About Rebekah
Hi, I'm Rebekah,
a midwife, birth trauma specialist and trauma healing coach.
Even when birth goes ‘medically well,’ many of us are left feeling confused, disrespected, overwhelmed, and even traumatized by what happened in the course of labor and birth. I have seen how this can leave you feeling deeply hurt, confused and ‘broken’ by your birth experience.
I offer birth trauma healing sessions virtually to clients anywhere, and in-person in the Bay area. I have worked as a birth professional for almost 20 years. I deeply believe that it is possible to heal from a traumatic birth.
Through years of supporting new parents and extensive trauma training, I developed a method of transforming difficult birth experiences and helping people find true healing. In just a few sessions together, you can begin to come through the trauma and re-enter your life feeling whole and confident again.
my model of careHealing birth trauma was a relatively uncharted territory. I found some beautiful work being done by peers, most notably Krysta Dancy and dancyperinatal.com, but found little else that really resonated. And so I began building my own style of birth processing that is a fusion of my trainings.
I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of birth. And I have found that when we revisit it together, in the presence of deep caring and safety, we can transform the bodily memories and help set people free from the burden of the trauma.
HOW I got STARTEDI have been working in the birth world since I was 21 years old, now more than half of my life. In that time, I have seen absolutely beautiful births. I have also seen many people come out of their birth experience shocked, stunned, or traumatized. Over time, I observed that a unmedicated squatting birth could occasionally lead to trauma, and that an emergency cesarean birth sometimes did not.
I was perplexed by this, and wanted to learn more. I delved deep into the literature around birth trauma and acute adult trauma, and saw how little we know and understand about how to recover from a difficult birth. I wanted to learn more, and over the years put together a self-study course on trauma, including perinatal mental health training, Internal Family Systems (IFS) work, trauma studies work with Bessel van der Kolk, and somatic training through the Hakomi Method.
my personal healing journeyI have had the privilege in my life to work with wonderful therapists. Early exposure to talk therapy helped me to understand my own story and to untangle the beliefs about myself that came from early childhood trauma. Through IFS work in my 30s, I further explored the burdens that trauma in my formative years had on my everyday life and my intimate relationships. When faced with years of infertility and a fear that I wouldn’t be able to carry and birth my own baby, I went further inward and explored deeply-held beliefs about my body’s failures and my womanhood.
In becoming pregnant and giving birth after IVF, I was faced with unresolved traumas that again resurfaced. In recent years, somatic therapy and altered states of consciousness, including Holotrophic Breathwork, have enabled deeper unburdening and a sense of deep and lasting healing. I now feel moved to offer the potential of such healing to others through this work. I believe deeply that uncovering traumas and holding them with love and acceptance allows for transformation and healing. I am on the journey myself and I know how important and life-changing trauma healing can be.
20+ years of birth work
Trainings & accreditations Certified Nurse-Midwife
Yale University
American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM)
Perinatal Mental Health Counselor (PMH)
Postpartum Support International (PSI)
Hakomi Level 1 Training
The Hakomi Institute of California
Certificate in Trauma Studies
Trauma Resource Foundation
Lead teacher Bessel van der Kolk
Registered Nurse (RN)
Yale University
Master of Science in Public Health (MPH)
Yale University
A healthy baby is not all that matters
Reach out with any inquiries, or to schedule a free connection call.
I will get back to you within two business days.
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