about

A light skinned person in a red cloche hat with drooping red felt poppy, dark large framed glasses, and a black button shirt looks to the left of frame and is visible in profile. They hold a small sleeping lightskinned baby in a bright red hat, dark blue longsleeved shirt, and blue denim overalls on their right shoulder. The baby's face is not visible. They stand in front of a hedge of dark green leaves.
Julianne holds baby Juniper

Hello, my name is Julianne and my pronouns are they / elle. I am parent to Juniper and Sequoia, who I birthed with the support of my birth team in the most empowering moments of my life. I am a queer, neurodivergent, mixed race person living in Santa Cruz. I love to make things and my hands are rarely still. The accessibility of audiobooks from the library was a boon to my crafting and baking time. I love to feed people, and my biggest act of perinatal self-care was stocking my freezer with seaweed soup per Korean tradition and shabbat challot. In 2020 I became certified as a Saltwater Doula and formally started this new phase of life with meaningful work I can be passionate about.

Pomegranates are a theme throughout my life, from the trees in my grandmother’s and childhood gardens, to my favorite tale of Persephone’s Ascension, to my Jewish heritage. Ancient symbology connects pomegranates with fertility. They are crowned, and round as a pregnant belly.

why a birth companion?

The word doula is a direct translation of an Ancient Greek word meaning female slave of a woman, gifted to her postpartum. We will work together to ensure your birth unfolds as you envisioned, and to create a sustainable long-term postpartum plan. I provide continuous companionship through active labor to give you the emotional and physical support you need. Read more on this blog post.

philosophy

You deserve the safe, healthy, happy birth you want. You are the only one who can decide for yourself and your child, and it is your right to parent as you see fit. It is your right to access and understand all information available to help you make these decisions.

I am here to facilitate that, whether you want an epidural as soon as you can, want an unmedicated physiologic birth, or you want to wait and see how you feel during labor. I provide you information to make the best decision as you see fit – you are the parent, not me.

Birth is one of the most empowering possible moments in a person’s life. It is a spiritual, magical time, and there is plenty of humor to be found in our most sacred events. Spiritual can mean serious and silly, as long as it feels right for you. You can’t plan a birth, but you can feel ready to meet any developments and should be respected at every turn.

Postpartum is one of the long rituals in a person’s life. The American standard wants you to bounce back and be done in 6 weeks, but postpartum really is forever. Move forward into the new normal. How you are cared for and supported in your early postpartum – however long that is for you – is a sacred ritual and gift to you from yourself and your community. Let these early days set the tone for you, your baby, and your family.

I advocate for your desires and needs, help you organize to make it happen, and support you with rituals to mark your transitions. The American system is set up to disenfranchise and silence minority voices, be they Black, Indigenous, or people of color; women, nonbinary, trans, or queer people. I am your megaphone. You deserve the safe, healthy, happy life you want.

A two toned bright and dark red pomegranate is centered, split to show three large seeds. The fruit is shaped like a pelvis. Green branches connect two pomegranate flowers, also in two toned bright and dark red, with a soft yellow center. These flowers are flanked around the fruit to look like fallopian tubes. Two branches are centered at left and right to suggest leaves.

continuing education

I am always learning to keep myself up to date with the latest and best practices. I emphasize learning from BIPOC and marginalized genders, and enjoy conferences where the community can share in knowledge.

  • JUNE 2022: Access and Action Conference: Community based strategies for connection, organizing, and change
  • Jewish Postpartum Preparation and Support from Joybird Doula, 2022
  • Hidden History of Jews and Reproductive Rights in America, from Jewish Women’s Archive, 2021
  • Babywearing is Safe: Dismantling Colonized Notions and Limited Science with Angelique Geehan and Linnea Catalan, hosted by Keelia Alder, from the Birth Bruja, 2021
  • Parent/Guardian & Adult Allies Virtual Summit Understanding Gender, 2021
  • Postpartum Healing Lodge: Nettle Cohort, 2021
  • PSI and 2020 Mom: Maternal Mental Health 101, 2021
  • Better Birth Pro: Becoming a Better Birth Detective & Proactive Prep, 2021
  • 2020 Mom Conference, 2021
    • State of the State of Mental Health and Maternal Mental Health Care
    • How to Assess & Support Latinx Mothers
    • University of Utah Maternal Loneliness & Cigna’s Resilience Studies
    • Supporting Those Who Have Terminated a Birth
    • Joia Crear-Perry, MD – The Birth Equity Movement
    • The 4th Trimester and Beyond
    • What’s Next for Motherhood?
  • Imeinu Doulas Birth Torah: Fertility and Conception; Pregnancy; Childbirth; Postpartum Wellness, 2021
  • Yelala As You Feed Life, So May Life Feed You: Postpartum Nourishment, 2020
  • Yelala At the Bedside: Jewish Customs of Bleeding & Birthing, 2020
  • Saltwater Certified Labor Doula, 2020
  • Public Priesting (year long training), 2017
  • University of California, Santa Cruz, Bachelor Arts Creative Writing, 2013

Phone 831.291.3620 E-mail pomegranatebirthcompanion@gmail.com
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