I am a Sacramento-based yoga teacher, student midwife, certified birth assistant, and certified birth doula. I began teaching yoga 14 years ago with the intention of providing a space where people could be vulnerable, powerful, and find strength within themselves. After over a decade of teaching, I began to recognize the deeper importance of this work and discovered my passion for supporting others. This is where my journey into birthwork began, though the seed had been planted 20 years prior, with my first pregnancy.
Becoming a midwifery student, birth assistant, and doula is the result of my own lived experiences with birth and a deep desire to hold space for others. My first pregnancy was in 2003, and I would describe it as “perfect”—every appointment with my midwife went wonderfully, and I had never felt more beautiful—the birth, however, was not the same. My daughter was stillborn. I carried her full-term and went into labor on my own at 40 weeks and 2 days. After laboring at home all night, I made my way to the hospital to meet with my midwife. After several attempts to find her heartbeat, my midwife and the physicians told me she had passed. The physicians immediately suggested a c-section, but with the support of my partner, my midwife, and my doula, I was able to labor and birth my sweet baby on my own. My doula remained by my side throughout, and my midwife stayed on shift to catch my baby. That experience shaped me as a human being and as a mother.
Two years later, my son, my rainbow baby, was born with the love and support of the same midwife and doula. These two very different birthing experiences—one filled with heartache, the other with joy—deeply shaped my understanding of what birth can be like. These experiences found a permanent place in my heart and, years later, led me into birth work.
In 2019, the seed that had been planted years earlier came to life. Encouraged by a dear friend, I enrolled in a Doula Certification Program. I graduated and immediately began working with clients in Sacramento. A year later, we all faced the challenges of a global pandemic, which dramatically altered the landscape for birth workers. During this time, a dear friend and homebirth midwife asked me to help at a homebirth with a client experiencing a great deal of anxiety due to the world’s uncertainty. It was at that birth that I knew I wanted to do more. I enrolled in a Birth Assistant program and became certified that same year. In 2023, two years later, I had the honor of catching my first baby. That moment solidified my path, and I enrolled at NMI as a student midwife the following year.
When I look back at what brought me into this work, I see that it was love—how I was cared for during the most vulnerable moments of my life. It was two women who held my hand, nurtured me, and mirrored my power and strength when I needed it most. This is why I do what I do. I believe that every person deserves this level of care, especially during childbirth. Every person has a right to educational, compassionate, trauma-informed, and inclusive care that gives them the confidence and love they deserve.
I am committed to this work, today and every day.
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