My Journey
After going through my first pregnancy, I felt this amazing empowerment and connection with my body, my partner and my child. The experience was intense and overwhelming, but also incredible and beyond my wildest dreams. I was not fortunate enough to have a doula then but I can look back now and see how helpful it would have been! My pregnancy felt pretty easy but I learned I had a cyst near my right ovary at my 20 week ultrasound and, at 32 weeks, I had abdominal surgery to remove the cyst. I healed from that and went about 9 more weeks to deliver naturally.
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I had a great fear during the time following my surgery, that I would end up with problems conceiving again and indeed, that happened. We tried oral medications to induce ovulation, injectible medications, IUI, and were planning on a cycle of IVF when my cousin, an adoptive mother herself, talked with me about adopting from Korea. Suddenly it became clear that we were meant to adopt. Where everything with infertility treatments had felt like one step forward and two steps back, once we began the adoption it was a long process but flowed so easily.
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Waiting for my daughter to arrive was the longest 17 months of my life and really the time I could have most benefited from having a doula! The emotional ups and downs of infertility and then the adoption wait were quite stressful. This, along with the deep appreciation and love I have for my daughter's birthmother, is what inspired my interest in becoming an adoption doula. I would be so honored to serve as a doula for a couple hoping to adopt and for a woman making a plan for adoption. It's such a tender situation.
I have been blessed to experience a challenging pregnancy with surgery, infertility, adoption, and then the joy of a surprise pregnancy which brought my son into my life. I feel blessed by these experiences, even though some were very hard, because they have prepared me to have empathy and understanding to be able to help other women in their own journey to motherhood. Coupled with my experience as a counselor and life coach, I feel it is my calling to become a doula. The word “doula” is an ancient Greek word meaning ‘woman caregiver’, and in my practice I offer support to women and their partners before, during and after childbirth. My role is to help facilitate safe, positive and empowering birthing experiences by offering the information, emotional support and physical support needed during this time. Learn more about my services and contact me today.
Training
Education and Background
Certifying Birth Doula
My Education and Training
As a professional Doula, I’ve received training from a certified organization, and maintain my skills and knowledge through continued education and research. This training helps me stay up to date with the most relevant information, and ensures I’m providing you with the best care possible. I invite you to review my training qualifications and experience below.
Certifying Birth Doula
Doulas of North America (DONA), April, 2017
The Birth Doula Certification curriculum is designed to cultivate well-rounded doulas who are prepared to provide excellent doula support! Training includes: participation in a DONA approved doula workshop, supplementary text reading, training in breastfeeding and basic childbirth education, hands-on support with clients, networking to develop a resource list in the community, business webinar training, and written references.
Certifying Postpartum Doula
MaternityWise, May, 2017
The Postpartum Doula trianing includes evidence-based information about the benefits of doula support, the tender and sensitive time and space when a new families brings home a new baby, the significance of doula support to a family, practical hands-on techniques, as well as business training in developing a career as a postpartum doula. The comprehensive training program includes in-person training, experiences and evaluation, home study, and additional coursework. The Postpartum Doula Certification curriculum is designed to help new postpartum doulas feel prepared and confident to work with families during the transition to parenthood.
Master's of Arts
Licensed Professional Counselor, Michigan
Western Michigan University, 2003
The marriage, couple, and family counseling program option is offered in collaboration with the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. In addition to the core counseling courses, this 60-hour program emphasizes an understanding of the issues faced by contemporary couples and families and a family systems approach to the conceptualization and treatment of couples and families. I've been fortunate to work with clients in a variety of milieus including counseling with elderly residents of nursing facilities, life coaching and hypnotherapy with individuals, and online counseling with individuals and couples on BetterHelp.com
Certified Life Coach and Hypnotherapist
Bennett Stellar University, 2013
NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) is an approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy created by Richard Bandler and John Grinder. NLP focuses on the connections between the neurological processes ('neuro'), language ('linguistic') and behavioral patterns learned through experience ('programming') and that these can be changed to achieve specific goals in life. TimeLine Coaching™, as developed by Michael Bennett, utilizes a person’s own internal “Time Line” to work with their unconscious minds in a variety of ways including healing emotional traumas and eradicating unwanted thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Hypnotherapy relaxes you and helps you reach this optimal state. Through guided imagery and direct suggestions, I apply hypnotherapy to focus on replacing unproductive behaviors with productive actions. It is a powerful performance enhancement tool, allowing me to coach you more readily past anxiety and stress and into a relaxed state where you can more effortlessly achieve your goals.
My sweet Alaina made me a mother for the first time on February 1, 1994. She was born after induction with Prepidil gel at 41 weeks, and following 14 hours of unmedicated labor.
