About Me
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My Favorite Quotes
"Life only demands from you the strength you possess."
-Dag Hammarskjold
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
- Mahatma Gandhi
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
- Albert Einstein
"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."
- Frederick Douglass
Childbirth Educator & Birth Doula
My name is Crystal Bowden. I am a certified DONA birth doula & an ALACE trained childbirth educator. If you would like to know more about my training & my journey as a childbirth professional, you can view my Curriculum Vitae.
I live in Douglasville, GA with my wonderful husband Michael and my kids, Haden & Addison. I am a breastfeeding, co-sleeping, mostly vegetarian, yoga loving, homeschooling "crunchy" mama. I love to learn new things. I read constantly & have a weakness for historical & science fiction/fantasy romance novels. I have aspirations to one day learn to knit. I love scarves! Then I could make myself one in every color of the rainbow. ;)
My Births
During my pregnancy with Haden, I knew very little about childbirth and watched just enough Baby Story to keep me terrified of the process. I, like many women, gave myself completely over to my doctor, believing that anything that I really needed to know, my doctor would tell me. Haden was born at Cobb Hospital after a very medicalized birth that involved little support, an epidural, Pitocin and a horrible episiotomy that left me in terrible pain and made the beginning of my journey into motherhood much more difficult than it should have been. You can read his birth story HERE.
Before I even started trying to get pregnant with Addison I knew that I wanted to give birth at home. My understanding of nature and birth had so evolved that I knew that the safest way for me to give birth would be at home completely unhindered. I was able to experience my pregnancy and birth unassisted, knowing that I am the expert on my body. You can read her birth story HERE.
My Philosophy
Becoming a mother is what inevitably led me to wanting to help create a gentler world by becoming a childbirth professional. I became a childbirth educator & doula because I felt inspired to help share with women, information that I didn't have when I was pregnant with my son. I want to help women have a better understanding of the natural process of birth. My job is to help women achieve their ideal birth, whatever that may be. I believe that knowledge is power. I support all women in their decisions concerning childbirth as long as it is an informed decision. Birth is an immensely moving & life changing event. There is nothing that I find more inspiring than a woman's ability to give life and love. My ultimate goal is to help women through their amazing journey into motherhood.