Birth work is my calling. It’s heart work. It is the perfect union of biology and spirit. It fills me up. I am honored to share this journey with you.

I’m so happy you’ve made it here. The fact that you’re reading this means that you are bringing a child into your life, and you are at the very least, interested in exploring options for your experience. Well my friend, that is the first step. Welcome.

My first step into birth work was more like a face-first tumble than an actual step. I took the leap from a career path in the traditional model of medical care, into a career as a doula and eventually a midwife and I’ve never looked back. I’m honored to be involved in this work, and to share my gifts, knowledge, and experience to make your birth the best possible for you.

Who am I?

Born and raised in New York, I moved to Boston to attend university, fell in love with living near the ocean, and I’ve called the area home ever since. After earning my B.S. in psychology with a focus in women’s health, I took a position in early intervention, working with infants and children from 0-3 years old. I then transitioned to a role in special education in a school setting, and after a few years to a postpartum and newborn doula and private care nanny. During my time as a nanny and postpartum doula, I continued my education at MGH taking pre-nursing classes and planning to enter the nurse practitioner program. I truly loved my 10+ years working closely with infants, children and families, and am grateful for everything it taught me (patience!) and the unique perspective it gave me as a care provider.

Why & How did you become a doula?

The why: As I mentioned above, my goal was to become a nurse practitioner and all signs along my path were pointing in that direction. I had always known I wanted a career in the medical/healthcare field, and loved the idea of having my own practice. Science in general, but specifically human biology, anatomy and physiology have always been my happy place, and I longed to combine that with a holistic approach to health and wellness that looked at each patient as in individual, not just as a set of symptoms. Then I attended my first birth. Although it was many years ago, to this day I have not been able to find the correct words to express the impact witnessing a child being born had on my life. What I do know, is that the experience changed who I was and who I wanted to be as a person, and altered the course of my life significantly, for the better. But first of all, I had SO many questions…..

After attending my first birth, I only wanted to talk about birth. Like, all the time. With everyone. Up until then, I knew the general gist of how babies were born and from my interest and education in anatomy, I knew which parts were involved, again in a very general sense. What I had seen in the movies and on TV of a women in a hospital gown, screaming was the extent of my practical knowledge, and it felt completely disconnected to what I had witnessed. Honestly, I felt betrayed. I had witnessed a feat of incredible strength, fortitude, and grace, with very little or no screaming, and it was nothing less than magic. Being the inquisitive gal I am, I brought the subject up whenever I could. I found that parents enjoyed sharing just about everything in regards to their children, including details like poop color and consistency, but when it came to discussing pregnancy, birth, and postpartum life, it was often met with hesitation and censorship. Even among my own friends, when it came to talking about pregnancy—baby names was as in-depth as we would go. Despite being the universal common denominator (literally, everyone you meet has been born) it was not a generally accepted topic for conversation, and I was politely asked to not bring placentas up at the dinner table on more than one occasion, which I will admit is a valid request. However, in my defense, placentas are sooooo cool.

Although the exception, there were people who were happy to share their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experiences, and when they did I listened. I also began to do my own research, and gathered as much information as I could about pregnancy and birth, why there was such a contrast between the reality of childbirth and labor and what is portrayed in the media, and why most of us don’t really talk about it. I realized that these aspects of life were not as openly and frequently talked about for two main reasons: 1. Most of us are never properly taught about pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Despite 353,000 babies being brought into the world each day (UNICEF), most people have no formal education on the subject, and it’s hard to talk about something you don’t know about. For most people, their first introductions to the topic come when they are about to become a parent, at childbirth education classes that consist of a general overview in group setting. 2. Many individuals feel like their birth experience was something that happened to them, instead of feeling like they had an autonomous and active role in the process. Too often this was the sentiment from moms/dads/partners when it came to their birth experiences. In the least, they expressed a feeling of helplessness, feeling a loss of control in what was happening to their bodies and babies, and a strong sense that fear was playing the major role in what decisions they were allowed to make. At the worst, instances of physical and emotional trauma—not from the typical mechanisms of labor and birth—but as a result of the disrespectful and even abusive manner in which they were treated, even when their experience resulted in a “healthy” mother and baby. It began to make sense that not everyone wanted to openly talk about birth.

This was not to say that I didn’t encounter people who had amazing, empowered, and positive birth experiences. I did, plenty of them, and it reinforced the reality of my first birth encounter—but I now knew that unfortunately this was not a reality for everyone. These positive experiences did however, have a obvious recurring theme. It wasn’t that they were all vaginal births, or all epidural births, or all home births, it was that no matter where and how the person birthed, they felt informed, had continuity of care, and were supported in their choices, whatever those choices may be. And even when their births didn’t go as planned, they were informed and supported. As a future health care provider, thus became my goal of figuring out how to make a positive birth experience a reality for everyone. Enter my introduction to doulas and the midwifery model of care and as they say, the rest is herstory.

The how: As soon as I learned what a doula was, I had the overwhelming feeling of “YUP. THAT. I’M GOING TO DO THAT.” However, being a person who values research and science as much as intuition, I needed the numbers to back up my gut, and I quickly found all the research based evidence on the impact of birth out comes with a doula I could ever want. For example this one, by the Journal of Perinatal Education, or the World Health Organization’s recommendation on continuous labor support. I was sold. As I had invested significant time and funds towards the path of being a nurse practitioner, explaining to my family and friends that I was switching gears and becoming a doula, and eventually midwife was definitely interesting, and even entertaining—"you mean, like baby witch?” Nope. Just, nope.

Those who knew me well, and knew what a doula was had the same light bulb moment as I did, and I was met with overwhelming support and encouragement. Those who weren’t familiar with what a doula is, were excited and interested to hear more. Within a week I had signed up for my training course with DONA International and set off on my path in birth work, knowing I had found my career calling. As I continue down this path, I vow to keep growing and learning to give my clients the best possible service and the birth experience that I wholeheartedly believe every person deserves.

When I’m Not Doing Birth Related Things

Outside of birth work I like to keep it simple. You can find me snuggled with my husband and kid in a pile of dogs (we have two of our own + board furry visitors in our home), watching 80’s movies and Masterpiece Theater, at the beach, trying a new exercise class, hunting thrift stores for vintage treasures, eating tacos, listening to records, or knitting. I also adore live music and frolicking in nature. Want to know more? Just ask!

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