Birth Well Doula

I have opened a new site and doula group called Decatur Doulas. This site is still up to date, though.  Please see my Welcome! page here also.  I look forward to hearing from you.

I have been married to Nick since 1996, a wonderful husband and father. We have three sons and one daughter. I was born and raised in central New Jersey. I graduated from Princeton University where I studied Sociology and Afro-American Studies. I play field hockey here in the South, have recently taken up tennis, and like to ride bikes around Avondale with my kids! I enjoy reading on topics such as parenting, infant potty training, children’s education, and birth. Home schooling is my daily work!

I have lived in and traveled through Eastern and Western Europe and parts of the Middle East. Nick and I have lived in Atlanta and Seattle. We have been in Decatur since late 2001 where our work, community and church are central to our daily lives. We are now in Decatur’s little sister city, Avondale Estates. Nick is founding publisher of a well-known music, film, & culture magazine called Paste , and has currently president of On The Square Media. Our three boys are ages 9, 6, and 4, and my daughter is 2 . All are or have been breast fed, cloth diapered, received delayed vaccination, home schooled, and co-sleep as needed - and finally one amazing home birth. My birth stories are below.

Doula Training

I received training as a labor doula through the Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association (CAPPA) in 2003 and am a member of this organization. I have completed my certification requirements. I regularly have a client load of 1-2 births per month. Since the birth of my second son I have been reading about birth and birth issues. Naturally a researcher and reader, I felt that the desire to help other women with the knowledge I was acquiring. I realized that no matter how “educated” a woman is, she still needs someone there to advocate for her and help her through the birth journey, as women have done through the centuries.  You can read comments from past clients at Decatur Doulas, In Your Words.

Birth Philosophy

Giving birth is a natural and beautiful process. I believe the safest childbirth is a natural childbirth. When a woman is encouraged to trust her body and labor the way she desires, she’s free to give birth without fear. However, from personal experience and that of some clients, I understand that there is certainly a place for using modern day interventions when complications arise during labor.

Childbirth is a different experience for each woman. I encourage each woman to give herself permission to experience her child’s birth. There is no one right way to give birth, though the experience will forever change you and bring you to a place you’ve never been to before. It is a wonderful journey of self-discovery and creation for a woman. I hope to enable the mother to trust her body’s ability to deliver her baby just as God designed it to; to support the parents in all their decisions and to protect their memories of this miracle.

I am there to help the mom to trust her body, not fearing the pain and powerful physical and emotional feelings of labor. My role is to comfort, encourage, and suggest ways to help a woman work with her labor to birth her baby. I am the advocate for the decisions that she makes about her birth. Her desires may change along the way, as her journey unfolds. It is then that I help her to make informed decisions that are the next best choice. This is a calling for me, not just my profession, because I care about babies being born well… but mostly about mothers being supported to trust their bodies to give birth well.

My Birth Stories

Jack was born in Seattle, full term at low birth weight of 5 lbs. 9 oz. In my 39th week I showed mild signs of pre-eclampsia in an elevated blood pressure and borderline levels of proteins in my blood. Upon my doctors orders I was induced with cervidil, then pitocin, and given magnesium sulfate by IV. Eventually the pain of induced labor was too great to bear, as is common with pitocin, and I received an epidural. Pushing lasted for over 3 hours. Jack was in a posterior position (facing my front instead of my back). Twice the doctor tried to turn him manually - very painfully!  When I was told that most moms need “help” after 3 hours of pushing, I then stopped waiting for the contractions and pushed hard to get him out! I was fortunate to not have a cesarean section. Jack did not breath on his own and was bagged for a few minutes. Over his first year he suffered low reflexes, hypotonia (low muscle tone), significant physical developmental delays, and near failure to thrive despite a healthy nursing relationship. He received therapy of various types until age 6 for issues related to birth trauma and known side effects of manesium sulfate and epidural anesthetics - compounded by complications he would have already experienced as a low-birth-weight baby. Having a doula would have helped us to think about decisions being made about the birth. We can look back and wish we had known more about pre-eclampsia and the unexpected “cascade of interventions” that follow induction. I thought I asked questions at the time, but in retrospect I did not get the information I really needed about how my body worked and how the drugs could affect me or my baby. I was not empowered nor educated enough to take charge of my birth.  I am thankful that the outcome was not as worse or more costly emotionally or financially for our family as it easily could have been.

Tynan was born at the same hospital in Seattle with a different family practice physician than Jack’s. He was a full term, 5 hour, natural labor. I went into labor at 2 am - it was strong and regular. We were at the hospital by 3:45 and my cervix was dilated to 7 cm. I labored in the bed, focusing on breathing. I was given a narcotic dose of fentanyl to help take the edge off the pain. Pushing lasted for about 20-30 minutes and my second son was born at 7 am. He was healthy and engaged and nursed within 30 minutes. I tested positive for Group B strep with his pregnancy. There was not enough time for IV antibiotics during labor.  We were kept in the hospital for two nights for extra observation.  He was never taken to a nursery nor received antibiotics or septic workup.  His temperature was taken every 4 hours as we quietly roomed-in and enjoyed snuggling together our first two nights.

Townes, adopted in 2004, was not born in a hospital. His was a fast, natural birth. His story is as unique as he is! Working with a private agency, his mother placed him for adoption after his birth, choosing our family to make him our own. He came home on the day he turned 6 weeks. He is full of energy and certainly keeps us on our parenting toes!

Shaelen was born at home, into a birth pool. My midwife did all my pre-natal appointments at home. Nothing was done that didn’t need to be done and I didn’t have to argue with anyone to prevent those things from happenning. My labor was much the same as Tynan’s. It started at midnight with painless, but regular, contractions. I slept for a few hours. At 5 am I could no longer sleep. The hardest contractions were from 7:30 am until she was born at 1:40pm. Once my water broke, I knew her head was right there and started pushing, which I think lasted for about 20 minutes. It was certainly painful, but my doula, midwife, and husband were all there helping me be strong and maintain focus. I was truly able to let go and let my labor happen. It was an amazing experience, particularly the discovery that we had a girl! She is still happy and healthy and has never been poked with a needle. She sleeps with me and nurses when she needs to. I call her my “unquantified” baby because I have not assigned any numbers or clock watching to her at all throughout pregancy, birth, and infancy. She’s beautiful!