About 9 years ago one of my closest friends invited me to support her on the journey of home birthing her third child. The moment that her beautiful baby was born, I found myself overwhelmed with emotions. Tears were rolling down my face and my heart was pounding with excitement and joy. In that experience I found myself back in a place where I have always felt an incredible sense of purpose, clarity, and inspiration: attending to births and caring for postpartum mothers.
I was born and raised in Afghanistan. I come from a big family and as the oldest daughter I witnessed the birth of 4 younger siblings and many cousins. I was intuitively drawn to witness and ask many questions through many pregnancies and postpartum care rituals. I learned traditional recipes for prenatal and postnatal nourishment and how to help take care of the women in my family through all stages of the birthing process.
Shortly after the experience I had with my friend in 2013 I started attending more births and provided more postpartum care for the women in my community. I have worked professionally as a labor support and postpartum doula for 2 different doula companies in Chicago, and in 2019 I created Venus Traditional Care. Since then, I have worked over 30 births independently, and have attended over 100 births as a doula in the past decade. In 2017 I shifted from birth work to postpartum work because I felt that there was a greater need for it.
I have many interests and passions outside of my calling as a doula. I have been studying Indigenous dance, science, percussion, and songs from Mexico since 2009, and West African drum rhythms since 2017. I am a global traveler and speak Dari, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, English and am currently learning how to speak Spanish. I have backpacked across the United States and have traveled to many other countries in Central and South America for soul searching and study. I am innately drawn to the healing traditions and knowledge of Indigenous medicine and seek to learn in culturally grounded and respectful spaces.
I attribute the foundation of my work to my ongoing training and practice of Tai Chi and Qi Gong. I started my training in 2012 under the guidance of Sifu Sanny Ching and Sue Ching. What I have learned practicing Tai Chi and Qi Gong has facilitated many personal breakthroughs and healing, and it has also given me many tools to share with my clients. I have used my Tai Chi and Qi Gong background to help empower my clients with breath work techniques to use during labor, lymphatic health support, breastfeeding support, and much more.
Training & Education
The Advanced Holistic Doula Training: The Matrona, 2016
- prenatal and postpartum care, holistic birth processes, mediation and conflict resolution, placenta medicine
Childbirth Education: CAPPA (with instructor Anna Rodney), 2016
Spinning Babies Technique Certification: 2017
- Techniques for engaging the baby, bringing them into optimal birthing position, and promoting efficiency during labor
Therapeutic Vaginal Steaming: Steamy Chic, 2018
Womb Massage & Belly Binding: Community workshops, 2018
Massage Therapy and Asian Bodywork Certification: Pacific College of Health and Science, 2021
- Tui Na massage (Asian bodywork), Swedish massage, acupressure, cupping, guasha, aromatherapy, heat therapy, topical liniments, herbal compresses
Teaching Experience
Pregnancy, Birth, and Beyond: Instructor and Course Creator, 2017-2022
- A holistic childbirth education class covering the phases of pregnancy, the process of labor, immediate postpartum, newborn care, and breastfeeding.
Horticulture Education Classes: Chicago Public Schools, 2012-2019
Tui Na, Tai Chi, and Qi Gong Instructor: Pacific College of Health and Science, 2021-2022
Continuing Education Goals
Advanced Spinning Babies Training
Dynamic Body Balancing: CranioSacral Therapy and myofascial unwinding for pregnancy and infancy
Ayurvedic Postpartum Cooking
Venus Traditional Care 