Birth Doula, Childbirth Educator, Medical Anthropologist

I love birth! I started attending births in 1998 in California before I had my own children. Since then, I’ve attended births in Russia, Canada, and across the United States, at home, at birth centers, and in hospitals. Along the way, I gave birth to three children of my own. In addition to attending births, I’ve interviewed hundreds of parents and wrote two books “Natural Hospital Birth: The Best of Both Worlds" and "Fourth Trimester Companion." With a PhD from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a Post-Doctorate Fellowship from the University of Michigan, I have conducted research on a variety of childbearing issues. My current projects are about Muslim-America women’s birth experiences in U.S. hospitals and African-American birth choices.