire, Kelly Trese!
Welcome, Kelly!
Kelly Trese, PhD (she/her/hers) was inspired to work in the birth world after her first child was born. After completing her PhD in Italian and Hispanic Literature, she shifted gears professionally and trained as a certified lactation counselor and a birth doula. While pregnant with her second child, Kelly took MBCP with Carol and Molly and was so grateful to have found a course that not only speaks to the depth of the birth experience but also develops mindfulness skills that can enrich any life experience. She then trained as an MBCP instructor to be able to share the course with others. Kelly is excited to join Mindful Birth & Parenting Philadelphia as an assistant teacher and is looking forward to meeting, teaching, and learning from expectant parents. She lives with her partner, three kids, and dog in West Chester, PA.
mindful birth & parenting philadelphia
Carol and Molly began training simultaneously with Nancy Bardacke, creator of MBCP, in 2015. Mindful Birth & Parenting Philadelphia was born in January, 2016 and is currently the home of MBCP in the greater Philadelphia area. We were able to expand our geographic reach when we began teaching online in Spring, 2020. After taking our MBCP course (twice!), refresher and participating in our ongoing mindful parenting community, Kelly completed training with our parent organization, the Mindful Birthing and Parenting Foundation, and joined us in 2023.
Mindful Birth & Parenting Philadelphia’s mission is to bring the Mindful Birth and Parenting curriculum, as well as Mindful Parenting practice, to all who wish to explore it. We hope to build community and advocate for all beings as they navigate through life’s transitions. We are committed to inclusive, open-hearted teaching that supports the growth of families in a space that respects all persons and communities. Together, we hope to realize a world in which we are all safe, healthy, free from unnecessary fear, and able to breathe.