About Kristina
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I witnessed my first birth while training as a
doula. I was up all night
and didn’t leave the hospital until mid-morning the next day. Instead of feeling tired and wanting to sleep, I felt completely
energized and high like never before. I told everyone I came into contact
with that day that I had witnessed
something amazing. Yes,
everyone. I told my friends, my co-workers, and a few willing listeners
on the bus.
That day started my second career path, even if I didn’t totally realize it then. I was a labor and post-partum doula for a while, but felt that I wanted to do more. I quit my job as a theater producer and went back to school to be a Nurse-Midwife. That decision led me to witness and participate in births in Russia and Guatemala, and finally the Seattle area.
I graduated from the midwifery program at the University of Washington in 2005. That same year, I became an International Certified Lactation Consultant, working as a lactation consultant at the University of Washington Medical Center. My favorite part of working as a midwife, is watching the transformation of a family after the birth of a new baby. I feel full being in a room so full of love.
Soon after grad school, I got to experience birth form the “other side of the bed”. I gave birth to my first daughter and the experience was very eye-opening. Much of my birth plan went out of the window, but at the end of it all, I felt proud of myself. I had a satisfying birth experience because I had the knowledge to make informed decisions when things changed from my expectations, and because I had a supportive, loving birth team. In fact, my husband often refers to that birth as one of the best parties he has been to!
Two years later, I gave birth to my second daughter. It was a very different, but equally wonderful experience. And again, I learned so much about myself and my husband during that birth. Proof that birth is a learning journey that has a permanent impact on one’s life.
Now, my focus is on raising my young daughters and my professional practice focuses on gynecology, seeing women of all ages for a variety of issues. I love to teach classes to expecting families; it keeps me in the “birth world”.