Meet Annie
A Vermont Birth Doula's Path
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I am a birth doula taught by midwives, psychologists and practitioners of traditional Indigenous medicine. I provide life-affirming birth support with attention to the inner and outer; seen and unseen; spoken and unspoken. At the heart of my practice is the vision that each birther, partner/loved one and baby will, through the birth experience, come to know life as a place they can inhabit with the fullness of their love, power and presence.
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My entrance to birthwork transpired more than a decade ago within grassroot collectives dedicated to rural liberation and Indigenous sovereignty. Patrisia Gonzales, a Kikapoo/Xicana/Comanche midwife practicing in accordance with Indigenous knowledge -- and a beloved family member -- instilled principles foundational to my practice. Rita Navarette and Toñita Gonzales were the first practitioners from whom I learnt to use a rebozo (shawl) to bring ease to birthers and make room for babies to be born. I would go on to integrate the holistic and heartfelt training of midwife and doula Michelle L’Esperance, CPM.
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In addition to being a birth doula, I am an advanced doctoral student in clinical psychology who has been a therapist for eight years, working with people of all ages. I have also completed a two-year psychoanalytic fellowship. Having borne witness as a therapist to many people's
earliest experiences, the significance of working directly in this realm is etched into my being. Simultaneously, I bring a deep familiarity with psychological matters influencing pregnancy, birth, and perinatal outcomes. Among these are pre- and perinatal attachment and bonding; life transitions; our relationship to our bodies, sexuality and spirituality; our connection to imagination and play; our hormonal responses to our environments; how loss and trauma of many kinds can impact us, and how they do not have to impact another generation. My training in these areas and more heightens my responsiveness to birthers, babies, families and communities touched by my birth doula practice, and helps me to facilitate the best possible long-term outcomes.
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Life has entrusted me with two professions that center upon processes of birth, both metaphorical and literal. Because of this, I am no stranger to holding space amid liminality, intensity, and the unknown. I am at ease with listening openly, recognizing multiplicities, vastness, and mystery within each birther, partner/ supporting loved one and baby, and knowing when and how to step out of their way. My commitment to birthers' autonomy, informed consent, and confidentiality comes from rigorous training in more than one field that hold these in the highest regard.
Alongside birthwork and psychotherapy, I am trained in voice (singing), harp, flute, reiki, the use of plants in aromatherapy, light therapeutic touch, and energetic rituals of blessing, consecrating, and cleansing. Some clients find these helpful and meaningful as part of their birth support. Simultaneously, having worked as a farmhand; herded sheep, fulfilled multiple restaurant duties, and house-kept professionally earlier in my life, I carry skills and sensibilities that come in handy when clients request prenatal and postpartum assistance with chores. As far as the educational aspect of my practice goes, I draw upon my experience teaching, and designing curriculum for people across the age range (including children). Birth-adjacent topics I have addressed on symposiums and panels include disability justice, neurodiversity, grief, and our varying cognitive styles.
Beside working in professions that bring together everything I care about and love, I enjoy contra dancing, waltzing, learning traditional songs, singing them in community, writing, being at high altitudes, and submerging in cold rushing rivers. I converse with nonhuman friends ranging from the mountains and rivers to my dear car (who as a rural birth doula I keep at least three-quarters filled with gas at all times) and the villages, towns and cities I serve. Everything is animate to me.
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Please feel free to read about my vision and philosophy, how I assist birthers, partners/supporting loved ones and babies, my canine partner, and my availability for community education and conversation.
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To my clients:
Thank you for trusting me with a process as intimate as your birth journey and as sacred as you are.
