"Don't tell us what to believe, what to fear. Show us belief's wide skirt and the stitch that unravels fear's caul."
– Toni Morrison
BIRTH is BIRTH no matter how it unfolds,
no matter how your family comes into being.
Waiting forty weeks to meet the small being growing inside you is no easy task.
It requires patience and hard work.
Not much different from the hours you will spend laboring to bring your child into this world.
(More patience and hard work)
Many things are born on your child's birth day.
Not just any story; but your story, your child's story.
“If we are to heal the planet, we must begin by healing birth”
— Agnes Sallet von Tannenberg
No matter your choices, or your circumstances, I work with you, finding ways that can support and nurture you during your labor.
As a doula: I am a space maker. map-reader. labyrinth walker.
And while I believe deeply in the powerful, transformative nature of birth it is often an intense experience that is not very straightforward.
I have attended hundreds and hundreds of births over the years but also believe in continuing my own education as a doula. I spent a year in midwifery school and have attended workshops such as The Hormonal Physiology of Birth, From Womb to World, and a three day Birthing From Within worksop.
I consider it an honor to not only celebrate the power of birth, but the wonderfully strong nature of our bodies –no matter what your labor looks like. As a mother of three, I know how important it was for me to be supported during my labor; and I look to be a supportive source of strength in yours.... I would be honored to be a part of your support team during the birth of your child!
“Spontaneous labour in a normal woman is an event marked by a number of processes so complicated and so perfectly attuned to each other that any interference will only detract from the optimal character….. The only thing required from the bystanders is that they show respect for this awe-inspiring process by complying with the first rule of medicine -Nil Nocere [Do no harm]. "
— Dutch Professor of Obstetrics, G. Kloosterman
Our world is so loud, laboring women often need the support of an extended birth team to help navigate the wilds of birth and postpartum. I trained as a doula what feels like a million years ago with some of the best Los Angeles has to offer –local midwives and doulas I now call mentors and friends.
Over the years, I have found my own unique ways (yet universal) to offer support to the laboring mother –sounding, massage, guided meditation, counter pressure, advocacy and education. nclusivity and social justice issues are important issues to me as well; both in the birthing world and in my artistry (and of course at home).
I strongly believe in advocacy and education. Hate, prejudice, misogyny, and sexism are not welcome in anyone's birth space.
As a mother, I love affirming and celebrating the birth of your baby and your passage into motherhood.....
As an artist and photographer: It makes my heart sing when I am invited into your birth space, being asked to document these fleeting but powerful moments for you….
