Hi! I’m Pam. I am a teacher and life-long learner who fell in love with maternal-child health long ago, during my Peace Corps service in West Africa. So when I returned home, I looked for work in the field and started doing nutrition and breastfeeding counseling for pregnant women and their babies for the WIC Program.

The birth of our first son, the first of three wonderful children, deepened my interest in birth and the role it plays in our lives. It expanded my horizons to teaching childbirth and breastfeeding classes. Sometimes, people from my classes would allow me to attend their labors, and each of these labors increased my respect and understanding for the unique power a woman brings to her experience and ways in which partners could help them cope. Each labor experience informed the way I taught my classes. The classes I taught, in turn, helped me better support the next birthing family. This was my nascent doula work. Life happened and after homeschooling my children, I became a full-time high school teacher, continuing to teach childbirth classes and do occasional birth support on the side. Although I have loved teaching high school, this spring I decided it was time to change that equation and retire. (Nope, I wasn’t a math teacher!)

Birth work captured my heart long ago, and I now take great joy in launching my own childbirth classes and doula practice. I am especially hopeful that my in-person childbirth classes will build a joyous family network in Malden and the surrounding towns. It is a deeply satisfying prospect! However, all the hybrid teaching during COVID has given me a new appreciation for the power of virtual learning. Check out the different options for education and doula support on my site.

When not teaching classes or supporting births, I enjoy my family and friends, and love to meet new people, bike, read, cook, and travel. So much to do!