Hi, I’m Sara, registered nurse and doula! Born and raised in Georgia, I have lived in the Atlanta area my whole life, and for the past 20 years I have served this community in the healthcare industry. I started at a local hospital as a patient transporter when I was 19 and quickly fell in love with patient care. I pursued a career in healthcare by becoming an ER tech while I put myself through nursing school. When I graduated, I continued to work in my beloved ER where I grew my skills as a healthcare professional. 

I have witnessed a lot during my years in the ER. Some good, a decent amount of weird, lots of unusually funny, but more often than not sad moments in other people’s lives. I would leave work feeling either exhilarated when I was able to help people or defeated when my fellow humans were failed by the limits of our healthcare system. 

By the time I started doula work I was already disenchanted with the industrial medical complex.  Healthcare is a human right. Quality healthcare that is easily accessible should be the bare minimum. As I’ve learned about how other countries handle their healthcare systems, the many forms of “health” care, and community outreach, it’s easy to see how our systems fail people, myself included. 

People deserve to be educated on the human body, how to take care of their specific body, and how to feasibly make positive changes in their lives. The human body, like the mind, is a spectrum, and its needs are constantly changing. I’ve worked in healthcare for two decades and I am still learning new things about the human body, mind, and spirit.

My approach to my work is heavily influenced by my career and the life I’ve lived. I would be doing both myself and any potential clients a disservice by not sharing these parts of my journey, no matter how hard it is. It’s honestly nerve wracking to put this out into the world so publicly. But I cannot expect my clients to share with me if I cannot share myself. 

I became a doula in 2018. I had to step away from work in 2021 after my mom died from ALS. For years I struggled with fatigue and pain, and for years I was gaslighted by doctors. I was constantly told my “symptoms” were from my grief and I needed to “de-stress” my life. I did all the things to work through the loss of my mom and completely changed my lifestyle, but still my body wasn’t getting better. Even with all my professional knowledge, I was subjected to the same failings of the medical system that everyone else deals with. I won’t bore you with the details but needless to say I was pissed when we finally found the answers to my body’s decline. 

I had a mass in my pelvis: an ovarian cyst bigger than my fist. It was so big that it was shoving all my pelvic organs out of place, causing chronic inflammation and pain, and wreaking havoc on my hormones. Years of pain and fatigue quickly started to dissipate after I had my hysterectomy (and pelvic floor repair) this January. 

I had begun to think I would never be able to return to birth work. I thought my body was broken and there were no answers. After spending years living with these false narratives, I’ve spent the last several months strengthening my mind and my body. I’ve been building up my own community support, learning about the changes in our local healthcare systems, keeping up-to-date on the rapidly changing political environment, and rediscovering my desire to do birth work.

Another hard truth I’d like to share is I come from a multigenerational clusterfuck. After spending years processing generational trauma, I’ve learned that community is the thing that could have prevented me from bearing the brunt of that trauma. If the women who came before me in my family had the right community to support them during the darkest hours then maybe my childhood could have been saved. Alas, that isn’t what happened. But I see how desperately we need community. Now more than ever. 

Community shouldn’t come at a cost. I do my best to work with people and families to accommodate all incomes by offering payment plans. If I am unable to serve you, there are tons of other amazing doulas in the Atlanta area. Don’t give up your search. I believe in the work doulas do and want all birthing people to have the opportunity to have one, but I am just one person. I take a limited number of clients so that I can provide the type of care that brings me joy and fills my soul. 

I want the things I do in my life to mean something. I need to live my life with intention. Which is why I take on fewer clients – people who want to utilize my knowledge and skills to broaden their own minds. I love educating and sharing with people all the knowledge I’ve gained from the healthcare industry. I love working with curious people like myself. I love learning alongside clients too because learning never stops. Every birth is a learning experience because no two people are the same. The way I care for one person will not be the same way I care for another. I like spending months getting to know my clients: what’s going on in their lives, their goals in life and parenting, what community resources they could benefit from, how to help them de-stress their lives in order to have better birth outcomes, and so on. I find that the more I know, the more helpful I am. I’m not here to judge any decisions you make about your body and your birth; I’ll offer you knowledge so that you can make informed choices for yourself. I’ll provide as much insight and advice as you’d like to receive. 

Now that I’ve explained a little about my professional background I would also like to share a little about my personal life that those who are expecting might find relevant. I am married with two wonderful school-age kids. I’ve had medicated and unmedicated births. I’ve given birth in a hospital and at our local birth center. I also donated my eggs in my early 20s and was a surrogate in 2019. I’ve personally experienced the gambit of reproductive procedures that come with having high-risk pregnancies and the hassle of coordinating care among many providers. As I mentioned above I have recently had a hysterectomy and extensive pelvic floor repair. I have learned so much about pelvic floor health these last few years that I am excited to incorporate into my doula care. Speaking of doula care: Head over to my next page to learn about the kind of care you can expect to receive if you hire me as your doula. 

Other fun things to know about me. I am a goofball underneath all this seriousness. I enjoy a good prank war, shenanigans of all sorts, going on adventures, and I’ve been known to cackle a time or two (or more if I’m being honest). I love jigsaw puzzles, arts and crafts, hiking, dancing, yoga, and singing at the top of my lungs. You’ll probably hear me before you see me.