About Us
Nicole Splenda- Registered Nurse RN, LMBT #10525, Placenta Encapsulation
Nicole has been passionate and steadily involved in women's health since 1996. She started this awesome journey as a massage therapist, focusing on prenatal/postpartum massage. She became a doula around that same time and eventually landed in Midwifery school on the border of Mexico in 1999. It was there she saw the benefits of placenta medicine in action. After getting her CPM degree, she assisted with home birth in Southern California and then over to Massachusetts. She started Nursing school in 2003 (and was pregnant the whole time!) After having three children and encapsulating her own placentas, she graduated in 2007. After a long cold winter in MA, the family moved to NC. In 2008, She started working as an RN at the Birth Center in Chapel Hill, where her love of helping women grew even more. Around that time, Restoring Balance was born. Nicole started off doing massage in a small room within the birth center and in 2013, she realized placenta encapsulation had a growing interest in the community. She took the ‘Full Circle” encapsulation training and certification course in 2013 and has been doing placenta encapsulation ever since. Because the benefits of placenta medicine are so amazing and the with the feedback from hundreds of women over the past 10 years, keep her passionate till this day. Restoring Balance Placenta and Massage was sold in 2023. Since then, Nicole formed a cooperative called Chapel Hill Massage Collective. ReBalance Placenta Encapsulation was reborn in 2024.
Nicole has been passionate and steadily involved in women's health since 1996. She started this awesome journey as a massage therapist, focusing on prenatal/postpartum massage. She became a doula around that same time and eventually landed in Midwifery school on the border of Mexico in 1999. It was there she saw the benefits of placenta medicine in action. After getting her CPM degree, she assisted with home birth in Southern California and then over to Massachusetts. She started Nursing school in 2003 (and was pregnant the whole time!) After having three children and encapsulating her own placentas, she graduated in 2007. After a long cold winter in MA, the family moved to NC. In 2008, She started working as an RN at the Birth Center in Chapel Hill, where her love of helping women grew even more. Around that time, Restoring Balance was born. Nicole started off doing massage in a small room within the birth center and in 2013, she realized placenta encapsulation had a growing interest in the community. She took the ‘Full Circle” encapsulation training and certification course in 2013 and has been doing placenta encapsulation ever since. Because the benefits of placenta medicine are so amazing and the with the feedback from hundreds of women over the past 10 years, keep her passionate till this day. Restoring Balance Placenta and Massage was sold in 2023. Since then, Nicole formed a cooperative called Chapel Hill Massage Collective. ReBalance Placenta Encapsulation was reborn in 2024.
Laura Lundegard- YT-200, PYT-85
Laura is a birth doula, and prenatal/postnatal yoga teacher based in Durham, NC. Laura began her birth work journey after working in maternal mental health research at the UNC Center for Women's Mood Disorders after 4 years. After hearing countless stories of birth trauma, and working with women that struggled with postpartum anxiety and depression, Laura decided that it was time to be on the front lines and dove headfirst into birth work. Laura completed her birth doula training with Homegrown Families in Asheville in 2022, and her prenatal/postnatal yoga teacher training with Alexandra DeSiato and Lauren Sacks in 2022. Laura has been a yoga teacher since 2020, and completed her RYT-200 at Franklin Street Yoga. Laura has gone on to pursue continuing education in doula work with INELDA, and also serves as a loss and end of life doula.
Outside of birth work and teaching yoga, Laura is an avid rock climber and can often be found climbing at Triangle Rock Club. Laura lives in Durham with her partner Trey, their two cats, Maeve and Clementine, and their sweet pup Ryder.
Laura is a birth doula, and prenatal/postnatal yoga teacher based in Durham, NC. Laura began her birth work journey after working in maternal mental health research at the UNC Center for Women's Mood Disorders after 4 years. After hearing countless stories of birth trauma, and working with women that struggled with postpartum anxiety and depression, Laura decided that it was time to be on the front lines and dove headfirst into birth work. Laura completed her birth doula training with Homegrown Families in Asheville in 2022, and her prenatal/postnatal yoga teacher training with Alexandra DeSiato and Lauren Sacks in 2022. Laura has been a yoga teacher since 2020, and completed her RYT-200 at Franklin Street Yoga. Laura has gone on to pursue continuing education in doula work with INELDA, and also serves as a loss and end of life doula.
Outside of birth work and teaching yoga, Laura is an avid rock climber and can often be found climbing at Triangle Rock Club. Laura lives in Durham with her partner Trey, their two cats, Maeve and Clementine, and their sweet pup Ryder.