I’ve never been usual. It took 23 years to figure out why (spoiler: I’m autistic) but along the way my experiences developed an appreciation for the extraordinary and extra ordinary details about life. A curiosity for how new life comes into the world, but the few birth stories I ever heard reflected fear, pain, and loss of control; birth sounded like something I never wanted a part of.

Shortly after my late diagnosis of ASD I began to understand myself better, my interest in childbearing rekindled, and I was blessed with a pregnancy. Initially I thought “I’ll get an epidural and be just fine for birth” until I learned that involved a spine catheter and IVs which I immediately decided I wanted to avoid, and dove headfirst into learning about natural childbirth and coping methods. The incredible design of the female body’s capability to birth was undeniable, I began to trust my own to birth the way it was meant to, and at 32 weeks switched to a care provider who supported me too (a lovely group of midwives in the Bay Area). Prepared with a Hypnobirthing course, I went into labor naturally at 40w5d and had a beautiful hospital birth experience with no medication or IVs. I felt blessed to achieve that goal, but still felt disempowered by some of the events in the process, and wished I had a doula, who would have helped advocate for me when I was in labor land and unable to speak up for myself. My lived experience sparked a passion for pregnant people manifested by becoming a birth worker myself. After a year of adjusting to being a mother, I trained as a doula with DONA International; my goal now is to prevent and heal birth trauma for others, and to make every birth day as special as the family formed on it.