Meet Cindy

Portland Metro Birth Doula

Cindy’s Approach to Doula Work

In her 20+ years working as a doula, Cindy has supported a diverse array of growing families through the transformative and powerful process of becoming parents. She seeks to bring the birthing person back to the center of the birth experience, regardless of the path that experience takes. The relationship between a birthing family and their doula starts long before labor and Cindy especially values the time spent prenatally, getting to know the unique strengths and challenges of the birthing person and their partner, fanning the flames of curiosity and replacing fear with excitement and empowerment wherever possible. As each birth story unfolds, Cindy draws on her experience, intuition, and deep knowledge of the physiology of birth to provide a variety of support measures. These include emotional support and a confident, reassuring presence, positioning, massage, relaxation, protection of the birth space and facilitation of an oxytocin-friendly environment, and support and guidance for the partner. In addition, she is skilled at providing evidence based, non-biased information for informed decision making as well as facilitation of communication with the medical team. She is a passionate advocate, there to help you find your voice, understand your options, trust your team, and feel safe and comfortable as you find the path that is best for you. Cindy is experienced in hospital birth as well as home and birth center birth. Over her hundreds of births attended, Cindy has amassed a wealth of experience working with clients with complex histories and higher risk pregnancies. She has developed a particular passion for supporting VBAC.

After a birth, Cindy loves to provide non-judgemental, birthing person centered support of infant feeding and postpartum healing to help parents settle in and plant the roots that will grow their families for years to come.

Cindy’s Background

Cindy has been fascinated by the physiology of birth since childhood. After the birth of her first child, this fascination became a passion. She began to study childbirth education, breastfeeding counseling, and prenatal fitness, and these eventually led her to doula work — a perfect fit!

Over the years, Cindy has attended a multitude of enriching workshops and training to deepen her skills and understanding. She is a trained midwife but is not currently licensed or practicing, having returned to her doula roots. The knowledge and experience gained from her midwifery experience informs Cindy’s doula practice and aids her ability to offer clarity around evidence and medical information.

Cindy is mother to 3 wonderful adults and one fantastic elementary schooler. When not attending births, she can be found dancing, sewing, reading, and spending time with her family.

Services Cindy Offers

Cindy’s Certification, Training, & Education

Birthingway Certified Birth Doula
Birthingway College of Midwifery, Midwifery program
Birthingway Childbirth Education Workshop
Massage for Midwives and Birth Professionals
Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon, Peer counselor training
Birth doula training at Simkin Center for Allied Birth Vocations at Bastyr University
ICEA-approved childbirth educator training
DONA-approved birth doula training
Workshop: Physiologic Management of Labor: Maintaining Normalcy in Birth
Workshop: When Survivors Give Birth
Workshop: Maintaining Normalcy in the Third and Fourth Stage of Labor
American Heart Association BLS Provider CPR
Working with Diverse Populations in Maternal Child Health – Shafia Monroe of ICTC

“My husband and I hired Cindy for the birth of our first child. Cindy was so easy to talk to, kind, compassionate and knowledgeable – we felt comfortable with her from our first interview and learned so much from her during our prenatal visits. We had a long labor and throughout felt like we had the best support from Cindy. She patiently worked with us and helped us make informed decisions and I can’t imagine having done it without her. Cindy’s visits after our birth were a wonderful chance to talk about being a new parent and share our excitement and love for our newborn. We loved Cindy and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to other parents.”
– Mom, 2014
“Cindy was a warm, wise presence in our childbirth experience, from prenatal counseling through the birth and afterwards. With her calming influence, I was able to bring our daughter into the world without pain medication and with strength I did not even know I had in me. She also managed to be part of the team while making sure my husband had a crucial role in keeping me focused and energized. She was a great advocate for us in the hospital, with both our doctor and nurse later commenting that she was excellent to work with and really good at what she does. Cindy was also an amazing and trustworthy resource for information regarding pregnancy and newborn care. We cannot recommend her any more highly.”
– Mom, 2014
“Our little one arrived almost five weeks early. We were unprepared in so many ways, but we had hired Cindy. We discovered that we didn’t need a crib, or a completed nursery, or even a stroller right away, but we did need an amazing doula.
For us Cindy offered a calm and knowledgeable presence throughout the birth and in the weeks following the arrival of our little guy. With Cindy’s support and our Hypnobabies tools, we had a beautiful, peaceful birth experience. And in the weeks following, Cindy was available to answer our random questions and be the cheerleader we needed as we struggled with breastfeeding, jaundice and other preemie-related challenges.
There are so many things that new parents really don’t need, but we are totally convinced that investing in a doula is essential, and Cindy was the perfect fit for us.”
– Mom, 2015