When I was 8 years old, my oldest sister, who is 15 years older than me, became pregnant with her first baby. I became fascinated with how her body changed throughout the months in order to accommodate and grow a little person. Though I was slightly jealous of being replaced as the baby in the family, it amazed me to watch my niece grow.  Four years later, another of my sisters was expecting the arrival of her first daughter. I remember being home alone when she went to the hospital to birth and getting phone updates on her progress for when curious relatives called for information. “She’s at 7 centimeters,” I was told and I, being 12 and completely clueless about the wonders of the female body,  thought “Great! I have no clue what that means.” It was through this experience and watching my other sisters transition into motherhood that I first became interested in pregnancy and birth.

I had no idea what a doula was until several years later when I was working with a strong, beautiful pregnant woman who was having a homebirth. Again, my curious mind was eager to learn about the side of birth of which I had no true understanding. Even though my own parents were born at home in Mexico, they, and many like them, couldn’t imagine choosing natural homebirth when the marvels of modern Western medicine were available. Why would anyone choose to birth as naturally and intervention-free as possible, either at home or in a hospital? I wanted to know. In this learning process, the “I want to be a doula” seed was planted.

The complexity of pregnancy captivates me and witnessing birth is exhilarating. Watching people grow into their new roles as parents during those first few weeks as they navigate the rawness of parenting a newborn is so rewarding. I feel truly called to this work. My hope as a birth and postpartum doula is to provide comfort, support, reassurance and information to women (and their partners) in order for them to feel empowered through their pregnancy, labor, birth and parenting. All parents should have the resources and opportunities to make informed decisions about what they envision for their experiences in birth and the postpartum period, what some call the 4th trimester. I can be that calm, stable bridge you need to get as close to that vision as possible.

You can find an explanation of the kind of work I provide under Services.