I’m Joni M. Edelman. Retired Registered Nurse, Childbirth Educator, traditional birth attendant, + full spectrum doula behind 13 Moons. I’m a mama of 6 and a granny of one busy toddler. As I complete my first half-century on the planet, I’m embracing my wise woman era.

I began in birthwork as a doula in December 2003. With experience at the bed- (or tub, or shower or wherever) side, first as a doula then as a labor and delivery nurse and now again in whatever role I can be of most service, I’ve been witness to hundreds and hundreds of human beings taking their first breath.

I’ve seen just about every kind of birth you can fathom - vaginal and c-section, home and hospital, medicated and not, normal and emergency.

I believe that pregnancy and birth are sacred, fundamentally normal, physiological processes. I commit to respect and protect the birth space, allowing labor to take its normal course in order to help each woman birth naturally, safely and confidently. A laboring woman needs to feel private, safe, and unobserved, and as such I work hard to provide subtle but effective observation, only as needed and desired. In a nutshell, the more we intervene in the absence of true necessity, the more problems we cause.

I believe that the only expert in any pregnancy is the pregnant person. There is no substitute for a woman’s intuition in the childbearing year. I do not position myself as expert over any woman in her pregnancy, birth, and postpartum period. I operate as a wise guide and sister to help you navigate this transformational period.

My goal as your birth attendant is to help you achieve the birth you’ve been imagining (and if you aren’t sure what birth you are imagining, I can help you figure that out too!). My work is centered around the birthing person and their wishes and desires.

I’m here to remind you of your innate capability to grow, birth, and parent your child.