From Mama to Advocate: How Two Birth Stories Changed Everything ✨

Why I fell head-over-heels in love with birth education and doula work

Sometimes our greatest passions are born from our most profound "what if" moments. Mine started with two birth stories—my first as a teenager, and later when my wife gave birth to our second child—that opened my eyes to how different birth can be when we have the right information, support, and choices.

At seventeen, I thought I knew what birth looked like. What I was feeling turned out to be Braxton Hicks contractions, but being so young, I didn't understand how to count them or recognize how they change and build. Just two days from my due date, this led to an induction. Hospital meant induction. Long labor meant intervention. A vacuum extraction? Just part of the process. After 23 hours of labor—including four hours of pushing—I walked away thinking, "Well, that's just how birth goes."

For over a decade, I worked in healthcare, trusting the system I was part of. Birth was medical. Hospitals knew best. End of story.

Years later, when my wife was expecting our second child, I thought my experience in healthcare would prepare me for anything. When providers suggested induction due to concerns about baby's size (spoiler alert: baby arrived a full pound heavier than the ultrasound predicted—which happens more often than you'd think!), we followed medical advice without question.

Three days of labor. A sunny-side-up baby who had their own timeline. When fentanyl was offered as "easy relief," we said yes—after all, I worked in healthcare for 11 years, and if it was being offered, it must be the right choice. What we didn't know was how it crosses the placental barrier, or what the real alternatives were. Another vacuum extraction followed, and then a cesarean section.

I still thought this was just... normal.

But here's the thing about working in healthcare for over a decade: you start to see patterns. You start to understand that hospitals are businesses designed to treat illness and injury. Birth, however? Birth isn't an illness. It's one of the most natural processes our bodies are designed for.

Don't get me wrong—I have the utmost respect for doctors, and hospitals and interventions absolutely have their place and can be lifesaving when truly needed. The challenge is distinguishing between when they're medically necessary versus when they become routine protocol.

That's when I discovered the incredible work being done by Evidence Based Birth and similar organizations. Real research. Actual statistics. Studies that show what works, what doesn't, and most importantly—what questions we should be asking.

Suddenly, those "what if" questions had answers. What if we had known about different labor positions? What if we understood the risks and benefits of each intervention? What if we had felt truly supported in making informed decisions rather than simply complying with standard procedures?

So here's why I can't stop talking about this stuff:

Every birthing person deserves to walk into their birth experience feeling informed, supported, and empowered to make choices that feel right for their unique situation. Not because someone told them what was "normal," but because they understand their options.

This isn't about having a "perfect" birth or avoiding all medical intervention. This is about ensuring that every intervention, every decision, every step of the journey happens with full understanding and genuine choice.

That's why I do what I do. Because birth stories matter. Because informed choice matters. And because every family deserves support that goes beyond just "this is how we do things here."

Ready to learn more about evidence-based birth practices? Let's chat about how birth education and doula support can transform your experience from "this is just how it goes" to "I made these choices because they were right for us."