Angelique Steadman

Birth and Postpartum Doula

Born and raised in Albuquerque, it is the only place that I have ever called home. It is where I met the love of my life, whom I married 18 years later in the very park my grandfather had planted the trees 78 years before. Albuquerque is also the place I gave my four children beginnings of their own. As a doula, I am so blessed to serve this community that has nourished my family for so long. 

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Although I didn’t know it at the time, my journey as a doula began when I was 16 years old. I was pregnant with my first son, a child that I would place for adoption when he was born. My mind raced with decisions, plans, and options; it was overwhelming in every aspect. In the confusion, there is one moment that stands out above the rest. As I contemplated the impossibility of a baby coming out of my body, I felt a jolt from my head to my toes and then heard these words: “You will have this baby exactly the way millions of women have done before you.” That became my mantra, over and over, for days and weeks, until I pushed out a beautiful, 9-pound baby boy.

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As the years passed and more babies came, I learned more about a mother’s strength to do what is necessary and the importance of women supporting each other in all respects, but especially so during the childbearing year. We draw strength from the experiences of those who came before us. In this way, I hone my intuitive skills so that I might better serve the needs of future clients and their families. When I first began attending births, I couldn’t wait for that moment when a baby takes its first breath; simultaneously taking the breath away from everyone in the room. Lately, I find myself asking, “What did this birth teach me about myself, where I have been or where I want to be?” The doula-client relationship is a microcosm of community, each of us leaning on the other.