08/13/2025
Next Moon Sage Doula is Rhianna! 🥰
-Where are you from: Born and raised in South Jersey, I have lived in Philly since 2009
-Why you did you enter the doula world: To empower families through education, I believe that knowledge is power
-Favorite part of being a doula: Empowering folks to feel as though they are the one in charge of their own pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experience.
-Why MSM’s trauma-informed approach called to you: We know from SAMHSA that “trauma occurs in the absence of choice.” There are so many points throughout a person’s reproductive life when it can feel like choices are being made by others - doctors, health systems, insurance companies, etc. By championing a trauma-informed approach and encouraging all care providers - doctors, nurses, social works, etc. - to also used a trauma-informed and consent-based approach, we can put birth folks back in the driver’s seat and potentially avoid traumatization or retraumatization, even when birth doesn’t go exactly as we may have originally expected.
-If you were a color, what would you be: Rainbow. I tie dye my own baby onesies and wrap carriers, my home is covered in crystal prisms and iridescent decor.
-One thing that makes your birth or postpartum care special is: Radical Love and Non-Judgement.
-One bit of advice for someone giving birth or bringing home a new baby is: Identify and call on your village. Your village may or may not be composed of those with whom you share genetics, it can look however works best for your family, but the village crucial!! Society’s message that you are meant to parent and know how to parent with only one or two people is a lie. The truth is that we are meant to raise our young in community. You will also need care through this process, so whether your village is taking care of you or the newest family members, they are essential to your growing family’s well-being.