Nicole is a labor doula and a mother of two young children. She currently resides in Newberg, Oregon, with plans in the near future to buy and live aboard a sailboat in Portland, along with cruising the world with her family (all while hopefully remaining a doula)! You can learn more about Nicole at her website.
RD: What inspired you to become a doula?
NM: When I was pregnant with my second child, I was planning an unassisted birth. I read and studied as much as I could, learning about all kinds of birth options. I did not have very many family or friends who fully supported me through that pregnancy, and I realized that I wanted to be there for women, no matter what their choices were. I think every woman deserves to have that.
RD: What is your Doula philosophy and how does it fit into your broader political beliefs?
NM: I am there to serve a woman and her family in whatever way is needed. Every birth is different, and as a doula, I know it is my role to support, respect and listen to each woman. I go in with no plans, or desires to mold the birth into what I deem right. In the same sense, I am very liberal in my own life choices, and believe that every person deserves the right to choose what kind of life they want to live.
RD: What is your favorite thing about being a Doula?
NM: I love the excitement of birth. Coming into a home where a mother is laboring, it almost feels electric. You are apart of this amazing experience that forever bonds you with these people. It totally fills me up with happiness unlike anything else.
RD: If you could change one thing about birth in the US, what would it be?
NM: That homebirth would be more accessible to every woman, no matter her means. I wish that all insurance companies would cover homebirths, and that those who choose to have one would be encouraged rather than being continually dissuaded.
Radical Doula 