helping 2SLGBTQIIA+ people create & grow their family
Trust is something that needs to be earned and I hope that by reading a little about who I am, I am able to begin the process of earning your trust and respect.
HELLO
I am Sam (she/her/hers) and I am babyREADY. I have been working with families as they grow and change, since 1998. I am the mother of two amazing men, step-mom to a great teenager and wife to the most wonderful woman. My work is now focused primarily within the LGBTQ+ community and through pre-conception, pregnancy, birth, & postpartum information and support services. It is my goal to make every experience the best it can be.
MY STORY
Following the birth of my first child in 1998 I was given the opportunity to learn more about what a "doula"is and how I could further my Women's Studies education to help people give birth to their babies in a safe and respectful manner. Before my child was 6 months old I had taken my doula training and on December 21, 1998 I attended my first birth in the role of labour support.
I came home from that first birth full of excitement and with an intuitive understanding that helping people have the best, safest and most comfortable birth possible was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Since that time I have had many opportunities to grow and evolve my knowledge base. I enrolled in the Childbirth Educator program which ran concurrently through Women's College Hospital and Humber College and when I finished that I was hired to teach prenatal and breast/chest/bodyfeeding classes at Trillium Health Centre in Mississauga. I became an accredited La Leche League International Leader. I began teaching prenatal education series for multiple midwifery practices in the Greater Toronto area. And more than that, I have had the sincere honour to attend the births of several hundred babies.
As the world grows and matures I have seen the need to provide members of my community, the 2SLGBTQIIA+ community a safe and respectful space from which to learn about:
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how to become pregnant, what pregnancy may be like for non-heterosexual people
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the kinds of things to anticipate and look forward to through the labour and birth experience
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what feeding a baby (or two or three . . .) might look like
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where to find local resources for families that look like their own
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. . . and more
It truly is my pleasure and deep honour to welcome you to babyREADY. I invite you to become a member, join on safe forums, watch our videos, connect with like-minded individuals and have your conception, pregnancy, labour, birth, postpartum, feeding and parenting questions answered.
I look forward to having the chance to get to know you and your family.
Sincerely,
Sam
(she/her/hers)
CONTACT
If you have specific and private questions you would like me to address outside of our forums, please reach out to me directly; just give me a few days to respond ;)