I am a certified birth doula, childbirth educator, pelvic steam facilitator, doula trainer & mentor and lactation champion with 20 years of working with youth and families in the non-profit realm. In 2021, I co-founded Community Aware Birthworker, a teaching and training organization.
Serving families in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, I love helping parents realize their strength and ability. It is my desire to help families understand their rights and options so they feel empowered to advocate for themselves. I truly believe children are a gift from God and the birthing process is nothing short of a miracle. I know I was created for this beautiful work. I have attended over 200 births. I have spent two decades working to support healthy families. My career has included working as an after-school program director, healthy relationships/sexual health educator, community connector for an elementary school, homeless shelter co-facilitator and leading teen mission trips. Originally from Cleveland, OH, I moved to Minneapolis in 2014. I enjoy spending time with others, watching TV /movies, eating good food and relaxing on the beach. My favorite things in life revolve around relationships with others! Trainings, Certifications and Affiliations: 2017 *DONA International Birth Doula Certification *Spinning Babies Training *Everyday Miracles *Childbirth Collective 2018 *HypnoBirthing Doula Training *Red Cross in CPR/First Aid *Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss *Lamaze International Instructor Training 2019 *Evidence Based Birth® Instructor *Modern Doula Education Postpartum Doula Training 2020 *BRAVA Core and Pelvic Floor Certification *MN Healing Justice Network 2021 *Co-Founded Community Aware Birthworker *The Black Course Lactation Certification *Certified Lactation Educator *Spinning Babies Training *Vaginal Steam Facilitator *MN BIPOC Birthworkers 2022 *Body Ready Method *Breech Without Borders *Neonatal Resuscitation Program *PAIL Advocates (Pregnancy and Infant Loss) 2023 *CPR & First Aid Certification Renewed *Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss *ACTT Facilitator Training *Black Women Do VBAC *Pre & Postnatal Specialist (in progress) *Peristeam Hydrotherapist (in progress) 2024 *Family Spirit Home Visiting Health Educator *Mandated Reporter Every child deserves to be loved and every family deserves the birth experience they desire! 
Oily Doula Interviews & Guest Panels
Evidence Based Birth After The Baby Bump (on IG) Well Connected Twin Cities Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder |
Birthwork is Activism!
Most black families hire me because I am black, in my 40s, have 2 lactation certifications, have studied maternal fetal positioning and THEY DONT WANT TO DIE. I cannot count the number of times clients have said: *I DON'T WANT TO DIE *DON'T LET ME DIE *I THINK I AM GOING TO DIE *I THINK I AM DYING *THEY ARE GOING TO KILL ME *THEY DONT CARE IF I DIE *THIS IS HOW BLACK PEOPLE DIE Though I tell them I can't assure anyone they will live or die, I can help in the process of their birth and help their voice be heard. It's very important for medical staff to understand people don't hire me to squeeze their hips and sit quietly in the room. I can think of times I was asking questions or amplifying my clients voice and I'm simultaneously receiving a text from a family member on the SAME ROOM saying something like..."this is why we hired you!" People hire me to: *help ask questions *help understand the things staff are saying *do physical support *do mental and emotional support *give informational and educational support *help amplify their voices *and other things As a black woman: *I will never sit back and watch staff walk over clients. *I will never sit back and watch staff not give clients their options. *I will never sit back and watch my client's voice be ignored or talked over. *I will never sit back and allow my client to feel manipulated, disrespected or disregarded without amplifying their voice through my own voice...even if it irritates the staff when I speak * I will never sit back and watch a staff roll their eyes at my client without re-asking the question or restating the statement my client said. *I will never sit back quietly if my client calls to give me information and then when I try to get more information to help them understand... the staff won't give it? I won't be quiet and will keep asking questions *I will never sit in a chair while a baby is crashing (heart tones dropping and im the only person in the room) and not help my client change positions *If my client contacts me while at the clinic, hospital or birth center trying to get more understanding or trying to explain to me the thing the staff thinks they explained well, I will not sit quietly but will ask clarifying questions. It would be helpful if medical staff understand that people hire doulas because: * they want to live and not die *they want support during the entire perinatal period *they don't want to do birth alone. Knowing birth locations have staff still falls under the category of being alone *they want to know a birth professional who will be at their birth *the doula does not switch when staff change shifts * they want help understanding what's happening in the hospital, birth center and clinic. *they want help making decisions *they don't want a repeat traumatic experience *they want lactation support in the immediate postpartum and when they go home *and many other things Birthwork is Activism! When people hire a birth doula they realize: *they have access to their doula *they will receive prenatal support and education *early labor support will most likely be virtual until they agree it is time to come in person *sometimes they may ask the doula to come for a few hrs then leave to come back in active labor *even if they are not getting cervical checks, they will decide with their doula when the doula arrives *their doula will stay about a couple hours after birth depending on the agreed amount of time and what is happening *they will have postpartum support I will continue asking questions about medical things so that my clients have the information they need to make the decisions for their care. I wonder if staff realize: *families are often not comfortable continuously asking questions to staff or at all *a lot of people in their perinatal period may NOT be comfortable telling staff at the birth about past trauma, which may mean doulas are doing things to protect them and helping minimize new trauma *doulas asking medical questions does not automatically mean they are trying to be out of scope but could simply mean they are getting the information the clients may need or more information for the doula to help the client *if they assume a doula is out of scope and then does not give the doula the info (in the presence of the client) it can be seen by the client as the staff not helping THEM *when clients ask a doula medical info after a conversation with a staff, the staff did not give information in the way the client needed. *clients give doulas virtual updates. If the doula asks a clarifying medical question and the client doesn't have the answer... it's because it was not given to them in the way they could understand or not given to them at all. This is when doulas should start asking more medical questions to help clients grasp an understanding of what is happening to themselves or their baby HERE'S A COMMON EXAMPLE: I'm talking to a new client who wants a VBAC. I ask how they feel about their 1st birth and if there are any details they would like to share. I have never had a client who had a Cesarean who was able to tell me the details of why. Instead, they said the baby was in distress but I don't really understand what happened. I have never had a person tell me what their baby's heart rate was. Families who pushed for hours before a cesarean can rarely tell me what position baby was in. We know fetal position can drastically impact birth outcome. I will continue to ask medical questions and help my clients find out the medical details of their births, what the baby's heart rate was if there was a cesarean, and other things in preparation for their upcoming birth? It is not OK when families don't know what was going on with their baby and why everyone was rushing. This adds to the trauma. I will continue to help families understand what is going on. It is not okay that families are rarely explained the details of why they needed a surgical birth or other procedures. Years later people still don't know! Birthwork is Activism! Though people keep telling me to become a midwife, I have no desire to be a medical staff. I will continue taking classes to understand the medical side of birth so I can help my clients. It's not my job to tell them what to do. But it IS my job, every single time, to help them understand their medical rights and options so they can make decisions for themselves. Part of that process is me asking medical questions so they can get the clarity they need. Doulas and medical staff being team players with each other is of utmost importance. It's World Doula Week! Thank a doula. Love a doula! Partner with a doula! Get to know a doula! Birthworkers Matter! Birthwork is Activism! -March 24, 2023 |
Photos by Trinity Stephens, Gather Birth Cooperative and Various Clients
OILY DOULA LLC Copyright © 2018
OILY DOULA LLC Copyright © 2018