What Brought me into doula work? I get asked this all the time, its definitely not your typical career choice by any means. So let me give you my whole story of how I got here.

I used to be a hairstylist by trade and it was something I wanted to be since I was a young teen. When I was around 23 years old I was diagnosed with something that was a little life changing after years of navigating the medical system I finally got answers and was told I would probably never have children and if I could it would probably take years with medical science involved. This was in 2020 it was going to be 3 year wait because of the pandemic to get in to see a gynecologist to figure out a game plan. After a long conversation with my then boyfriend (now husband) about our options we decided that I would get my IUD out and try but also not try to get pregnant we just wanted to go into it with as little expectations as possible. 10 days later I got pregnant.

I went through a huge range of emotions during my first trimester especially because I truly was not mentally prepared for how fast I got pregnant on top of the extreme nausea I experienced. I went into a bit of a depression and disconnect from myself and my partner because I didn't know how to handle all the feelings I was feeling, happy, sad, alone (this was during a pandemic where we lost human connection) scared and lost in so many ways. Eventually I got so disconnected from my body I feel like I was in a dissociated state on top of that I had Nausea/vomiting, horrendous dizzy spells, pregnancy induced carpal tunnel and swelling in my legs accompanied by pins and needles. On top of already being mad at my body before my pregnancy from years of chronic pain to dealing with an uncomfortable pregnancy, I decided I had no faith my body could deliver a baby. I made the very well educated decision to electively opt for a caesarean section.

This decision didn't come lightly and is not a common thing that happens (thank goodness), but I truly had zero trust in my body and I was petrified to give birth or try and not succeed. After everything that had happened to me over the last few months I needed to find a sense of control in my birth/life and that was it for me. Eventually it was time to have my baby and we had our planned c-section, I planned so much for my birth choice and how to recover in postpartum from it but I didn't truly grasp how hard it would be to take care of a baby in postpartum during a pandemic with family who lived away after major abdominal surgery. In the hospital I did not receive the care I deserved, hospital was very low staffed with over worked nurses, I was put into an over flow room due to the influx of births that day, I felt like I was not taken care of at all by staff, treated poorly and treatment was mishandled beyond words like they almost kept forgetting I just had a c-section.

When I got home postpartum was hard and humbling for a woman who is hyper independent recovering from surgery. With limited support systems around us I felt very lonely and looking back I definitely had postpartum depression & anxiety. It felt like it took a long time to lift from that fog.

Though this experience was genuinely one of the hardest things I went through in my life mentally, physically & emotionally it is what called me to make a major career change. I knew mothers needed more caring, loving support in there lives as they go through the major transformation of becoming a mother. So I decided to become a doula in 2023 I did my birth & postpartum trainings and have done a lot of continuing education since then so I can be that person I wish I had during that season of my life. My mission is to try my hardest to make sure mothers don't have the experiences I had during my pregnancy, birth and postpartum, giving them all the information, emotional and physical support they need being a part of their village. To try and help them stay connected, confident and ultimately feeling held through every single thing that comes up for them.

I have witnessed so many women in their power with pregnancy, birth & postpartum, It has given me such a healing place in my heart that if I were to do it all over again myself I would be choosing a total opposite experience for myself and my birth/postpartum as I now have complete and total trust in the abilities that my god given body has for me. We are truly made for this but we were NEVER meant to do this alone and that is where I come in <3