About Karen
As a small child, Karen was fascinated by animals birthing their young and then nurturing them until they were old enough to be on their own. She enjoyed spending time with pregnant women and listening to their stories about being pregnant and giving birth.
Karen trained and practiced as a Licensed Practical Nurse in the 1970's. While working in the area of birth she gained an understanding of how to support low risk women to have a natural or low intervention birth within the medical system.
However, it was not until Karen became a mother and parented her daughter, that a much deeper understanding of the birth process and the impact it has on the lives of both mother and child became apparent to her. The more Karen learned, the more her passion for birth grew. In 2003, she returned to the area of her passion.
Karen is a certified Birth Doula (DONA, 2003), and has prepared and supported over 200 women and their partners with the birth of their baby/babies at the Halifax, IWK Health Centre. Karen is also a certified Lamaze Birth Educator (2006) and Birthing from Within Mentor (2009). In this capacity Karen has worked with over 250 women and their partners. Karen's formal qualifications and life experience have allowed her to build an extensive knowledge and understanding of physiological birth. Her work in Halifax over the past eight years has also allowed her to build a very respectful relationship with the birth unit staff and management at the IWK and to gain a thorough knowledge of the IWK birth policies. Karen is committed to keeping up with the most recent research and attends Lamaze, Birthing from Within, and DONA conferences annually.
