Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Hailey McQuilken.
Hi Dr. Hailey, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I began my career path at Penn State, where I earned my undergraduate degree before pursuing a Doctorate in Physical Therapy at Jefferson in Philadelphia. During my doctoral training, I was selected for highly competitive internships that ultimately led to a position at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. There, I gained invaluable experience working in a fast-paced, world-class medical environment.
After the birth of our first daughter, my family and I made the decision to relocate to Florida. Less than a year later, I became pregnant with our second daughter. Living through two pregnancies so close together deepened my appreciation for the challenges and transformations of the perinatal period. It was during this season that I was introduced to doula work and quickly recognized how seamlessly it aligned with my professional expertise in the body, biomechanics, and patient care, as well as my comfort in hospital settings.
This realization inspired me to become a certified birth doula and to found The Birth Therapist. My practice combines evidence-based education, physical therapy knowledge, and compassionate birth support, with the goal of empowering families to feel informed, cared for, and confident as they welcome their children into the world.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The transition into birth work as a doula felt very natural for me. My background in physical therapy, combined with my personal experience as a mother of two children under two and breastfeeding both for over a year, gave me a strong foundation to support families with both knowledge and empathy. In many ways, the shift felt seamless.
The greater challenges came earlier in my career as a physical therapist working in a hospital setting. Like many women of childbearing age, I felt the tension between wanting to grow professionally and also grow my family. The reality is that earning a doctorate in physical therapy is both time-intensive and financially demanding, and I don’t believe the compensation always reflects the level of education and training required. Additionally, the schedule of hospital work—holidays, weekends, and long shifts—made family balance difficult once I became a mother. I loved the acuity and complexity of hospital-based work, but I also found myself struggling with the tradeoffs it required in family life. Those challenges ultimately opened the door to doula work, where I could merge my clinical knowledge with my passion for supporting families in a way that aligned better with both my career goals and my role as a mother.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am the founder of The Birth Therapist, where I work as a certified birth doula supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and the early postpartum period. My approach blends evidence-based education, emotional support, and practical tools to help families feel informed and confident as they welcome their babies.
I am most proud of merging my professional background with my personal journey as a mother. Having two children under two, breastfeeding both for over a year, and navigating my own pregnancies has given me a deep empathy for the challenges families face. I bring that perspective into my work, combining my formal training in physical therapy with my lived experience of motherhood to offer care that is both knowledgeable and compassionate.
What sets me apart is my ability to draw on my doctoral education in physical therapy—not in a clinical treatment sense, but as a foundation of understanding the body, biomechanics, and recovery. This allows me to guide families with positioning, comfort measures, and postpartum support in a way that honors both science and the lived realities of birth. Families know they can trust me to meet them with evidence-based guidance, emotional steadiness, and a unique perspective that bridges medical knowledge with holistic doula care.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I’ve always had a type A personality—driven, organized, and admittedly a bit of a perfectionist at times. I was never especially competitive in sports, but I was always competitive with myself. That showed up in my academics, where I maintained a 4.0 through high school, college, and graduate school, and in my fitness journey, where I challenged myself to run multiple half marathons and was constantly designing new workout programs for myself.
I was also fiercely independent, very focused on my goals and carving my own path. That shifted in a meaningful way when I met my husband in Philadelphia—he quickly became my partner in every sense, and from that point on, I felt like I had found my second half.
Pricing:
- Birth doula package: $2,100
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thebirththerapist.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebirththerapist/
