A Legacy of Birthkeeping: The Women Who Came Before Me
When people ask why I became a doula, I can’t help but smile. The truth is this work isn’t something I stumbled into by accident. It’s been pulsing in my bloodline for generations, long before the word doula ever entered our vocabulary.
My grandmother and my great-grandmother were the kind of women who answered the call when a neighbor’s water broke in the middle of the night. They were the ones who walked across dirt roads or city blocks with towels tucked under their arms, pots of water heating on stoves, and steady hands ready to welcome new life.
They didn’t have business cards. They didn’t have Instagram feeds or contracts. They had intuition, presence, and an unshakable belief that women deserved care, comfort, and safety in the most vulnerable of moments.
Birthwork Before It Had a Name
Today, we call it “doula work.” Back then, it was simply what women did for one another.
My great-grandmother sat at bedsides through long nights of labor, rubbing backs, whispering encouragement, and reminding mothers they weren’t alone. My grandmother carried on that same quiet strength, supporting women in their homes, often with little more than her voice, her hands, and her faith.
They may not have worn the title, but they were doulas through and through birthkeepers, midwives of comfort, guardians of sacred beginnings.
Carrying the Tradition Forward
I often think about the women they supported. The countless mothers who birthed their babies into hands that weren’t medical or clinical, but maternal and deeply human. Hands that came with no judgment, only care.
When I step into a client’s home today, when I run a diffuser, adjust the pillows, or squeeze a laboring woman’s hand I feel them with me. Their spirit, their resilience, and their wisdom are braided into my own practice.
I don’t see this as just my career. I see it as a continuation of their legacy. A thread passed down from mother to daughter to granddaughter. An inheritance of trust and devotion that I now carry into every birth I attend.
Why This Matters Now
In a world where birth can sometimes feel clinical or rushed, I believe we need that old way more than ever the slow, steady presence of someone who is there purely for the birthing family. No agenda. No clock ticking. Just grounded support.
This is the work that is deeply engrained in me, not just professionally but personally. It’s who I am. It’s who I come from. And it’s what I’m honored to offer every family who chooses me as their doula.
When you invite me into your birth space, you’re not just inviting me. You’re inviting generations of women who stood in living rooms, kitchens, and quiet bedrooms, helping life make its way into the world.
I don’t take that lightly. This is more than tradition. It’s legacy. It’s love. And it’s my greatest calling.