As a doula, it is my privilege to serve you as a knowledgeable and trusted companion, accompanying you through each and every step of the miracle of childbirth.
LET'S CONNECT
I often hear people in perinatal work say they felt called to the vocation from a young age, but my own path has been quite different. I’m a writer with a long career in public relations. In 2019, I had the opportunity to travel to Central America and Africa with Professionals Without Borders, an international service group, and these experiences rooted in me a strong desire to redirect my path toward work with expectant mothers and children. In Zambia I visited with birthing people in two maternity shelters. Support for these expectant mothers was minimal and they were often left to cope with labor pain on their own. I so wanted to help them cope, but wasn’t sure how.
I returned to Seattle inspired to go back to school and become a nurse-midwife but found that it would take too long. So I decided to become a doula, and enrolled in Birth Doula training at Bastyr University’s Simkin Center for Allied Birth Vocations. Then, wanting more hands-on experience, I enrolled in Expecting Joy’s Doula Apprentice Program, which was exactly what I needed. In addition to supporting birthing people and families in Seattle and North Sound area, I will return to Zambia and provide volunteer doula assistance to mothers in maternity shelters.
Actively listening to my clients to understand their desires for their birth experience and doing everything I can to customize that experience for them is tangential to my philosophy for my work, which is that birthing people should feel prepared, empowered, supported, heard and respected throughout their pregnancy and giving birth. If incorporating prayer in your birth experience is important, or you want your partner to have opportunities for active involvement during labor, or you need more information about the choices open to you during child birth, it’s my job to see that you have what you need. You will have my consistent support.
My Additional Training to Date Includes:
- When Survivors Give Birth, Simkin Center for Allied Birth Vocations, Bastyr University
- Building A Coping Mindset, Birthing from Within
I live in Snohomish with my husband and two dogs. Our two sons, Iain, 25 and Ryan, 20, both currently live in Spokane. When not doula-ing, I enjoy international travel, watching my son, Ryan, play college football, hiking, wine tasting and volunteering.
