Like most of us, I grew up knowing very little about birth.  I certainly didn't know there was importance and real value in the experience and in the transition into parenthood.  And like many in the birthing community, it was becoming a parent myself that allowed me to peer behind the curtain and see what had been hidden - that childbirth and parenthood are trans-formative.  They are milestone moments.  Individuals mark their lives as the time either before or after having a child.  

Over and over we are inundated in our culture with messages that minimize the value of childbirth and undermine our ability to believe we can even do it!  That was the point when I became passionate about changing the status-quo and I became a birth doula and childbirth educator.  Since 2001 I have been working to educate and support women and their partners during their own journeys towards parenthood.  People are often skeptical of my passion and make grand assumptions that I have an "agenda" as I work with expectant families.  They are right.  I do.  My agenda is to help each family find their own agenda for their upcoming birth experience.

After living in New York City for over eighteen years, I moved back to my hometown of Fort Wayne in 2007.  My passion for childbirth education led me to start Birth Matters. My desire is to connect families together as well as to quality resources in our community - offering guidance and support during pregnancy and long beyond. 

I am certified as a childbirth educator through Childbirth Education Association of Metropolitan New York (CEA/MNY) and was certified as a birth doula through Doulas of North America (DONA).