Empowered Birth And Conscious Parenting

SERVICES: I am a DONA trained birth doula, certified lactation specialist and childbirth educator. I provide private and small group childbirth education for individuals in the Bloomington Area. I offer professional birth doula support to women in South and Central Indiana with lactation support immediately following birth and the days and weeks to follow. Please contact me for a detailed description of my work. PHILOSOPHY: Our society and economy have morphed pregnancy, childbirth and parenting into complex, stressful experiences full of rules and unrealistic expectations, many of which deny or ignore the natural unfolding of things. As your childbirth educator I can help to make this journey much smoother with information, support and resources. I understand that for a wide variety of reasons, women need to or choose to have medicated childbirth. On the whole, however, I believe that birth is a natural, life-changing accomplishment. This is not to say that it is an easy journey– childbirth is hard work! And this is where my expertise as a birth professional is so valuable. Research supports the value of birth doulas in terms of lower intervention rates, shorter births, lower cesarean and instrumental births as well as higher satisfaction rates and a sense of control among the women who are supported by doulas (Hodnett, et al 2007). BACKGROUND: I have lived in Bloomington since 2008 when my husband and I moved here to settle down after studying abroad. I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Family Studies and a BA in Spanish Studies. SOURCE: Hodnett ED, Gates S, Hofmeyr G J, Sakala C. (2007). Continuous support for women during childbirth. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Art. No.: CD003766 (3).