Credentials
I am a Certified Massage Therapist and graduated from Southwest School of Massage in Durango Colorado. I am perusing a BA in Anthropology from Idaho State University and I am also serving a two year term with AmeriCorps /Idaho Community Healthcorps which is affiliated with the Institute of Rural Health in Southeast Idaho. As a part of my collegiate experience I am working to achieve a Doula and Mentor certification through Birthing from within and as a Healthcorps member I recently created a teen prenatal outreach program called Partnering for Birth. This program utilizes the fundamentals and philosophies from Birthing from within to share comprehensive and applicable knowledge surrounding pregnancy, labor & delivery, birth, and the postpartum experience. Partnering for Birth focuses on pain-coping skills, movement therapy, and self efficacy for first time teen pregnancies; this class also encourages personal growth and reflection.
Interest in Birth and Well Woman Care
I first became interested in women’s health care when my mother in my teen years was diagnosed with Hypothyroid and Celiac Disease. I became witness to a life changing experience where my mother had to completely re-shift and refocus her entire way of living. Reading labels in grocery stores, understanding body symptoms, navigating stigma all became a part of a daily routine. As I grew into my young adult life I was drawn to holistic health care. I found my way by becoming an EMT-B then a Massage Therapist and now by studying Medical Anthropology. It seems like, just as my career has taken on phases and stages, so has my womanhood. My first experience with a Midwife was with my son’s birth. Simon, my son, was born at home under a magical moon. As life passed through my body and arched himself into the world I began to unfold in the knowledge of a birthing woman, something innately human and innately animal. Since then I have struggled with my own health and have found myself seeking to understand cross culturally the chemistry of women’s bodies both the emotional body and physical body.
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