Supporting You From the Ground Up
CONSULTING // COACHING // FULL SPECTRUM DOULA SERVICES
Supporting You From the Ground Up
CONSULTING // COACHING // FULL SPECTRUM DOULA SERVICES
Rooted Care
Doula support helps lay the groundwork for a satisfying experience. I see the pregnant person and their loved ones as the nexus, the center around which care revolves.
I operate as an anchor, and our relationship becomes a solid foundation you can rely on--providing consistency, information, and a therapeutic presence as you navigate physical and emotional tides, and as your experience unfolds.
You can let go of stress and apprehension by knowing you have a knowledgeable and supportive presence with you. This allows both partners to be more relaxed throughout. And while this makes for greater enjoyment, it also facilitates an easier experience and smoother adjustment.
widening the path
Doula support encompasses more than birth and postpartum: my care spreads across the range of reproductive experiences and is not tied to a particular choice or approach. Miscarriage, abortion, adoption, loss, and surrogacy are common, though often hidden from view. Solid physical and emotional support is available to you regardless of your path.
ideas not ideology
I understand that there is a “Range of Right”—that a rewarding experience takes many different shapes and forms. My aim is to enable you to make choices that come from a place of strength: a place of inspiration, not desperation. My belief is that a supported, confident, informed, and loving landscape is what underpins a positive experience.
the whole family
My role is also to support your support system--enhancing the people around you. I guide and facilitate their involvement and support. My job is to help their love to shine and be channeled in the most helpful ways. Interestingly, when a doula is involved in a birth, partners touch the laboring person more! Combined, we create a rich web of support.
“Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.”
Introductions
Getting to know me; Getting to know you
Introductions
Getting to know me; Getting to know you
I have been a full-time doula for over 8 years, and supported more than 200 families. I work with clients at home and at all the clinics, birth centers, and hospitals in Portland, Vancouver, and surrounding areas.
My approach encompasses the fact that you don't get to chose the cards you're dealt, but you do have a choice in how you play them. My role is to help stack the deck in your favor and assist you in having the kind of experience you envision.
I named my practice BirthRoot because I believe that support does more than just help you have an enriching experience in the moment--it lays a foundation for future positive experiences.
I am both a planner and an intuitive person. When we work together, you receive the benefit of my years of research, study, and experience coupled with my ability to meet you in the moment. I have established relationships with a broad community of providers, and can also connect you with care in other areas, as needed.
I have training and experience in waterbirth, optimal fetal positioning, vaginal births after cesareans (VBACs), and breastfeeding. I have specific skills in supporting gender queer families, people with histories of trauma, sexual abuse, and domestic violence, and those experiencing perinatal depression and perinatal anxiety.
Learn more about me →
Receiving Care
Receiving Care
birth
anchoring tides
I accompany pregnant people and their partners on the journey through LaborLand--like a cross between a counselor and a tour guide. Together, we lay a solid foundation as you approach birth. We plan for your ideal, and build tools that will help you move fluidly with twists and turns.
The relationship of trust we build is the cornerstone of what we do together. The continuous care I provide offers peace of mind and anchors you to a secure place in this new territory. Through our established relationship, I am able to be the most effective in helping your birth unfold in ways that feel good to you.
postpartum
set up for success
As a postpartum doula, I help you address the practicalities of the first days and weeks with a new baby, and be set up for success. This includes assisting with breastfeeding, newborn care, and nurturing the whole family. Finding a groove with breastfeeding is a big component of the early weeks. I bring knowledge and ease to that process.
I help parents learn about their babies, navigate roles and relationships, and build a network of resource. I believe support is elemental in developing strong roots and solid ground for a growing family.
full spectrum
continuity
Not all pregnancies are carried to term, nor all babies parented by those who birth them. I support people through abortion, adoption, surrogacy, miscarriage, and stillbirth. The reasons that these are chosen or encountered are as varied as the people who experience them.
I help you find your footing and access your strength in all reproductive scenarios. Whether the path is anticipated or unexpected; whether you feel great about it, confused about it, or whatever the experience brings...I want you to know you're not alone. I can help you navigate this terrain and find solid ground.
“The thread that is woven across doula support is that I come without an agenda, without judgement, and I walk the path alongside you. The aim is not a specific outcome, but, rather, the feeling of having moved with integrity, the experience of being heard, seen, and supported as you navigated choices and met what came your way.”