Deetrya’ Birth is here for you!

I had my first child when I was 27. I was healthy and had a low-risk pregnancy and got my care at Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center. At that time I didn’t know anything about birth other than what I had seen in movies or TV. I accepted what my providers recommended without question and everything was going fine. One day in a prenatal visit my doctor said something that rubbed me the wrong way. I’m sure he meant well because he was concerned about my comfort in labor, but he talked about my desires for pain management in a way that seemed to dismiss what I had said and I felt slightly offended. I’m thankful for that interaction because it woke me up and helped me to become more active in my prenatal care and inspired me to learn more. I started exploring different ways of birthing, and ultimately ended up using out-of-hospital midwives and a birth center for my daughter’s uncomplicated birth. My early inspiration for how to birth was from Ina May Gaskin’s Guide to Childbirth, which taught me to set fear aside in labor and embrace my deep human instinct and body knowledge. Unfortunately, it also reinforced some of my pre existing anxiety surrounding hospitals and medical interventions, which I came to fear. 

That first birth experience in 2005 went very well and it completely blew my mind with its power and I was in awe of my body and new baby. I had an epiphany that I was meant to help others during birth.

At that time, I had just finished working hard to become a teacher and was newly hired in that profession. I didn’t want to make any wild decisions with my postpartum hormones rushing, so I stayed the course and happily continued to teach for 12 years. In 2012 I suffered a terrible family loss. With that grief, I had another realization that life is to be embraced and I should follow my heart always. After all those years, I still felt called to birth work, so I quit teaching and entered nursing school with the ultimate goal of becoming a midwife. I entered the field of nursing with no medical experience, no background even as a hospital patient. Along the way, I birthed 2 healthy sons and experienced 3 pregnancy losses as well.

I am now a labor/delivery/postpartum nurse at our local hospital. My earlier anxiety surrounding hospitals has been softened by years of experience and knowledge about our local medical practices. Along my nursing path I have witnessed how diverse people’s birth experiences are - from home birth to high-risk medical situations. I can use my background to support them with whatever their education needs are, which is a joy!

I am an Evidence Based Birth® Instructor and a Certified RN for In-Patient Obstetrics. I’ve also had training as an indigenous doula, in lactation, and perinatal bereavement. I am always trying to learn more. One particular interest is about Alaska Native birthing and trying to bring traditional holistic perspective to modern birthing families. I am passionate about people learning and using that knowledge to be empowered for an awesome birth. 

I have been using the Evidence Based Birth® website as a nurse to inform my work for years. Their website offers detailed up to date information, complete with references and signature articles on hot topics. The founder of that organization, Dr. Rebecca Dekker, is an outspoken advocate of birth justice for all and is not afraid to address topics such as self-advocacy, patient rights, and racism. That is why I have chosen to offer the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class to my Alaskan community. It is made for families from all backgrounds to help empower you with researched knowledge for your best birth.

I also enjoy informal chats about all topics related to childbirth and community. My special interest is in reaching out to our Interior and native communities, trying to bring us together around childbirth topics of all sorts. If you are interested in any particular birth topic, let me know! I will host an online community circle!