|  Aliya with the nation's leading advocate for a humanistic model of maternity care, midwife, Ina May Gaskin (and her pal and fellow doula Stephanie) |
- Birth as ritual - Aliya views the birth experience as a rite of passage for parents and feels honored to explore the uncharted territory of birth with her clients.
- Birth is normal - Aliya believes pregnancy and birth are normal life events for female human mammals and therefore supports the humanistic model of maternity care that holds paramount:
- sound nutrition as the best way to prevent the most common complications
of pregnancy;
- education, counseling and prenatal care for every mother;
- inseparability of mother & baby during pregnancy and labor and thus
the real impact a woman's emotions have on the well-being of her baby;
- a healthy mom = a healthy baby;
- freedom of movement and nourishment during labor;
- no arbitrary time limits placed on the physiological process of birth
and the understanding that each woman's labor is normal for her.
- labor has its own rhythms, it can start and then stop, speed up or slow
down, and should be able to unfold accordingly;
- companionship and encouragement during labor;
- postpartum support for new mothers; and,
- medical intervention when desired and medically necessary not when used because of
convenience or profit.
- Birth as a reproductive right - Aliya considers childbirth a reproductive rights and health issue and fully supports the ability of women to make decisions regarding whether to have a child, when to have a child, where to have a child, with whom to have a child and in what manner. This means assuring that all women have access to health care, sex education, contraception, abortion, midwives, OB/GYNs, birth and post partum doulas, healthy food, and the freedom to safely express their gender and sexuality in a manner that feels joyous for them.
