I have always been drawn to the miracle of birth!

 

I was born at home in 1977 in Brooklyn, NY when home birth midwifery, illegal there at the time, was being nurtured back into practice in America. My birth was a manifestation of women listening to their bodies and returning to timeless traditions. My dad is African-American, and my mom is European-American from a mixed origin; both are converts to Islam. 

 

When I was 1 ½ years old we moved to Berkeley, CA. There, my mom completed a bachelor degree in English at UC Berkeley, and I spent the rest of my childhood. From a very young age, I can remember thinking seriously about becoming a home birth midwife. I read the few books that my mom had and played doctor with the tools left over from her brief pursuit of the very same dream. At the age of 16, budding in the crafts of sewing, beading, cooking, etc. and becoming more and more intrigued by natural modes of healing, I dreamed of becoming a Home Economics teacher or a Natural health practitioner. These dreams had not been contemplated long when a surprising opportunity arose and I abruptly decided to go to Damascus, Syria to study Arabic for a year. This led to 8 ½ years of study in Damascus which culminated in my receiving a bachelor degree in Arabic and Islamic studies, in addition to three teaching credentials (Ijazah) in Quranic recitation. After my return to the United states, my husband Dawood Yasin and I were blessed with our four daughters and one son, all born at home. During my pregnancy with our third daughter we were living in Dubai. Learning that home birth was not legal there, we moved back to the United States in order to have the birth we wanted. Over the years, before any formal training, I was excited and honored to serve at the births of family, and friends. Each experience deepening my sense of calling and inspiring me to do this work.

 

I started my training in birth work with certification in Neonatal resuscitation in 2015, followed by completion of all 4 midwifery modules from Cornerstone. I went on to receive my training and certification from Cornerstone in spring of 2017 as a Birth Doula, PostPartum Doula, and Childbirth Educator. I am co-author to the Muslim Family Edition to the Cornerstone Method of Childbirth Education Workbook, check it out here.

 

I bring to the families I serve evidence based knowledge of birth, and personal experience from 25 years of marriage, home births, mothering, multiple schooling methods, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, cloth diapering, baby wearing, nourishing meal preparation, natural family planning, and fluency in the Arabic language and Islamic spiritual tradition. My hobbies include horseback riding, henna art, crafting, and singing. I am also a private teacher of Quranic recitation (Tajweed).

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I currently live in Austin, TX and serve families within a 30 minute radius of my home near Manor.

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