About Me
The full story
Hi! I’m Magnolia. You can call me Mags, Maggie, or Noli for short. I’m a musician, published poet, self-proclaimed skincare junkie, dog whisperer, tattoo enthusiast (I have over 50!), incorrigible sweet tooth, and I strongly believe that ALL tea should have milk in it. Yes, even herbal tea.
I’m a hippy farm kid at heart. I grew up in a small town called Kaslo in the West Kootenay region of BC, but I’ve been enjoying city life in Calgary Alberta since 2018. In August 2023 I married the cutie patootie in these photos and I started my doula training basically as soon as we left the altar.
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Another piece of my story is that I'm a recovered alcoholic/addict. I've been sober for 7 years and recovery is a huge part of my world. Addiction affects all walks of life and exists in all spaces, so I believe that recovery should as well. I feel called to share my experience in hopes that it might de-stigmatize addiction, and I feel that part of my calling as a doula is to help families in recovery as well.
How I became a doula
I stumbled into the doula world when I was training to be a Montessori teacher, and it struck my soul like lightning. One of my favourite quotes from Dr. Maria Montessori says: “peace is what every human being is craving for, and it can be brought about by humanity through the child.”
I genuinely believe that children are the answer to world peace, but being a doula made me realize that in order to create a world where children are supported and celebrated in the ways they need, we need a radical culture-shift in the way we support and celebrate parents.
They say it takes a village, and they’re right. But more often than not it seems, the village just isn’t there.
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My own parents went without support for most of my childhood. Our family experienced isolation, postpartum depression and anxiety, poverty, homelessness for a brief period, and eventually divorce. Birth and postpartum care makes me feel like I’m re-villaging my community in a way that really matters, in a way I wish my parents could have experienced, and to be able to do that is an honour and a privilege that never ceases to humble me. What drives me is the belief that EVERYONE deserves a safe, supported, and sacred transition into parenthood, no matter their circumstances.
I’m pretty sure my job as a doula is just to love people when it really comes down to it, and to be able to offer that to families during such a tender and transformative time is pretty frickin magical!
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I don’t have kiddos of my own yet (hopefully someday soon if my husband and I are lucky), but for now I enjoy devoting my time to doulaing, nerding out about placentas, making music with my band, and connecting with my loved ones.
