Meet Your ProDoula

Background/Experience that you think is beneficial to Doula work: Certified Postpartum & Infant Care doula Childbirth Educator Trained Hypno-Doula TENS Unit Trained Trauma Informed Provider LGBTQ+ Welcome Vice President, Capital City Birth Collective

What led you to become a Doula?: I see birth as a primal, awe inspiring experience. Not only is your sweet baby making their entrance in the world but you're becoming a parent! Whether it's your 1st or 4th baby, this transition should be honored and held with great care. If you are supported and nurtured in the birthing process and through the Fourth Trimester, you will have a much easier time birthing & bonding with your sweet baby. It is my goal to support you and your family, fully and completely, so you feel strong and confident starting off your journey with your wee one. I'm mama bear to three crazies. My home is super loud but loaded with love. I'm joyful and smile pretty much all the time. That's a huge part of me. It has always been a huge part of me. I can easily re-frame a bad situation, which is probably annoying to some, but it's a trait that has helped me through life and guides me as I work with helping birthing people find their power. I have deep roots that go back to my childhood in San Jose & I'm a professional actor on an endless hiatus ever since the birth world opened my eyes to a new found passion 11 years ago. My interest in birth runs deep and I'm constantly taking classes, reading books & articles and learning as much as possible.

What are some positive comments made about you by other people?:

“Gemma was our doula for the birth of our first child and was an indispensable member of our birth support team. We had a very positive birth experience and Gemma’s support was essential to the successful execution of our birth plan.

Before labor and delivery, Gemma facilitated insightful and revealing conversations between us as parents-to-be. Her questions and informed guidance brought us to challenge assumptions that we held as individuals and provoked questions we needed to answer for ourselves and each other that we hadn’t even considered before. The prenatal sessions with Gemma were powerfully informative in both the material considerations of birth planning but also the emotional and humanistic aspects of birth. Gemma helped us navigate our pre-birth anxieties and uncertainties with patience, compassion and a joyful optimism that was so reassuring. She held us in such a ‘heard & understood’ and cared-for space during those weeks leading up to our son’s birth and boosted our confidence greatly as we were overcome with preparation and anticipation.

During labor and delivery Gemma was a powerful agent of our intentions and vision. She held calm space for us and brought gentle guidance through the labor experience. She acted as translator with the hospital staff not only in the literal, medical sense but also in communicating our intentions and visions when we were in no space to articulate them for ourselves. Through our son’s labor and delivery Gemma helped contextualize the events and progress of the birth and provided guideposts to us to use in understanding the process and events’ relationship to our birth plan.

We recommend Gemma to parents looking for a respectful, positive and joyful doula who is supportive of your vision and really meets you where you are as a mother, as parents and as partners. We feel Gemma’s participation in our birth to be a true gift and hold her and her practice in the utmost regard.” Rebecca

“Gemma was an invaluable part of our birth experience and if we ever have another baby, I hope Gemma can be our doula again! I was looking forward to having a doula in the delivery room, but what I didn’t expect was how helpful she was before and after birth! Our pre-birth meetings were incredibly helpful for me and my partner and helped us find our way as a team. I ended up needing an induction, a long and exhausting process. Gemma was there for me every step of the way, explaining my options and helping me navigate the many decisions and emotions. She was a patient and powerful cheerleader, helping me through an epidural with support and a complete lack of judgement, and coached me through three hours of pushing! After we returned from the hospital, she cheerfully and wisely fielded our thousands of questions about sleep, breastfeeding, and generally not losing our sanity. My advice: interview several doulas, and go with the one that vibes with you best. But if you’re anything like me, you’ll be grateful every day that you had Gemma in your corner.” Katy

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