Meet Heather

I believe there are as many ways to give birth as there are individuals in the world, and that a doula’s role is to encourage and unfold your distinct birthing style while offering helpful suggestions and information.

I believe in supporting pregnancy, labor and birth with information and evidenced based care.

I believe support (partners, friends, family, professional help) play a very important role in the pregnancy, birth and postpartum journey.

My post–college career began in 2005 when I accepted a position in Human Resources at a media content technology company in San Francisco. I was excited to put my business degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to work and really enjoyed the structure and pace of corporate life. After a year or two, however, I began to feel like a worker bee going through the motions, with little sense of deeper meaning.

During a yoga class one day, while resting in savasana, my teacher asked a question that changed everything: If you were to die at this exact moment, would you feel happy and content with your life? I immediately knew the answer was no. That realization lit a fire in me to pursue work I genuinely loved and to venture out on my own.

In 2007, I opened my own yoga studio, which I owned and operated for 12 years until the COVID-19 pandemic forced its closure. While running my studio, my path into birth work began in an unexpected and meaningful way. One of the teachers at my studio attended my restorative yoga class and later approached me to suggest that I consider becoming a doula. At the time, I didn’t even know what a doula was. She was both a yoga teacher and a doula herself and invited me to attend births with her.

I was fortunate to be taken under the wings of two incredible doulas who mentored me in the most thoughtful, loving, and authentic ways. I attended my first birth support experience in 2011, and after completing a Heart & Hands midwifery training, I began working as a doula. I initially volunteered with the Teenage Parenting and Pregnancy Program in San Francisco, and as my mentors referred overflow clients to me, I quickly immersed myself in birth work. Throughout this time, I continued teaching yoga and supporting birthing families during some of the most transformative moments of their lives.

Today, my journey bridges both the doula world and nursing school. I have always been fascinated by the human body and our complex medical system. As a doula, I often find myself asking why certain interventions are done, which has deepened my commitment to collaborative care and true informed consent.

I continue to love supporting births and hope to complete nursing school, pursue a master’s degree in nursing, and provide the thoughtful, compassionate care that every patient deserves. Returning to school in my 40s has been an incredible gift and has meaningfully complemented my work as a doula.