About

photo by Zo'e Cole

 About Whitney (she/her)

 I am in awe at the power of birthing people, and I am crushed by the lack of support, respect and value society assigns to birthing and postpartum parents. 

That means I'm here to bolster parents and, at the same time, to work against systems that harm birthing people. This is what Word + Deed means to me. I believe the Black maternal death gap is the devastating consequence of medical racism and obstetric violence, and I think we white birthworkers in particular have a lifetime of work to do to confront this. I am dedicated to serving my community and uplifting the needs of families through accessible, compassionate, culturally sensitive, trauma-informed personal support and reproductive justice advocacy.

I left my legal career after the birth of my first child, and I eventually followed my heart into birthwork, training with author and childbirth educator Dr. Britta Bushnell and then with Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings. 

I live in Long Beach with my husband, three children and two dogs. 

JD
C-CBE (BADT)
C-FSD (BADT)

Guiding Principles

Honoring bodily autonomy, personal choice, and innate wisdom is essential.

Those who hold privilege must dismantle the systems that cause harm to those without. This is a lifelong journey that requires openness to growth and change.

All individuals are worthy of being treated with dignity, grace, respect and candor.

Creating diverse networks, equitable resource sharing and community engagement lead to better outcomes.

Everyone deserves to thrive.


W+D Pledge

You've read some of my words; here are some of my deeds.

Education: I attend between 2-5 seminars monthly on topics that aid my current practices and understanding of local and national policy.  

Service: I make time to offer my resources to members of Long Beach that may be priced out or unaware of available options. I also work with a sliding scale for clients. 

Investment: I give a percentage of my monthly profits back to organizations and birthworkers who are aligned with Black maternal health and either rooted in Long Beach or serving Los Angeles county.

Diversification: I will not be, and should not be, the right birthworker or educator for everyone.  I curate a referral document listing other Long Beach care providers, working to highlight those who support birthing and postpartum people with culturally competent, trauma informed, consent-based care.

If you would like to know more about my recent continuing education, sliding scale, local commitments or resource list, please contact Word + Deed.
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