I am a San Francisco Bay Area native who specializes in providing nurturing, connective therapeutic massage, doula services and childbirth education classes. I have been a birth doula since 2007 and feel very fortunate to have found a profession that I feel so passionate about. My work inspires me everyday and I can't imagine doing anything else. I am a committed anti-racist and continue to educate myself on how to support, uplift and amplify the voices and work of Black, Indigenous, Asian and LatinX people. Please read my anti-racist commitment statement below.
My road to becoming a doula began by taking a Doulas of North America training in 2007. After completing my Doula certification, I enrolled in Alive and Well! The Institute of Conscious Bodywork in Marin County because after supporting my first few births I wanted to be more confident in my supportive touch. I completed my massage training in 2008 and have been working as a bodyworker ever since. After massage school, I worked as a massage therapist at The Mindful Body in San Francisco from 2009-2015, focusing on prenatal massage in particular, as well as working with a wide variety of clients, including athletes, yogis, and San Francisco's tech community.
Currently, I have turned my massage therapy career into a private practice, which is a dream come true. It is through my work as a doula, childbirth educator, midwife's assistant and supporting pregnant people and their partners during childbirth, that I have come to realize the value of deep integrative massage for pain relief, relaxation, and introspection.
I hold a Bachelors of Science in Molecular Cell Biology from Dominican University of California and I graduated from The National Midwifery Institute in 2014. I also serve on the board of The Birth Future Foundation. I’m currently enrolled in UCSD’s IBCLC program and hope to graduate at the end of 2025. When I am not studying, or working, I love to practice yoga, ride my bike, rock climb, and play Balinese gamelan with my friends at Gamelan Sekar Jaya. Most importantly I am a Mom!
NON-PROFIT WORK
We are a liberated organization in the movement for racial justice and equity in midwifery. As former board members and officers of FAM, the Foundation for the Advancement of Midwifery, we are excited to share this new project with you. We are just beginning this journey, and we invite you to join our mailing list. We look forward to keeping you posted as we build this movement with you.
THE FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MIDWIFERY
I was fortunate serve on the FAM board from the Spring of 2016 - Summer 2020. FAM has granted more than $1,000,000 to more than 30 programs since its first grant in 2003. Program areas include critical research on the midwifery model of care and training programs for those serving vulnerable populations of birthing women, racial justice and birth equity, public education campaigns to college students and policy makers, and capacity building for midwifery education and licensing organizations. Get involved and become a BIRTH TRUST PROGRAM TODAY!
I am currently a running ambassador for EVERY MOTHER COUNTS, which is a non-profit organization.
Their mission statement is: DEDICATED TO MAKING PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH SAFE FOR EVERY MOTHER. WE INFORM, ENGAGE, AND MOBILIZE NEW AUDIENCES TO TAKE ACTIONS AND RAISE FUNDS THAT SUPPORT MATERNAL HEALTH PROGRAMS AROUND THE WORLD. If you are interested in running a race with me in support of Every Mother Counts, please get in touch with me!
I have been a musician with Sekar Jaya since 2010 and was even lucky enough to go on GSJ's 35th anniversary tour to Bali!
Gamelan Sekar Jaya is a sixty-member company of musicians and dancers, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, specializing in the performing arts of Bali. Come check out one of our fantastic shows!
My Anti-Racist Commitment Statement
With anger and grief over the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, and too many others, I, Lauren Miller Brown, unequivocally affirm that Black Lives Matter. I also affirm that Black Mamas Matter and acknowledge that racism and violence harm maternal health. I uplift the lives of Amber Rose Isaac, Erica Garner, Shalon Irving, and all the mothers we have lost due to racism.
I offer my words of action to support the development of a long overdue conversation about how to walk into a space of healing justice through practicing deliberate intention to acknowledge the feelings of anger, pain, and trauma surrounding the events happening in the Black community. As a doula that supports, uplifts, and amplifies racial justice and equity, I am calling in those who seek to make a difference and serve Black communities. Racism is a public health crisis. We must work together to actively dismantle racism in our society, in our health care systems, and in midwifery.
As a birth and postpartum doula, childbirth educator and trained midwife, my commitment to being an anti-racist is central to my mission for improving maternal and child health through doula and midwifery services. Midwifery and obstetrics in the United States, like all of our institutions, are built on a legacy of racism. I uplift the work and legacy of the Grand midwives. I uplift the lives of Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy, the mothers of American gynecology. I uplift the Black midwives, midwifery students, and aspiring midwives who serve their communities and still face discrimination and structural barriers to the profession due to racism today. The midwifery profession in the U.S. today is disproportionately white, yet we so urgently need Black midwives whose holistic, culturally relevant, and community-based care promotes healthy outcomes. Justice requires us to build an equitable and high quality maternity care system that values the lives, dignity, and health of Black mothers and their families.
As a member of the birth community, I commit to continuing to invest in equity in doula and midwifery education. I support the work of grassroots and community-based organizations founded by and for Black and Indigenous midwives and communities and am proud to uplift such groups as: National Black Midwives Alliance, Birth From The Earth, Birthing People Foundation, Commonsense Childbirth, Center for Indigenous Midwifery, Changing Woman Initiative, Uzazi Village, Mamatoto Village, Ancient Song Doula Services, SisterWeb, Black Mamas Matter Alliance.
To be anti-racist is a journey that must be persistent and purposeful. We must always strive to learn and do better, as individuals and collectively. For further reading and learning, I am sharing a list of anti-racist resources assembled by esteemed author and poet Cleo Wade: https://www.cleowade.com/antiracism
The National Black Midwives Alliance membership drive is still open. Not a Black midwife? Join as an ally member to support advocacy, education, and mentorship. Blackmidwivesalliance.org
In solidarity, Lauren Miller Brown