As the mom of five beautiful children, all born under different maternal-care circumstances, I have developed an intense passion for pregnancy, birth, lactation, postpartum, and everything in between. Through my own experiences, I have become increasingly aware of a maternal-infant care crisis in the United States, further evidenced by the country's infant and maternal mortality rates*. A time that should be full of peace and joy is often overshadowed by the misalignment and poor integration of the system.

From the over-medicalization of birth**, to the disenfranchisement of the midwifery-led model of care***,  to the societal attack on motherhood as a whole****, mothers and babies are struggling with insufficient and short-sighted care. This is a complex issue, with multiple factors including history, culture, accessibility, education, costs, etc... but I believe that change is possible. This change doesn't need to start with laws and regulations (although hopefully those come, too), but it starts with each individual maternal-infant care provider.

We can change the status quo by unapologetically advocating for and providing evidence-based care that prioritizes shared decision-making, fully-informed consent, medical choice, and patient autonomy.  Women and babies deserve to experience birth without fear, without coercion, and without violation. This should be non-controversial. These are the factors that have pulled me in to birth work. I realized that I could sit through each of my own pregnancies being upset over the present maternal-infant care systems, or I could do something about them.

As a full spectrum doula, childbirth educator, student midwife, and maternal-infant advocate, I am dedicated to advocating for and providing access to S.A.F.E. birth - so mom and babies can focus on the peace and joy that should accompany the pregnancy, birth, lactation, and postpartum stages of life with their families.

Information, Sources, and Citations

*the US has the highest infant and maternal mortality rate of all high-income countries: Munira Z. Gunja, Evan D. Gumas, and Reginald D. Williams II, U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2022: Accelerating Spending, Worsening Outcomes (Commonwealth Fund, Jan. 2023). https://doi.org/10.26099/8ejy-yc74 

**the US has one of the lowest spontaneous labor rates, the highest pre-labor cesarean section rate, one of the highest epidural rates, and one of the highest overall cesarean section rates of 12 high-income countries: Seijmonsbergen-Schermers AE, van den Akker T, Rydahl E, Beeckman K, Bogaerts A, Binfa L, Frith L, Gross MM, Misselwitz B, Hálfdánsdóttir B, Daly D, Corcoran P, Calleja-Agius J, Calleja N, Gatt M, Vika Nilsen AB, Declercq E, Gissler M, Heino A, Lindgren H, de Jonge A. Variations in use of childbirth interventions in 13 high-income countries: A multinational cross-sectional study. PLoS Med. 2020 May 22;17(5):e1003103. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003103. PMID: 32442207; PMCID: PMC7244098. 

***in addition to an insufficient number of maternal-neonate care providers overall, with the second lowest ratio of providers to births among 10 developed countries, the United States also has the lowest ratio of midwives to obstetric physicians of all 10 developed countries, despite evidence in support of midwifery-led maternal care reducing intervention rate, maintaining or improving outcomes, and reducing costs: Roosa Tikkanen et al., Maternal Mortality and Maternity Care in the United States Compared to 10 Other Developed Countries (Commonwealth Fund, Nov. 2020). https://doi.org/10.26099/411v-9255