This wasn't the plan.
I never anticipated that Birth Work would be the thing I would be called to. When I was younger, I thought I'd be a nurse, then an athletic trainer (2 years into that degree and I finally accepted it wasn't for me), and for the last 10 years, I've been a high school teacher. And now, here I am. Listening to my intuition and heeding that heart call. The common thread all along has been wanting to support, accept, and love people on a deep level. To show up wherever you are in a literal and figurative way. And despite the many roads leading me here, I am extremely grateful, because this, this life of mine has turned out way better than anything I had planned. I tell ya, the Universe knows what it is doing. |
I have long been a keeper of stories and was always drawn most to raw, unstaged, honest moments and I have a deep love of photojournalism. My photographic background has been primarily in natural light settings documenting families, Seniors, pregnant friends, pets, and travel. And while I will always, always love the golden hour, I felt a shift in my work when the photography of Rebecca Coursey, a phenomenal birth photographer, crossed my path (thank you, Universe) and the emotional impact birth photography had on me was profound. I started researching shooting techniques and studying birth photography and began to reach out to local doulas and midwives to see if they'd be willing to let me work with them. To me, there was no truer form of storytelling possible - you can't fake birth...it is as raw and as real as it gets and I wanted to document those stories for generations to come. Because birth stories matter. They heal us and connect us and serve as potent reminders.
After photographing several births and working with incredible doulas and midwives, I felt called to work with women in the capacity of a doula. I completed my DONA International Birth Doula training with Chama Woydak of Homegrown Babies in Asheville, North Carolina and it was an incredible experience.
So here I am. Showing up and letting intuition and Spirit lead the way.
After photographing several births and working with incredible doulas and midwives, I felt called to work with women in the capacity of a doula. I completed my DONA International Birth Doula training with Chama Woydak of Homegrown Babies in Asheville, North Carolina and it was an incredible experience.
So here I am. Showing up and letting intuition and Spirit lead the way.