Congratulations  
on your pregnancy!
 

I'm Emily

A childbrith educator, doula ,and a mom for nearly 3 decades. I have written Emily's Birth Book to celebrate your pregnancy, and guide you through the mayhem of the US healthcare system. 

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​I have spent my career studying, teaching, and supporting birth. But it's wasn't always like that, I went to college and studied dance, and education. After graduate school in the Netherlands, I returned to the US and worked for years freelancing in the film industry and also teaching nursery school. And then I got pregnant. Wow! I was shocked to learn that I really didn't know much about how my body worked, or what I needed to thrive through pregnancy and birth. And I certainly didn't know how to take responsibility for my healthcare decisions, or that I even should. I thought one went to the doctor and then did what they were told.  I assumed the healthcare system had my best interests front and center. I had a lot to learn and I became determined to do what I could to better advocate for myself. Passionately motivated, I began my new life as a birth educator, a doula and a mother. It's been one hell of a ride. And you now have the ability to learn from my experiences. Emily's Birth Book can be your portable mentor; a support throughout your pregnancy. I share stories, ask you questions, present evidence, and encourage you to make your own best decisions. 

 

Take a breath, exhale. Being pregnant brings so much change and often a lot of fears. You're having a baby and that is huge. I have written my book to help you learn from my years of experience.

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• I will guide you to reduce unecessary risks.

• I will help you figure out what questions you need to ask so you can take responsibility and participate in your maternity care.

• I will help you and your partner (if you have one) learn together in fun and intimate ways.

• I will guide your support partner(s) to tune into the pregnacy, and take agency of their role during birth.  

• I will teach you, in practical terms, what you can do to opitmize your and your baby's health.

• I will teach you time-tested ways to cope with the experience of birth, no matter what you want from your experience.

• Reading Emily's Birth Book will help you take time to emotionally connect to your pregnancy and grow with your baby.

 

My years as a birth educator have broadened my perspective on how to build birth empowerment and make practical postpartum plans. I have had one cesarean section and one home birth. These very different personal experiences, and those of my clients, have enriched my teaching ability. 

 

 

Birth Classes 

The childbirth course I teach is called the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth Education®, a 12-week course taught by instructors trained and certified by The American Academy of Husband Coached Childbirth®. The organization’s title comes from the title of Dr. Bradley’s book: Husband Coached Childbirth. The inherent bias in this title is not upheld in my book. It is this bias, in part, that helped motivate the writing of my book because all kinds of people can make great parents and support partners!

 

The Bradley® curriculum acts as a safety net for childbearing that stresses taking responsibility for self-education and focuses on the application of evidence-based labor practices and the integration of the birth partner into the pregnancy, birth, and family life. A Bradley® class covers consumer (healthcare) rights and legal issues, prenatal nutrition, prenatal exercise, anatomy, birth physiology, labor positions and coping techniques, labor complications, interventions, pain management, unexpected birth (when you have to catch the baby yourself), postpartum preparation, postpartum adjustment, and breastfeeding education.

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About my book

I share guidance on optimizing your prenatal health, coping with birth and preparing for postpartum life. I also expose the politics informing birth and the dangers of the capitalistic, biased, and overmedicalized system of maternity care in the United States.

 

There are other books out there that already cover this information, but they almost never combine the biology and healthcare of birth with its sociopolitical challenges. Likewise, there are books available that are directed specifically at the mother’s experience, while other books are directed at the father’s experience—and with no acknowledgement of same-sex partnerships or gender-neutral identities, etc. By contrast, I wanted to present a book that honored both the gestational parent and the support person(s), regardless of where they are on the gender spectrum, their race, class, age, religion, or political leaning. Moreover, I wanted to create a shared experience for all involved. In short, I envision Emily's Birth Book as a bridge builder, constructed with anecdotes (personal and professional), strung with empirical evidence and data, and bolstered with ample room for you, dear reader(s), to add your own voice(s). Emily’s Birth Book aims to wrap your pregnancy journey in strength, knowledge, creativity, mindfulness, and experience—giving you agency over your own process. 

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