[Music]
[Applause]
the journey into motherhood is one of
the most vulnerable times in a woman’s
life filled with transformation and
self-doubt small victories and struggles
and somewhere in that space between
women either find their voice and speak
their truth or they remain silent giving
it away women are powerful and strong
they give birth and when they’re
respected and given space to be heard
mothers are born think of the strongest
most powerful person you know a woman
made that birth that and raised that I
gave birth to my son they’re gonna kill
me for that picture I gave birth to my
sons in the 90s and I would go on to
raise them right here in Southern
Maryland I felt very alone in motherhood
and like all new parents I wanted to do
the best for my sons
I was learning as I was going and making
mistakes like we all do and sure I had
friends but so many of the support
systems we now take for granted didn’t
exist there was no breastfeeding or
babywearing meetings no natural mom
groups or prenatal yoga classes it was
just me breastfeeding and baby wearing
in public getting the side eye and the
oftentimes impolite comments it was
through many of those experiences and
the years of raising my sons that I saw
a real need in this community to build
support for women in motherhood fast
board
early 2012 my sons are growing getting
more independent and let’s be honest
spending time with mom not one of their
top priorities I was actively teaching
and training here in the community but I
was ready to do more I wanted to make
some type of impact for the new mothers
here so I enrolled in prenatal yoga
teacher training and birth doula
training all in the same week and I
never looked back
my passion is my work and my work is my
passion as a birth doula I meet
one-on-one with my clients getting to
know them discussing what options are
available to them for the birth of their
child I serve as their advocate on their
birth team I point them in the right
direction to find research-based
information because as we all know dr.
Google is not our friend
we meet often and as anyone that knows
me can attest my phone is always on and
always within reach mixed up now I think
that by building trust my clients get to
know that with me they have a safe space
to ask questions to discuss fears and
uncertainty and to learn to make some of
the most important decisions of their
lives on my yoga mat I think is where I
made some of the greatest impact in this
community it was Mother’s Day five years
ago it started with two women and I told
them often how amazing their bodies and
birth really are I reminded them to read
birth to educate themselves about all
the decisions they would need to make to
ask questions why and how why not and
what about this to listen to their
intuition and trust the process
to allow their bodies and their babies
to do what they were meant to do before
I knew it my room began to fill with
more and more women all coming together
learning growing as a community now
when the women come into the room and
the room grows louder I have to ring my
bell to quiet them down the peanut
gallery I’m gonna back row girls
oftentimes they keep going and the room
erupts with laughter I can’t help but
smile because this this is what
motherhood is all about community
compassion empowerment if you give women
a voice it transforms their whole life
that of their partners and of their
children I continue to nurture the
community that I be going to see form in
my classes by fostering these
relationships and asking them to show up
be present in the lives of the mothers
and the families around them we did it
we brought back the community right here
in Southern Maryland this support
doesn’t just extend to mothers but
military families as well this is such a
transient community families come and go
military families come and go it’s
really hard to lay roots
and really feel grounded many of my
clients are military families and the
number one belief amongst the spouses is
that they can support their wives
entirely that they don’t need help that
they can provide everything that is
necessary because it’s become their way
of life my response is of course they
can but they don’t have to it’s ok to
want support it’s okay to need help it’s
ok to lean in what I’ve seen firsthand
is incredible when you give a mother a
voice it empowers it transforms her life
it gives her strength and really the
strength of any community rests on the
backbone of the families that comprise
it change doesn’t come from keeping
silent change comes from community
within support within the tribe
[Applause]
[Music]
you
[Applause]
the journey into motherhood is one of
the most vulnerable times in a woman’s
life filled with transformation and
self-doubt small victories and struggles
and somewhere in that space between
women either find their voice and speak
their truth or they remain silent giving
it away women are powerful and strong
they give birth and when they’re
respected and given space to be heard
mothers are born think of the strongest
most powerful person you know a woman
made that birth that and raised that I
gave birth to my son they’re gonna kill
me for that picture I gave birth to my
sons in the 90s and I would go on to
raise them right here in Southern
Maryland I felt very alone in motherhood
and like all new parents I wanted to do
the best for my sons
I was learning as I was going and making
mistakes like we all do and sure I had
friends but so many of the support
systems we now take for granted didn’t
exist there was no breastfeeding or
babywearing meetings no natural mom
groups or prenatal yoga classes it was
just me breastfeeding and baby wearing
in public getting the side eye and the
oftentimes impolite comments it was
through many of those experiences and
the years of raising my sons that I saw
a real need in this community to build
support for women in motherhood fast
board
early 2012 my sons are growing getting
more independent and let’s be honest
spending time with mom not one of their
top priorities I was actively teaching
and training here in the community but I
was ready to do more I wanted to make
some type of impact for the new mothers
here so I enrolled in prenatal yoga
teacher training and birth doula
training all in the same week and I
never looked back
my passion is my work and my work is my
passion as a birth doula I meet
one-on-one with my clients getting to
know them discussing what options are
available to them for the birth of their
child I serve as their advocate on their
birth team I point them in the right
direction to find research-based
information because as we all know dr.
Google is not our friend
we meet often and as anyone that knows
me can attest my phone is always on and
always within reach mixed up now I think
that by building trust my clients get to
know that with me they have a safe space
to ask questions to discuss fears and
uncertainty and to learn to make some of
the most important decisions of their
lives on my yoga mat I think is where I
made some of the greatest impact in this
community it was Mother’s Day five years
ago it started with two women and I told
them often how amazing their bodies and
birth really are I reminded them to read
birth to educate themselves about all
the decisions they would need to make to
ask questions why and how why not and
what about this to listen to their
intuition and trust the process
to allow their bodies and their babies
to do what they were meant to do before
I knew it my room began to fill with
more and more women all coming together
learning growing as a community now
when the women come into the room and
the room grows louder I have to ring my
bell to quiet them down the peanut
gallery I’m gonna back row girls
oftentimes they keep going and the room
erupts with laughter I can’t help but
smile because this this is what
motherhood is all about community
compassion empowerment if you give women
a voice it transforms their whole life
that of their partners and of their
children I continue to nurture the
community that I be going to see form in
my classes by fostering these
relationships and asking them to show up
be present in the lives of the mothers
and the families around them we did it
we brought back the community right here
in Southern Maryland this support
doesn’t just extend to mothers but
military families as well this is such a
transient community families come and go
military families come and go it’s
really hard to lay roots
and really feel grounded many of my
clients are military families and the
number one belief amongst the spouses is
that they can support their wives
entirely that they don’t need help that
they can provide everything that is
necessary because it’s become their way
of life my response is of course they
can but they don’t have to it’s ok to
want support it’s okay to need help it’s
ok to lean in what I’ve seen firsthand
is incredible when you give a mother a
voice it empowers it transforms her life
it gives her strength and really the
strength of any community rests on the
backbone of the families that comprise
it change doesn’t come from keeping
silent change comes from community
within support within the tribe
[Applause]
[Music]
you
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