AthensBorn is thrilled to welcome our newest apprentice to the team! Grace is going to be an amazing doula, and we can't wait for her to start working with Athens families. Here's a little more about her, written in her own words, and shared with you all :)
My journey to birthwork started when I found myself pregnant at 18. While I had family support, I still felt wildly out of place and alone. I stumbled through pregnancy, second guessing every decision I made, feeling burdened by a lack of resources for parents like me, and ashamed of my lack of preparation. Everything about the ordeal felt gendered and inauthentic to my experience as a queer teen, but I wasn't yet able to articulate why. With six years of perspective, I now see how expectation was at the root of my experience in pregnancy- the expectation that my experience would line up with that of all other mothers, and if it didn't, my experience wasn't valid. Now, as a doula, I strive to hold space for people without expectation or judgement. Grace is always my birth philosophy (no pun intended!)- grace for the birthing person, for the life entering the world, for the partner(s) supporting. Grace for the process of birth itself, in all its unpredictably wondrous, precarious ways. In this grace, I hope my clients feel the space to create the birth experience they desire. I see pregnancy and birth as a metamorphosis into parenthood. It is my job as your doula to assist in this with support and resources while you direct the transition in the way that best honors you.
Another part of my path into doulaing is my recovery from substance abuse and bipolar disorder. These experiences give me a passion for advocating for parents who are in the position I once was: parents who must put their own needs before their children’s in order to show up for them. I believe few truly understand this paradox and strive to offer support and space to parents in that position. My experience inspired me to get training specifically for birthing people who use drugs or are in recovery from drug misuse.
When I'm not geeking out over birth, you can find me curled up with my cats and my cards; tarot is my other passion. I look forward to incorporating tarot into my birthwork and helping parents ground themselves through this transition into parenthood. I love really trashy reality tv (particularly early 2000’s celebrity dating shows :), and hate vegetables. I’m happiest when I’m taking walks with my daughter and the sun through the leaves makes the trees look like stained glass windows. My skin crawls at the thought of cleaning but fresh sheets are ecstasy. I’m mostly just a quirky human who is insanely passionate about reproductive health and eager to start a career as a doula! I am so extremely humbled and grateful to do this work now. It's a privilege to help you create and hold the space around your birth. I hope in reading this you have a better idea of who I am, but mostly I hope you feel inspired to hold space for yourself and your loved ones throughout your pregnancy and birth.
With love and grace,
Grace
My journey to birthwork started when I found myself pregnant at 18. While I had family support, I still felt wildly out of place and alone. I stumbled through pregnancy, second guessing every decision I made, feeling burdened by a lack of resources for parents like me, and ashamed of my lack of preparation. Everything about the ordeal felt gendered and inauthentic to my experience as a queer teen, but I wasn't yet able to articulate why. With six years of perspective, I now see how expectation was at the root of my experience in pregnancy- the expectation that my experience would line up with that of all other mothers, and if it didn't, my experience wasn't valid. Now, as a doula, I strive to hold space for people without expectation or judgement. Grace is always my birth philosophy (no pun intended!)- grace for the birthing person, for the life entering the world, for the partner(s) supporting. Grace for the process of birth itself, in all its unpredictably wondrous, precarious ways. In this grace, I hope my clients feel the space to create the birth experience they desire. I see pregnancy and birth as a metamorphosis into parenthood. It is my job as your doula to assist in this with support and resources while you direct the transition in the way that best honors you.
Another part of my path into doulaing is my recovery from substance abuse and bipolar disorder. These experiences give me a passion for advocating for parents who are in the position I once was: parents who must put their own needs before their children’s in order to show up for them. I believe few truly understand this paradox and strive to offer support and space to parents in that position. My experience inspired me to get training specifically for birthing people who use drugs or are in recovery from drug misuse.
When I'm not geeking out over birth, you can find me curled up with my cats and my cards; tarot is my other passion. I look forward to incorporating tarot into my birthwork and helping parents ground themselves through this transition into parenthood. I love really trashy reality tv (particularly early 2000’s celebrity dating shows :), and hate vegetables. I’m happiest when I’m taking walks with my daughter and the sun through the leaves makes the trees look like stained glass windows. My skin crawls at the thought of cleaning but fresh sheets are ecstasy. I’m mostly just a quirky human who is insanely passionate about reproductive health and eager to start a career as a doula! I am so extremely humbled and grateful to do this work now. It's a privilege to help you create and hold the space around your birth. I hope in reading this you have a better idea of who I am, but mostly I hope you feel inspired to hold space for yourself and your loved ones throughout your pregnancy and birth.
With love and grace,
Grace
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