I have been working with pregnant and parenting women for 7 years in a variety of capacities. I served for 2 years as a chaplain in the women’s services unit of a hospital. I provided spiritual support and guidance to women and families experiencing pregnancy loss, making a plan of adoption for their baby, caring for a newborn in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or otherwise working through the myriad of experiences that the birth of a child can bring into one’s life. From there I began working in an adoption agency providing counseling to women experiencing unplanned pregnancies. I accompanied these women as they struggled with the decision to either parent their child or make a plan of adoption for the child. Along with the pregnancy counseling, I became a parent educator helping pregnant and parenting women to provide safe, stable and loving homes for their children. I taught childbirth, breastfeeding, basic infant care, nutrition, safety and many more topics to the families with whom I worked.
All of my previous experience led me into a love of pregnancy and birth and guiding a woman through her journey into motherhood. With my educational background in theology, I come to birth work with an eye for the spiritual. I recognize the beauty in the creating acts of pregnancy and birth and the opportunity they provide for a deeper connection to the divine.
I gave birth to my daughter in 2009. I researched all my birth options carefully and felt much empowered in the birth process. She was born in the water after a quick, natural labor. Since her birth, my desire to help other women experience an empowering birth has increased. I hope to be an advocate for women, an educator and encourager.
I am working on certification through Childbirth International as Labor Doula and should complete that certification this summer.