My journey into birth work began when I became pregnant with my son.  Up until that time, I had never really given much thought to being pregnant or giving birth.  Once I became pregnant I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I loved being pregnant!  I loved my growing belly; loved the feeling of a little person growing inside me and cherished every little kick.  As the weeks progressed, however, I realized I knew very little about actually giving birth, so I started reading books in order to prepare myself for labor and birth.

I wasn’t exactly sure what I was looking for when I started reading but the more I read, the more I wasn’t thrilled with the options being presented to me.  The way I viewed birth was forever changed when my sister-in-law loaned me these two books:  “Hypnobirthing, the Mongan Method” by Marie Mongan and “Spiritual Midwifery” by Ina May Gaskin.  The writings of these women really resonated with me and I learned, among other things, that birth is not an event to be endured, it is a once in a lifetime experience to be celebrated and anticipated with excitement and joy! My husband, Justin was an active participant in helping me to prepare for the most important journey I would ever take,  and in June of 2010 we welcomed our son, Michael, peacefully into the world.

The birth of Michael was the single most joyful and empowering experience of my life!  Along with that experience came a passion to help other women also have empowering birth experiences.  With the encouragement of my husband, I enrolled in a DONA (Doulas of North America) training in September of 2012 and am currently working towards my certification with them.

As a Doula I support all women and their partners unconditionally and without agenda.  I firmly believe that with the proper education and support, all women can have empowering birth experiences, no matter how or where they choose to birth. My wish for all mothers and their partners is that no matter what path their birthing takes, whether they decide to have a natural or a medically managed childbirth, whether they have a vaginal or a surgical birth; their experience leaves them feeling empowered, and confident that they made the best possible decisions for themselves and for their baby.

There are many childbirth preparation classes available and I encourage women and their partners to research and choose the one that best aligns with their own personal philosophy and comfort level.  Please visit my resource page to see some of the educational opportunities offered locally.