About me

Hi! I'm Monica (she/her). My journey into birth work began with the home birth of my son in 1994 in Omaha. I was fortunate to receive excellent care from a skilled and sensitive midwife, whose gentle and respectful guidance allowed me to fully experience birth as a sacred and transformative event. I strive to carry this attitude into my work as a birth attendant, bodyworker, and educator.

I hold a PhD in Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies from the University of Iowa, where I continue to teach as an adjunct professor. As an interdisciplinary scholar, my areas of interest include: feminist theory, the anthropology of childbirth and reproduction, women's health activism, postcolonialism and antiracism, and the history of medicine.

My 2012 doctoral dissertation, Reproductive Justice and Childbirth Reform: Doulas as Agents of Social Change, examines the roles of doulas as advocates for reproductive and social justice. I am happy to speak about doulas, midwifery, reproductive justice, or the history and politics of childbirth in classes, groups, or educational events.

​I am also a visual artist. Find my art account on Instagram @ravenandmagnolia

Midwifery/bodywork training, certification, & continuing education

Current Certifications in Neonatal Resuscitation and CPR/BLS
2020 - North American Registry of Midwives - Bridge Certificate
2019 - Approved Preceptor, Midwives College of Utah
2019 - Due Dates and Advanced Maternal Age (Evidence-Based Birth)
2019 - PROM, GBS, and Newborn Procedures (Evidence-Based Birth)
2018 - Certified Vaginal Steam Facilitator (Peristeam Hydrotherapy Institute)
2016 - Advanced Practice Midwifery (Wise Woman Education)
2016 - Birth Emergency Skills Training
2016 - Perinatal Mood Disorders
2015 - Certified in Prenatal and Postpartum Massage
2015 - Certified Prenatal Yoga Teacher, Sweet Feet Yoga
2015 - Cultural Competency & Respect in the Provision of Maternity Care
2014 - Craniosacral Therapy for Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum (Carol Gray, Portland, OR)
2014 - Infant Oral Anatomy: How it Affects Breastfeeding
2014 - Rebozo Techniques for Pregnancy and Birth
2014 - STRAIT Method Scar Tissue Release Massage
2014 - Postpartum Belly Binding (Sacred Pregnancy)
2014 - Reiki Master Teacher
2014 - Licensed Massage Therapist, Carlson College graduate
2014 - Yoga Nidra Meditation for Pregnancy and Postpartum (Karen Brody)
2013 - Processing Perinatal Grief (Angelique Chelton)
2012 - Certified Professional Midwife, NARM
2012 - Subtle Hands-On Skills and Craniosacral Therapy for Infants (Carol Gray, Portland, OR)
2012 - Board of Directors, BirthWorks International
2011 - Childbirth Education Trainee Reviewer, BirthWorks International
2010 - Managing Shoulder Dystocia and Breech Birth (Gail Tully)
2010 - Home Birth After Cesarean (ICAN)
2010 - Birth Emergency Skills Training (Aviva Institute)
2009 - Birth Art Process 101 (Pam England and Virginia Bobro)
2009 - Homeopathy for Midwives
2009 - Continuing Doula Training (DONA)
2008 - Supporting Women Through Perinatal Loss
2007 - Midwifery Ethics, Charting, How to Become a CPM
2007 - NARM Legislative Workshop
2005 - Working with Childbearing Women at Psychosocial Risk
2004 - Spinning Babies (Gail Tully, Iowa City, IA)
2000 - Certified Childbirth Educator, BirthWorks
1999 - Doula Certification, DONA
1997 - Doula Training, DONA
1995 - Certified Childbirth Educator, Bradley Method
1995 - Reiki I

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Publications & teaching

PUBLICATIONS
Radical Doulas, Childbirth Activism, and the Politics of Embodiment.” In Body Battlegrounds: Transgressions, Tensions, and Transformations, Chris Bobel and Samantha Kwan, eds. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2019.

“Reimagining the Birthing Body: Reproductive Justice and New Directions in Doula Care.” In Intimate Care: Doulas and the Birthing Body, Angela Castañeda and Julie Searcy, eds. Ontario, CA: Demeter Press, 2015.

“Natural Labor: Representations of Race, Gender and the Primitive Birthing Body.” SQUAT Birth Journal, Summer 2013: 34-37.

 “From Riot Grrrl to Mamagirl in Omaha, NE.” Young Women Feminists, Activists, Grrrls. Special Issue of Canadian Woman Studies/Les Cahiers de la Femme. Winter/Spring 2001: 63-68.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA:

• Sexuality in the U.S. (2018-2021)
• Introduction to Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies (2018-2019)

• Foundations for Feminist Inquiry (2014)

Primary Graduate Instructor, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (2003-2012):

• Fertility and Reproduction
• Topics in Women’s Studies: Issues in Reproductive Justice
• Topics in Women’s Studies: Feminism and Social Change
• Topics in Women’s Studies: Feminist Perspectives on Childbirth in the U.S.
• Rhetoric I, Rhetoric II, Accelerated Rhetoric

Teaching Assistant:

• Gender, Race, and Class in the U.S.
• Introduction to Women’s Studies

full academic CV