About Nova

About Nova

I began working closely with moms in 2002 when I extended my yoga teacher training to include prenatal yoga.  I felt very drawn to help women with physical challenges and discomforts that come up during pregnancy and also to help them prepare for labor and delivery.  Childbirth has been compared with marathons because it takes an incredible amount of strength, endurance and dedication.  You obviously wouldn’t want to attempt a marathon without lots of preparation and conditioning.

It didn’t take long to realize that pregnant moms had more questions than just how to alleviate sciatica pain and what did a labor contraction feel like.   Moms wanted to know how they could get through an 18-hour labor and how they could best be supported?

I realized after doing some research that there was a name for this kind of support.  The word “doula” comes from the ancient Greek meaning “a woman who serves” and is now used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.

I have been active in the San Diego birth community since 2004 when I first trained under Stacey Scarborough, DONA doula trainer.  I love helping women during this special time in their lives and watching them transition into motherhood.  ”Nova, you must love babies to be doing this work!”  I get this all the time.  Actually, that’s not what doula work is about at all.  Doulas take care of the mothers, not the babies.  The focus is purely on the physical and emotional support of the mother.

By nature, I am an intent listener and a calming, meditative presence. I am a generous spirit who believes in empowering and supporting women during this special time in their lives so that the mother and her partner have a positive birth experience to remember.

As a labor doula, first and foremost, I do not have a personal agenda for your birth. With each family, I work with the mom (and partner) during the pregnancy to explore what kind of a birth experience they desire.  Once mom is in labor, I will be there to support, guide and assist you in having the birth you want.  Certainly, not all births go as planned and I will be there to help you adjust to unexpected situations that come up.  I support all women through all kinds of birth choices.   Whether you want to have an active labor, an induction, an epidural or scheduled c-section.  I support all kinds of birth wishes.  In the end, it is my hope that you have a positive birth experience and enter motherhood feeling validated and supported.

As a postpartum doula, I help nurture the mother and by offering her emotional support, helping her to recover faster and find the confidence she and her partner needs to meet the challenges of a new baby. I am trained as a newborn specialist to assist and answer questions in a non-judgmental way.

NEW for 2010!  As a DONA certified doula with an active National Provider Identifier (NPI#), I can help you with third party reimbursement from your health care insurance company.  Reimbursement is only available from participating doulas who are also certified.  Please check out my doula pages for more information!