My name is Marin, but I am grateful to be able to answer to “MOMMMMMM!!!!!!”

I am a home-birther of 3 special little beings. I believe the way they came into the world bonds us forever. I believe the way they were treated while still inside, creates how they can be in the future. I believe that what we do in order to prepare for one of the toughest events in our life can be combated and lessened with our mentality. We find a primal strength by accepting our emotions and by surrendering to a “pain” that otherwise could be feared. I feel privileged to constantly learn from wise women, being transparent, empathetic, humble and open.

My mom and my aunts have always had more hippie ways of life and instilled a love for the intricacies of nature. We grew up only using herbs, vitamins, minerals and garlic (which I'm sure all the kids of school used to love being around me!) when we were sick, and it wasn't until I was 14 that I found out what Tylenol was at a friend's house who was on her cycle. I embrace nonconformity and independent thinking, always wondering as a child why things had to be the way they were in mainstream society. My core values are in a higher power, in family, in animals and in nature.

I started working when I was 13 at many kinds of jobs. The most influential ones were at daycares, then as a long-time nanny for a family who shared a love of natural living and child- rearing, and at the same time also was a caregiver for 12 years to too many older ones to count. I am thankful for the wealth of experience and perspective I received from all of them at their different seasons of life. My doula work in caring for women and babies comes from deep within and is refined by lifetimes of stories of others doing the same.

My years consuming birth knowledge became serious when I became pregnant with my first. Quickly I realized the impersonal routine, interventions and medicalizations of birth really bothered me. Women deserve better. I dove deep into everything about physiological birth. I trained extensively and was taught how birth is handled with veneration in other cultures. I love to speak with other women and understand where they are coming from and what they are thinking. I love to speak with them about informed choices and how to create space for different options depending on their own values. I love to see how a mother and her baby are the most important participant at their birth.

It is true beauty to see a woman continue to develop forever, even when she's through with her child bearing years. Even when it is really hard. The process of being a woman, holding a baby inside us, birthing the baby, and then raising the baby to contribute to a loving world are the most sacred purposes that we have in life. I hope that each woman that can be in my circle feels this special opportunity to always be marked by these magical events and by her children.