About Robin Gray-Reed
On this page, you can learn more about my about my qualifications, my philosophical approach toward pregnancy and birth, my role as a doula, and some of my special interests.
Contact Information
email: robin @ santabarbaradoula . com [remove spaces]
phone: 972-679-2297
I am a certified doula, a certified HypnoBirthing childbirth educator, a certified HypnoBirthing fertility therapist, a certified hypnotherapist, a Reiki practitioner, a state-certified sexual assault counselor, and a birth photographer.
I trained as a doula through Childbirth International in 2004, just before graduating summa cum laude from Southern Methodist University with bachelor's degrees in anthropology and foreign languages (I speak French, Spanish, and American Sign Language) and minors in Latin American studies and women's studies. I also have studied social work at the graduate level.
I became affiliated with the HypnoBirthing Institute in 2006 when I trained as a HypnoBirthing practitioner, followed by certification in hypnosis for fertility. I am a member in good standing of the National Guild of Hypnotists, through which I am certified as a hypnotherapist. I am a Reiki Master and have been practicing this energy healing modality since 2006. I have received over 100 hours of training in sexual assault and domestic violence advocacy and counseling, and am certified as a sexual assault counselor by the state of California and the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center. As you will see in my special interests section below, I am especially enthusiastic about supporting survivors of sexual trauma through pregnancy and birth.
As a doula, I see my role in part as being the guardian of that “sacred space” in which the woman finds her power and births her baby. My job is to be fully present, to ascertain the needs of the birthing woman at any given moment and ensure that they are met. I meet women where they are and tirelessly, gently remind them of what they come to know in a profound and undeniable way: You are good. You are strong. Your body is perfectly designed to create and call forth life. You are powerful. Breath by breath, you are bringing your baby into the world. The wisdom of countless generations of women meets you here, and their echoes carry you through.
As a doula, I seek to empower women through comprehensive education on all of her options for birth and the early days with their new babies. I am available 24/7 during the weeks leading up to the birth, for questions and general support. I am not a midwife or a doctor, and thus do not perform any medical procedures, but I am a certified doula and HypnoBirthing childbirth educator and am eager to offer information, support, and assistance with birth choices, (whether it be unmedicated or induced, a water birth at home or a cesarean section in the hospital). I also help with comfort techniques, relaxation methods, and guided meditation. I utilize Reiki, a gentle system of energy healing, when desired. I also offer birth photography services upon request.
I also offer compassionate services to survivors of sexual abuse and assault. I am a state-certified sexual assault counselor and have extensive experience working with survivors (at a domestic violence shelter and with a sexual assault agency, as well as in advocacy work and activism against sexual violence). I combine graduate-level social work education with compassionate, intuitive care to help survivors feel empowered in their bodies rather than revictimized during their birth experience.
I enthusiastically welcome families of all varieties. Whether two dads and their surrogate want to attend my HypnoBirthing classes or a single mom needs a doula, I am happy to embrace life in all its glorious diversity and admire the many wonderful ways that love makes a family.
Robin Gray-Reed, doula and childbirth educator
I see pregnancy and birth as a sacred journey in the life of a woman and her family, and I consider it an honor to be invited. Every birth is, to me, an invitation to witness is a miracle.
I believe in birth. I am continually in awe as I witness the power of a woman’s body as she creates life, nurtures it, and brings that new and precious life into the world. I see birth as it all-too-often is: taken away from the mother, unnecessarily medicalized, and turned into a crisis requiring intervention. I also see birth as it can be: a sacred time for the mother and her partner, her family, a beautiful climax to months of waiting, dreaming, and going deep within herself to find the strength and power she will call upon when the time comes to bring her baby into the world.
Copyright © 2008, 2009, 2010, Robin Gray-Reed, SantaBarbaraDoula.com, and BirthShadow Doula Services. All rights reserved.
Last modified February 16, 2010.
