C. comes to Doula work from a background in theatre and physiology. She had fought to understand her own body as she grew up with Developmental Dyspraxia. However, what she always thought of as her greatest weakness, has turned into her greatest strength over the years. As a child every time C. learned a new physical skill she had to break it down step by step for her brain to fully understand it. This gave her a great understanding of human physiology. She applied this understanding of the human body to help numerous clients while working as a personal trainer at Blink Fitness and New York Sports Club.
Throughout her life C. was always struck by the distrust of the human body when it came to birth. She had always been fascinated by/or even in awe of birth. During her own journey to having children she finally realized what she wanted to be when she grew up. A Doula. It combined her deep understanding of physiology with her desire to empower people to trust their own bodies, no matter what the birth plan. C. took her DONA training in summer of 2021 and finished the DONA certification process at the end of 2022. C. already has a wide range of experience when it comes to birth. Areas she experienced with include, but are not limited to: hospital birth, birth center care, unmedicated birth, preeclampsia, pregnancy resulting from fertility treatment, married and unmarried partners, neurodivergent birthing people, pregnancy with special diets (Vegan and GD).
“My goal as a doula is to facilitate a positive birth experience for the growing family, whatever that birth experience may look like. I am happy to work with families with all different types of birth plans, backgrounds and family preferences. It is my strong belief that a Doula should be accessible to all birthing people regardless of gender, race, disability, faith, or socioeconomic background.”
Testimonials
Monty 18, Mother of 2
Being pregnant with baby #2 I was exciting everything was going right except for the fact that I knew I was going to have to give birth in the hospital which traumatized me the 1st time around. I started doing research I came across doulas but none of them were in my price range. After seeing a panicked Facebook post on a local moms ground C. reached out to me and as soon as we spoke I instantly felt a connection. I felt she understood and heard me. The first time she came to my house we talked about my 1st birth and my birth plan. I wanted it to be different this time. Fast forward to around my due date I had false labor at that same hospital and C. was so nice and amazing she came with me and stayed there until I was released. That’s when I knew I chose the right person to help me, a week later I was induced, I was scared and in pain but both my partner and C. were there and I felt in control this time, in spite of the fact that I asked to get an epidural. I struggled with my decision and she said something like “there’s a difference between pain and suffering and ultimately it’s up to you.” That hit me and I didn’t feel judged when I got it. Baby boy was born healthy I couldn’t thank C. more for her love and support.
During my second pregnancy, I thought “I’d love to have a doula since I did experience a miscarriage and would love to have that emotional support from somebody experienced, but can I afford it?” I remembered being induced with my pregnancy and feeling as if I really did not understand the reason why. I reached out to C. and she was providing her services at a sliding scale, which worked perfectly with our budget.
I’m not going to lie, I was a little scared to meet her since it was COVID and things were just a little weird. We jumped on a Zoom call and I feel like we immediately hit it off. I’m Hispanic and C. is white, so I thought the culture difference would be weird. But believe it or not, I felt really comfortable and I felt comfortable asking the “stupid” questions.
After our Zoom meeting where we discussed the process of working with a doula, what is expected of her during pregnancy and leading up to birth, it felt like a friend who you could text and ask questions. Eventually ,C. came over to my house which was nice since she was able to meet dad and big sister. During this visit we got to know each other and we went through my ideal birth, we created a birth plan, and we built a great rapport. Eventually as my due date got closer we spoke about various movements we can do on the day I’m in labor. I went into labor at 38 weeks 5 days and as soon as I started feeling pain, I contacted C. who walked me through the process. But things moved quickly and I ended up texting her “She’s here!”. My daughter is now 3 months and C. still shoots me a text to see how I’m doing and if she can be of any help. If you’re doubting or double thinking if a doula is for you, C. is the girl for you!
