About Me
My Favorite Quotes
"Life only demands from you the strength you possess."
-Dag Hammarskjold
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."
- Alan Kay
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
- Mahatma Gandhi
"If we are to heal the planet, we must begin by healing birthing."
- Agnes Sallet Von Tannenberg
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
- Albert Einstein
"A woman is the full circle, within her is the power - to create, nurture, and transform."
- Diane Mariechild
"Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are."
- Augustine
"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."
- Frederick Douglass
Meet Your Doula
My name is Crystal Bowden. I live in Douglasville, GA with my wonderful husband Michael and one very handsome little boy, Haden! Haden was born on September 23, 2006 and I am currently dreaming about adding a new addition to our family. Haden is a breastfeeding, co-sleeping, cloth diaper-wearing toddler! He is a future homeschooler that loves to learn, laugh and play. He is continually an inspiration to me.
I am a vegetarian, yoga loving, crunchy mama. I love to learn new things. I read constantly, especially anything pregnancy, childbirth and parenting related. When I read fiction I enjoy cheesy romance novels, the kind that always have a happy ending. I also love to scrapbook when I can find the time, which these days is almost never!
My Birth
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 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. Becoming a mother is what inevitably led me to wanting to help create a gentler world by becoming a doula.
My Philosophy
I decided to become a doula because I believe that women have the power to call on their own natural maternal instinct and birth their babies with joy. I want to help women understand that birth is a natural process that our bodies were built to handle and that there is nothing to be afraid of. 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 and I believe that every woman deserves a doula. My passion is childbirth. There is nothing that I find more inspiring than a woman's ability to give life and love.
My Journey
I am a birth doula and educator. I am currently working on finishing up my Birth Doula and Childbirth Education certifications.
October 2007 - Began DONA Birth Doula training.
January 2008 - DONA 3-day Birth Doula workshop.
January 2008 - Began ALACE Childbirth Educators training.
January - Febuary 2008 - Audited 8-week Lamaze childbirth series.
Febuary 2008 - Attended Georgia Birth Network belly casting workshop.
Febuary - May 2008 - Audited 12-week Bradley childbirth class series.
March 2008 - Began attending births.
March 2008 - Became a member of Georgia Birth Network.
April 2008 - Completed Basics of Lactation Management Self-Learning Program.
May 2008 - Became an Operation Special Delivery volunteeer.
November 2008 - Became a member and volunteer for Georgia Friends of Midwives.
