If you’re pregnant, whether this is your first, second, third, or tenth baby, I am so happy for you to be on this journey toward welcoming a new little one into your life! I became deeply interested in the process of childbirth in 2008, when I first watched The Business of Being Born. I was nowhere near the point of having children, but watching this film had a profound impact on me and completely changed the way I thought about birth. During the next several years, I continued to read and learn about birth and holistic health, which subsequently led to an interest in fertility awareness.
In 2010, I read Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler (highly recommended if you're curious about non-hormonal methods of birth control and conception planning) and started charting my cycles to better understand the inner workings of my own body. Over time, it became increasingly obvious that I had issues that could make it difficult for me to conceive in the future. While considering the possibility that I may not ever experience birth for myself, I realized that it was not just a personal calling that I felt to the birth world, but a professional one as well.
I finally decided to turn my passion into a career in 2014, when I attended my first doula training with The Organization of Labor Assistants for Birth Options and Resources (toLabor).
After several years of working to better my health, my husband and I conceived our first child shortly after my doula training. My birth was an incredible experience for me. I was respected in all of my choices, and I feel exceptionally lucky to have had such a great support system.
As a doula, I hope to serve area families for many years to come by providing the same unconditional support that I received during my own journey. My main goal is to help others to maintain their autonomy during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. I assist parents to make meaningful decisions for themselves and to effectively communicate those decisions to their support people and care providers. Most importantly, I strive to provide unbiased and non-judgmental support to clients in every decision they make – whether those decisions happen to be similar to, or the polar opposite of, the choices that I would make for myself.
In the time since my initial doula training, I've taken additional trainings and certified in February of 2017 as a dual birth and postpartum doula with Doula Trainings International. In 2019 I graduated from a massage therapy program and became licensed in the states of Maine and New Hampshire and also took additional trainings to certify in prenatal massage and myofascial cupping.
I am a native of New Hampshire and currently live in Rochester with my two sons; my cat Marshall; and my rabbit, Roger. When I'm not giving a relaxing massage or assisting a family at a birth, you can find me taking names at the local mini golf course, chatting with an unsuspecting victim about follicular and luteal phases and how ovulation works, or at home, feverishly picking up loose bits of carpet from the cat scratcher before someone eats them.