NorthStar Birth Services - Portland, Oregon


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My Experience I have been honored by and learned from each woman who has invited me to support her birth experience. Some births went exactly as expected, but most had unanticipated developments. That usually meant we needed to change coping strategies or plans for the birth. Through it all, my clients were well supported in their strategies, their choices and their emotional experiences. Professionally, I enjoy supporting women in their birth experiences. Personally, I enjoyed the support of my doulas at the births of my two children! Being a doula impacted what I knew about pregnancy and labor but it didn't reduce my own need for support! Giving birth also deepened my commitment to providing support to women in labor because I know what a difference it made in my own experience. Having a doula doesn't guarantee that everything will turn out just like you planned, but it guarantees that however it does turn out, you can handle it because you will be continuously well supported! In many ways, I have had the pleasure to serve a larger community of birthing women. In 2002, I began a hospital-based doula program at a large maternity hospital in the Washington, DC area. It was and continues to be the only hospital based doula program in our nation’s captial area. Additionally, I ran a local support group called Takoma Park Birthing Circle and, when our local midwifery options were greatly restricted due to the closing of two large practices, I worked to transform the support group into Birth Options Alliance, which has become a regional community education and advocacy organization. I enjoyed developing the birth doula program – hiring and training a fantastic team of doulas and working with expectant women and their partners with their many different goals, expectations and needs. This unique hospital experience has helped me to feel very comfortable in any hospital, allowing me to work with nurses, obstetricians and midwives as a team to provide the best care possible to my clients. Transforming the support group into Birth Options Alliance was an amazing adventure and I am pleased to see that the organization continues to have a positive impact on women’s childbirth options in suburban Maryland and Washington DC.

My Experience

I have been honored by and learned from each woman who has invited me to support her birth experience. Some births went exactly as expected, but most had unanticipated developments. That usually meant we needed to change coping strategies or plans for the birth. Through it all, my clients were well supported in their strategies, their choices and their emotional experiences.

Professionally, I enjoy supporting women in their birth experiences. Personally, I enjoyed the support of my doulas at the births of my two children! Being a doula impacted what I knew about pregnancy and labor but it didn't reduce my own need for support! Giving birth also deepened my commitment to providing support to women in labor because I know what a difference it made in my own experience. Having a doula doesn't guarantee that everything will turn out just like you planned, but it guarantees that however it does turn out, you can handle it because you will be continuously well supported!

In many ways, I have had the pleasure to serve a larger community of birthing women. In 2002, I began a hospital-based doula program at a large maternity hospital in the Washington, DC area. It was and continues to be the only hospital based doula program in our nation’s captial area. Additionally, I ran a local support group called Takoma Park Birthing Circle and, when our local midwifery options were greatly restricted due to the closing of two large practices, I worked to transform the support group into Birth Options Alliance, which has become a regional community education and advocacy organization.

I enjoyed developing the birth doula program – hiring and training a fantastic team of doulas and working with expectant women and their partners with their many different goals, expectations and needs. This unique hospital experience has helped me to feel very comfortable in any hospital, allowing me to work with nurses, obstetricians and midwives as a team to provide the best care possible to my clients.
Transforming the support group into Birth Options Alliance was an amazing adventure and I am pleased to see that the organization continues to have a positive impact on women’s childbirth options in suburban Maryland and Washington DC.