— Welcome, I am happy you are here!
About me
I am a Proudly Certified Professional Doula
About me as a person...
I identify as a wife, mother, sister, daughter without a mother, an aunt, a friend, an obsessive dog-lover. My husband is one of seven siblings, a loving partner and great dad. We have a daughter and three sons, all adults who have shown me that despite our mistakes, kids who are loved turn out pretty well. I can save you making some of those mistakes after years of experience!
I have two golden retrievers, and I am an animal lover. When we have free time, we walk in Ridgewood, Hoboken, and other dog-friendly towns.
As someone who experienced pregnancy loss personally, and stillbirth for a close family member, I am committed to companioning others who are experiencing loss, the NICU, or preterm birth.
It is important to me that my clients feel safe, respected, and accepted throughout our relationship. I am an ally, a friend, and a safe place to land when you need it,
I have lived in Wyckoff for most of my married life, but most of my extended family lives in NH, so I am a Patriots fan. College basketball is my favorite thing to watch on TV, cooking is my love-language, and making this website was enough to make me toss this laptop out the window. Thank for your support of it!
Credentials
Professional doulas are not regulated by any national organization. A doula serves at the request of her clients in an emotionally supportive capacity. I intentionally trained and certified with multiple organizations to round-out my knowledge with different perspectives.
— 01
DONA Certified Postpartum
DONA training and certification are models for comprehensive and inclusive training. Becoming a DONA Certified Doula means that I began my journey with a days-long in-person training (NYC with Ann Grauer), and spent over a year reading required materials, reviewing books, participating in a breastfeeding class for birth professionals, and supporting at least 3 families who documented the quality of my work.
The entire compilation of my reviews, work, and essays were assessed by a DONA-approved reader, who ensured my effort met their standards for certification.
DONA requires membership, and continuing education to maintain my certification. Since 2022, I devoted those hours to recognizing systemic racism and the doula’s role in supporting clients who may experience it, as well as certifying as a bereavement doula. Both of this topics can affect every birth, so I chose them as areas that would positively impact my support.
— 02
Still Birthday Certified Birth & Bereavement
Still Birth affects “1 in 175 births, and each year about 21,000 babies are still born in the United States. That is about the same as the number of babies that die during the first year of life.” -Sept. 29, 2022
Still Birthday is amazing organization, run by a Heidi Faith, who experienced her own baby loss and recognized the need for more doulas to serve in this capacity.
Training and mentorship with Still Birthday outshines any other organization because it is intense, comprehensive, and personal. I am trained and certified by Still Birthday as prenatal, birth, and bereavement doula.
— 03
Active Birth Institute Prenatal & Birth
Crystal Marris Sada has been training and certifying doulas for many, many years. Her biography reads like a novel, and her approach to training is to prepare doulas with evidenced based information and as someone who was part of the original movement to demedicalize birth and bring doulas into the birth space.
Having been trained by Crystal, during COVID over ZOOM, meant I had a mentor on my shoulder. There are not many organizations that include mentorship with their certification. Her model of support and care stayed with me because she was not just about the mechanics of the support we provide, she continues to be a sounding-board, voice of assurance, and friendship.