In completing my B.A. in Public Health at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, I received a comprehensive education in women's health issues. As the true nerd that I am, I started furiously researching how I could get involved with maternal health work in any way possible. I called countless local and national organizations and begged them to let me intern. Soon after, I began to pursue various internship opportunities in the field. My experiences as an undergrad ranged from working alongside epidemiologists for the Baltimore City Health Department's fetal and infant mortality data to supporting health policy experts in planning a nationwide conference on data for maternal health equity. While I learned so much from these experiences, I found myself feeling unfulfilled in my passions and I longed to work beside women, supporting them in their most vulnerable state.

 

At this point, I made the decision to enroll in Childbirth International's (CBI) birth doula training and certification program. I chose CBI because they are is the only birth and lactation professional training organization worldwide to be accredited with distinction by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), recognizing the quality of CBI’s training programs (read more about the extensive curriculum here). As soon as I started my birth doula training, I knew I was where I belonged. It was the perfect marriage of my love for women's health and my passion for being in a support role. 

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