My path to supporting women through the childbearing process began with the birth of my own children. My first birth was in the hospital with the support of my husband and our wonderful doula. this led to our second birth which was at home attended by midwives. I gained so much during the process of these experiences, and wanted to give the kind of support and love that I had received. I love empowering parents by helping them sift through all the confusing choices available in order to individualize their options and create the best birth plan for them. Everyone comes to this point in their lives with different experiences, knowledge, power and fear. I like to remind women that normal birth is perfect. We can learn fearlessness through working through our fears with the help of a calm and reassuring caregiver. There are so many tools and strategies to pull from to manage the intensity of labor. When I work with a woman I like to get to know her well so that when we’re in the middle of the birth process I know better how to be with her and support her in labor. We often talk about and practice several different strategies for coping with labor to fill up her “tool box” for the big day. That way she’ll be able to pick and choose what works best for her at each phase of labor. I think one of my biggest jobs as a doula or midwife is to remind women that birth is normal and that all the most intense sensations are exactly the way they are supposed to be. Sometimes we forget this when working so hard but the calm and reassuring reminder can help to refocus energy back to relaxing and empowering thoughts about the amazing job of bringing forth a new life into our arms.