Legacy Mentor Series: Passing the Torch with Gerri Ryan

Today in my Legacy Mentor Series, I get to welcome midwife Gerri Ryan. I met Gerri in the fall of 2008 when I took my first Doula training. That weekend switched my new life into high gear and thankfully, Gerri became a lifelong mentor and friend. I had no idea what was about to unfold.

Gerri has been in birth work since her own births pointed her towards it. She was a doula before being a doula was a thing! Gerri has shaped San Diego’s birth community by being a doula, midwife, forming and running a non profit and then a midwifery school. She is a current doula trainer with DONA and runs doula trainings four times a year. 

Gerri shares her core “soapbox” message: if you don’t have information, you don’t have a choice. We discuss how being heard, respected, and centered during birth impacts parenting, postpartum wellbeing, and even trauma, and why families need information to make true informed choices. 

We also cover mentorship, avoiding competition in the birth community, preventing burnout by not working harder than clients, and living with curiosity and humility. For all of the families that know Gerri and for the doulas that have been trained by her, this episode will remind you of how hard Gerri loves all of us.

https://www.sandiegocountymidwives.com/     @sandiegocountymidwives

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