My Midwifery Journey

I didn’t fall in love with birth work until 2017, when I first heard the terms “Certified Nurse Midwife” and “birth doula.” I had been taking a Women’s Reproductive and Obstetric Health course as part of my Public Health degree, and as part of the course, we learned about the different clinical care and support options for expectant families. I was awestruck. It was like a key fitting into a lock, and I remember thinking to myself, “This is my dream job!” When I got home from class that day, I fell down a birthy rabbit hole, frantically searching for how to become a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) and ways to get involved in birth work while I tackled the years of prerequisite courses and then nursing school before finally reaching a Midwifery MSN program.

I came across Birth Boot Camp, a doula training organization, and was thrilled to discover their upcoming doula training in New Orleans. I had never filled out an application so quickly in my entire life! The prep work and hands-on sessions not only solidified my passion for birth work, but they also prepared me extensively to support new and growing families as they traveled through pregnancy, labor, and postpartum.

Within a week of becoming a newly minted birth doula, I opened up my own birth doula practice and anxiously awaited being contacted by my first potential client. The day I received that contact form submission, I jumped off the couch, startling the heck out of my rescue dog, Rex. It was not long after that I witnessed the everyday miracle that I had become so passionate about.

Throughout my years in doula work, I molded and shaped my practice to fill a void in care I had noticed—support for survivors of sexual assault. I felt called to provide care to fellow survivors by creating a “Survivors Assistance Program,” where I offered my doula services on a sliding scale.

Though I gained invaluable experiences, I realized that I was lacking the ability to provide lactation care to my clients, not being a mother myself (yet ;)). I became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and spent the next two years working in an inpatient setting while pursuing my BSN.

In 2022, I was finally a Registered Nurse! My enthusiasm for caring for laboring and birthing clients only grew as I started my first nursing position in Labor & Delivery. While working in this full-time night shift position, I completed my MSN in Midwifery from Georgetown University.

In September of 2024, I was FINALLY able to announce that I had become a CNM, and a month later, I welcomed my beautiful daughter into the world! I am proud to share that I work as a CNM at Sutter Health and look forward to seeing how experiencing birth firsthand will shape my practice.

In my free time, I explore my love of writing and folklore. I have two works in progress, my debut fantasy novel entitled, LOSING MY SKIN and a nonfiction anthology that provides a raw account of birth. I am excited to share updates about these projects on my author website and under the Creative Works tab.

When not writing and catching babies, I spend time with my amazing baby girl, Guinevere, my husband, Kody, and our rescue fur baby, Rex. We enjoy being outdoors and are often found hiking or talking beach walks at sunset.