In addition to being the founder of NurtureHaus, Dr. Rya Carter is a certified Occupational Therapist, Lactation Counselor, and Educator of Infant Massage dedicated to supporting mothers, infants, and growing families through the earliest stages of parenthood. Blending her passion for helping new mothers and her background in Pediatric Occupational Therapy, it is Dr. Carter’s goal to deliver postpartum support that helps families feel confident, connected, and supported through every stage of early parenthood.
“I have been a Pediatric Occupational Therapist for four years now... I had an amazing mentor at my first clinic that I worked at and loved the OT perspective with babies,” Dr. Carter explains. “I then started to find my niche... I love kids, but I found that I really love babies!”
The journey led Dr. Carter to continue her education and receive additional certifications to help with newborn support. She truly loves the dynamic between a mother and baby—so much so, she found herself going above and beyond the normal Occupational Therapist role, supporting parents inside and outside of the office, answering all their questions around the clock, and easing their minds that they are doing a good job. She realized this was a true passion of hers: using her skills as an Occupational Therapist to help mothers beyond what she could do in the office.
“[I love] helping new mothers through the feeding process and correcting any misinformation… I also feel like there are a lot of expectations [for] moms—that things should be natural and easy—and that’s just not the case. I began to realize there wasn’t a ton of help out there for them,” Dr. Carter shares.
Thus, NurtureHaus was born. Using evidence-based support to help babies grow, play, and thrive, Dr. Carter works to improve motor skill development, sensory processing support, play and social engagement, and real-life strategies. In addition to Occupational Therapy, she also offers supply and pumping support, positioning and latch guidance, infant massage techniques, as well as digestion and relief support—to name a few. Since every postpartum experience looks different, support through NurtureHaus is designed to adapt alongside your family’s needs—offering personalized guidance, developmental support, feeding support, infant regulation, and caregiver education through a calm, relationship-centered approach. Rather than offering isolated, reactive appointments, NurtureHaus provides continuous, proactive support designed to help families feel confident, connected, and supported throughout the early transition into parenthood.
“I think the way the world is set up medically right now, it's not very proactive—it's really reactive. I felt like I was seeing an area where, if I could step in ahead of time, help these moms, and give them answers before something went wrong, it could make a real difference,” Dr. Carter explains. “[This] seemed like an area where I could help. And the more continued education I was doing, the more I realized that these three, four, and five-year-olds I was working with as a regular OT probably could have had many of their problems addressed when they were only two months old if they had just been identified earlier. I had all this knowledge and with a push from my husband believing in me, we realized this could be something so beneficial to the community.”
NurtureHaus offers different packages depending on the care you are seeking. The Signature Postpartum Support is a week-to-week package offering continuous postpartum support designed to help families feel confident, connected, and supported throughout the early transition into parenthood. This includes a weekly in-home support session, weekly remote support session, direct messaging access, developmental guidance, feeding and lactation counseling, infant regulation support, the Vaughan Approach integration, and infant massage education. The Infant Massage and Regulation Series is a 4-week focused in-home series designed to support infant regulation, body awareness, connection, and caregiver confidence. This involves a weekly in-home session, complete infant massage course, Vaughan-informed bodywork, and regulation-focused techniques.
“I feel like [so many parents] are set up to feel like they're failing, no matter which choice they make. Whether it's come to formula or how their baby sleeps… there's a lot of information out there, but I think all of it, if not most of it, is set up in a way that's really confusing and overwhelming to a mom who's already experiencing so much,” Dr. Carter explains. “This is where NurtureHaus can bring peace of mind through comprehensive, continuous support.”
For more information on NurtureHaus, visit nurturehaustn.com or follow them on socials @nurturehaustn.