I'm Emily.
My journey to birth work felt in many ways like a natural progression of my life. I can remember being in middle school watching unmedicated birth vlogs on youtube. I remember being 16 and sifting through the many careers I could have and still feeling such a strong draw towards birth (obviously at sixteen I thought this meant I had to become an obstetrician). As I got closer to my undergraduate graduation I went back on forth on what my next step was. I felt torn between beginning Midwifery school to become and CPM (certified profession midwife) and starting Grad school to become a Counselor. I decided to train as a doula and see how the birth world felt. After my first few births and witnessing the strength and beauty of birth, I felt as though being a doula was not a stepping stone for me. Instead, it was a landing. It felt like this beautiful marriage of all the things I felt drawn towards in Midwifery, as well as in Counseling; I was able to hold emotional space while also holding the knowledge and reverence of a physiological birth alongside it. And over the past years of doing this work, doula work has begun to feel like an act of resistance to world that so often tells women and all birthing people that they are weaker, less than, or second.
When I am not in birthing spaces, I am probably running around Birmingham with my old film camera, throwing clay on my rickety pottery wheel, creating content for a local coffee shop, or staring a new home project that I may or may not ever finish. I live with my partner, Brooke Eden, and our cat, in Highland Park, where I hope I'll live for a long time.
​My Birth Philosophy
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From such a young age, we are taught to fear birth. We are told that birth is a something that we have to get through in order to have a baby. Birth is demonized and seen as dangerous and something that must be managed. But the more and more that I do this work, the more and more that I just cannot believe this is true. Yes, birth is intense, and birth is hard. But birth is not bad, it is not something that we need to avoid or get through. When given the space and care, birth transforms us. It can show you your strength, it can empower you, it can call you to lean on the love and support of the ones around you. Birth asks you to make space for the parts of yourself that we so often try to hide. It asks you to draw inward and trust your intuition and be loud and take up space.
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My job as a doula is not to be your voice or to make your birth happen any specific way, but it is to make space for your voice to be heard and make space for you to have autonomy over your body and decisions. It is to join you in holding the physical intensity of birth. Nothing that I do can take that away, but my goal is to help you know that you are never alone in walking through it. Your birth is your birth, not mine, not your sisters, not your parents.
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I am a body positive, lgbtq+ affirming doula. I have a special interest in supporting clients in the LGBTQ+ community, births of oppressed and marginalized peoples, and births in home settings. I understand that the world does not treat us all equally; my mission is to ensure that all people are able to have access to affirming, compassionate, and empowering care. Please go to my contact page if you believe we would be a good fit!
Certifications + Qualifications:
- Birth Doula Certification (DONA International)
- Postpartum Doula Training (CBI)
- Tricare East Provider Certification
- CPR/Basic Life Support Certified
-Trained Home Birth Assistant
- Over 500 hours of Birth Experience