Meet Your ProDoula

Background/Experience that you think is beneficial to Doula work: Following the births of our two daughters, I became a professional Birth Doula with a different agency in 2018. I was honored to attend several births in Southern California. After my husband retired from the Marine Corps in 2022, I became Certified with Pro Doula as both a Labor Doula and Postpartum & Infant Care Doula in the summer of 2023. I understand the stresses of back-to-back births, active duty military life, and the importance of community no matter what season you’re in! I have plans to continue education in 2024 as a Certified Lactation Peer Counselor and Aromatherapist.

What led you to become a Doula?: Soon after finding out that my husband and I were going to become parents, my nightstand became a bookshelf and I flooded every spare moment to listening to Podcasts on pregnancy, birth, and child-rearing. I had a friend who unfortunately experienced a traumatic birth and was attending a local chapter of ICAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network) as she prepared for a V-BAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and I decided to go with her. I wanted to hear from women who had walked the road I had just begun and learn from their experiences. I hired a birth doula in my first trimester too and ended up with a bonus doula who served as my birth photographer. I researched OB/GYNs and chose a doctor known to support his patients and their desired outcomes and a staff of nurses who did the same! It turned out that my 70- hour labor needed all the hands-on support and comfort that I could get. Because of my doulas, giving me resources along my pregnancy, and all the hands-on support that I received, I have never looked back on my labor as a traumatic, impossible experience. I don’t have any regrets because I was allowed to make educated choices provided by the nurses and doulas. From that birth experience, I felt empowered enough to navigate the next birth experience which was a short fifteen months later. This time, I chose to postpartum doula support from my mom, who is also an IBCLC. She prepared nourishing meals, helped me once again with breastfeeding successfully, and encouraged me as I adjusted to life with two babies. My husband deployed or left for extended training when both daughters were 8-weeks old. I just don’t think I could have made it thru without my doulas’ support! They were vital during this blessed time! Now that I am a Doula, supporting clients thru their pregnancy, labor and postpartum experiences is such an honor. Being invited into such a vulnerable space and having the training to equip my clients with better outcomes means that I have finally found my dream job where it doesn’t feel like work and I can’t get enough.

What are some positive comments made about you by other people?:

Clients have said that my presence is calming and that I create a relaxed atmosphere that helped make labor feel safer. I have heard from birthing partners that I bring a level of confidence and professionalism to the space that made them feel confident and assured. As first time parents, the doulas’ presence made the partner feel less anxious about the labor process and they were able to give support without feeling an enormous demand on their part. Nursing staff have thanked me and said they enjoyed working with me!

“This job is perfect for you!”

---

← Back to Find a Doula Search