After receiving my B.S. in Exercise and Sport Science from Iowa State University in
2000 and beginning my career in fitness, I quickly found my passion of working with
pregnant and postpartum clients. In 2002, I completed my massage therapy
certification with a specialization in prenatal massage and it was during this time that I
first learned the term 'doula'. I attended a training workshop through ALACE,
however, at this time I also decided to go back to school for my masters in public
health so I did not have the time to begin attending births. I received my M.P.H. in
Community Public Health with an emphasis on Maternal and Child Health from New
York University in 2006. A few months later I completed another doula training, this one through DONA, and, shortly after, I had the honor of attending my first birth as a doula for a very good friend.
Through years of educating myself on birth and being amazed at how few
women are really prepared for the birth of their child with proper nutrition, physical
fitness, stress reduction and, most of all, childbirth education and knowing their
birth options, it became clear to me that this is the work I want to do. Every
woman should be prepared for her marathon of labor and should have an
empowering birth experience, respectful that her body knows how to birth. Not
only can a positive birth experience have a profound effect on a woman's self-esteem, but it also begins her journey into motherhood with an extreme confidence and the ability to bond with her child right from the beginning.
