If there is one thing I know for sure it is that I always wanted to be a mom. Maybe it’s related to the arrival of my baby brother when I was six years old or due to all those nights I spent babysitting. I always felt comfortable with babies.

I am now blessed with four children; the youngest is 8 and I truly miss the baby phase. What I didn’t know was that there are many different ways to experience childbirth. I had four children, each with a different doctor, in different cities, in four different hospitals.; yet they all went pretty much the same.

I am so grateful to be blessed with four healthy babies and when I look at these pictures I do feel joy. But if there is one thing I regret in my life; it is that I didn’t know there was more than one way to have a baby. All I knew was you go to your doctor and you do what the doctor recommends. I’m not blaming the doctors. I heard of natural birth but all I understood of it was the potential for serious pain. Why would I want to experience pain when I didn’t have to? So I didn’t consider it or truly understand my birth options. I wish I had then maybe I wouldn’t have been a product of the “Business of Being Born.” Instead due to my fear of pain and a bit of impatience with being pregnant; all four of my children’s births were medically controlled. I was bedridden given Poticin and Epidurals. Again I am so grateful for the health of my children but I was not empowered and a lot of drugs were used. I did not know my choices and I would not do it that way again. I’m not going to have the opportunity to do it again so I am going to do what I can to educate and empower women to know there is more than one way to have a baby and it is their choice.

I am training to be a doula and cannot wait to start my practice. A doula provides mental and emotional support to women through their pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Technically I can start today because it is not a regulated profession so one can become a doula simply by declaration. I am a doula! I am in the process of certification. I love being a student again and know learning will be a constant for me in this profession. There are many wonderful certification programs available and important information to learn to be an impactful doula. I just completed an Introduction to Childbirth workshop with Amy Gilliland and am going to a Postpartum Doula workshop at the end of September in Evanston with Heather McCullough. I am also taking classes online with Rebecca Dekker through her Evidence Based Birth online academy. These women are all super smart, dynamic women committed to the education and empowerment of women.

I too want to empower women with education of their options and support them through their pregnancy, labor and being a new mom. A natural birth may or may not be their plan, but I want to be sure that at least they understand their options. I want them to know the evidence, the risks and the opportunities associated with their birth decisions.

After each birth I was fortunate to recover pretty quickly even with all the drugs. I truly loved the newborn stage. I was supported by my husband and four adoring grandparents. I read all the parenting books. My new role as a mom brought me great joy and made me feel complete. It wasn’t till the fourth baby that for the first time I experienced a short period of postpartum depression. There were many factors, for me, I just wanted to stay in bed with my baby and have the rest of the family go away. My husband understood and planned outings with the older children giving me the extra time I needed and a dear friend just understood and helped so much with my older children. And then fortunately I came out of it. That time gave me an understanding of how dark and lonely depression can feel. Motherhood not only throws our hormones completely out of order which is reason enough to cause depression but then there is also the sleep deprivation. I want to support moms through those first weeks of motherhood. I want to share tips and resources but more than anything I want to help them find their way as a mom; by turning inward and igniting their gut instinct as a mom which I believe is the most valuable gift of all. I want to teach them the power and grace of meditation in motherhood. I want to share essential oils and how they are an amazing tool box for moms caring for their family. I want to empower moms to take ownership of their health and their babies health. I want them most of all to know they are not alone.

So I feel like I’ve finally landed right where I am supposed to be. If you are interested in my doula services click here. Let’s have a cup of tea. I can’t wait to meet you and listen to your story.