I’m Dr. Alicia, The Doula PT. I earned my Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree from the University of Dayton and only became a physical therapist because I wanted to serve women just like you. I noticed that medicine saves our lives, but doesn’t always address our quality of life in the ways we need it to.

Why should we birth babies, but avoid jumping on trampolines with our little ones for fear of leaking? Why should we find the partner of our dreams but have a lackluster sex life due to pain? Why should you have to walk into pregnancy after taking your hospital’s childbirth education class and still feel you and your partner are under prepared for one of the biggest moments of your life?

This led me to my passion, pelvic floor therapy which I have married with my other love, birth work as a birth doula. I have taken all of the core coursework from the leading educational group in pelvic floor therapy, Herman and Wallace, which makes me a skilled therapist at treatment of all prenatal/postnatal and pelvic floor dysfunctions.

Additionally, I earned my certification in both upper and lower extremity lymphedema therapy in June 2018 to allow me to serve breast and gynecological cancer patients and survivors. As a certified doula, I have experience supporting women with conditions such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, geriatric pregnancy, VBAC, prior birth trauma, and prior birth injury.

As a pelvic floor therapist, I am a movement science expert and have mastered both anatomy and physiology. This means that I am able to assist in preparing your hips and pelvis for birth to decrease the chances of your labor stalling.

I’m also able to teach you and your partner ways to utilize and increase the hormones necessary to progress labor in order to decrease your labor time. My understanding of the pelvic floor and anatomy of the pelvis allows me to teach you important tips for pushing to prevent tears, birth injuries, and push efficiently. 

I am family centered in my approach. There is so much value in a prepared birth partner. I love teaching! I spend a lot of time preparing dads, grandmothers, best friends and anyone who desires to support the mother, because when these individuals feel confident, they are able to provide the mother with a loving experience with decreased pain.

This helps provide everyone involved with a more satisfying and positive birth experience. Many dads experience feelings of fear and inadequacy when they are unable to help with contractions and don’t understand the birthing process. I put a lot of emphasis on including birth partners in the preparation in order to allow everyone to have a satisfying, dignifying, and healthy experience. 

Outside of work, I enjoy teaching children about God’s love, spending time with my family, mothering my beautiful baby boy, and reading.