I was born in southern California but raised in a small town in western Michigan. I knew that living in a small town was not for me and moved to New York City at the tender age of 20.
My move was a twenty-one hour trip on a greyhound into a place where everything was unknown. I left behind all of my friends, family, and even my schooling to try something better for myself. I’d always had an interest in sciences, especially anatomy and biology so much so that I wrote a science essay on the process of birthing. Yes, I received an A on it.
I spent the first several years in NYC working in the theatre and film industries. It was when I began to return to my spirituality that I found myself being drawn back into the birthworking world, learning more about my Mexican ancestry and how that played into the birth world. The first time I heard the term doula I was working for a small buisness in Manhattan as a marketing and pr director. One of the employees began talking about her work and I found myself wanting to know more. My interest was piqued and I thought about all the ways I’d previously known and thought about birth and birthing. It called to me but I had no idea where to start. Little did I know that in a few short months I’d be well on my way.
I began working as a doula prior to any offical training when a dear friend ended up expecting twins. It was exciting and, admittedly at times, overwhelming but something just clicked in my soul. I knew that this was what I belonged doing. It allowed me to mesh my life as a creative nerd to the other part that was a science-y nerd. A few months after my first labor support I decided to take the winter off from NYC to spend time with family in southern California, where I applied for a scholarship to a DTI doula training. Having forgotten all about it, I was excited to receive the award in my email seemingly out of the blue. I went up to San Francisco where I got to train with an amazing group of people who truly wanted to be the best support they could be.
I returned to New York in March of 2018 to continue my work as a doula, feeling more armed and ready to be what people need. I have had the amazing fortune to work with so many different people and types of families, single parent, LGBTQ+, multiples, first time parents, the list goes on. I am continuing on in this learning process by beginning to look at becoming a Child Birth Educator (CBE)!
"Being a birth worker brings me so much joy, I think that by creating spaces where people get to keep their power has a strong impact on the next phase of their lives."