The most important
invents in my life to date have been the births of my two children in 2002 and
2004. My experiences during their births made clear to me the important place
that childbirth has in women's lives - it may only take a day (or two!!) but the
memories are with us always. Shortly after the birth of my second child, I had
the honor of being present at a friend's homebirth, and my passion for assisting
women and families during birth was born. I completed the Labor Support Course offered by the Seattle Midwifery School in July 2005, and I have been attending births as a doula since then. I have experience with long and short labors, both medicated and unmedicated, and have attended both cesarean and vaginal births.
Birth is my passion, and I continue my education through reading and attending conferences when I can. In March 2007 I attended the Midwifery Today Conference in Eugene, OR, where I heard inspiring talks by Marsden Wagner, and Michel Odent. I also enjoyed practical workshops on the subject of posterior babies and labors ( Ina May Gaskin) and psychological effects on labor (Penny Simkin). I also attended the 2007 Annual REACHE (childbirth educators) conference, on the topic of the benefits and risks of epidurals.