Birthing Hands President and Founder, Claudia Booker, is a DONA-certified Birth Doula, an International Center for Traditional Childbirth (ICTC)-certified Full Circle Doula, and an experienced midwife birth assistant, with extensive training beyond her DONA and ICTC certifications.

For the past six years, Claudia has served the women of the Washington metropolitan area as a birth doula in hospital, birth center, and home birth settings and as a midwife birth assistant in birth center and home birth settings for more than 200 births. In addition to serving as a birth doula, she currently serves as a midwife birth assistant with Birth Care and is available to serve as a midwife birth assistant with other local midwives.

Claudia has extensive experience serving as a birth doula and midwife birth assistant for women who have chosen either a medicated or unmedicated birth and for those whose pregnancies are considered high risk or whose deliveries require interventions.

She has extensive experience supporting women who have chosen to deliver by VBAC and women who are chosen vaginal delivery of twins.

Claudia is an experienced practitioner of reiki, acupressure, homeopathy and herbalolgy for pregnancy and labor. Her proficiency in rebozo techniques is often called upon to correct mal-positioned babies. She maintains certifications in:

•  Neonatal resuscitation
•  BSL health care provider's first aid and CPR
•  IV venipuncture
•  Phlebotomy

As a CAPPA-certified (Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association) childbirth educator, Claudia regularly instructs childbirth classes at local area hospitals and community health centers. In addition, as a La Leche League International-certified breastfeeding peer counselor and program manager, she is trained to teach in group or in individual settings on breastfeeding, and provides breastfeeding consultations. Claudia conducts classes for doulas and birth professionals to advance their skills.

Claudia's numerous birthing certifications reflect her belief that continuing education and training in associated disciplines better prepares her to ensure healthy outcomes for mothers and babies.

Annually, she attends classes led by Ina May Gaskin and the midwives at The Farm to advance her skills as a midwife assistant and midwifery student.

In addition, Claudia has served with compassion as a birth doula for several clients who were experiencing fetal demise and has recently completed certification training in perinatal loss with Miriam Maslin.

Active as a professional in the birthing field, Claudia serves as state representative for the International Center for Traditional Childbearing; and a member of: DONA; the African-American Breastfeeding Alliance; La Leche League International; CAPPA; and Mocha Moms of Washington, DC. She is the 2006 recipient of the American Association of Birth Centers' Community Service Award. Claudia serves on the District's Infant and Children Mortality Review Committees and the DC Advisory Board for First Candle (SIDS Prevention).