Julie Lambert

“In my first birth, the anesthesiologist told me I had to have my hands tied down.

In my last birth, I caught my daughter with my own hands. At home.”

Each of my four births was a different journey and gave me great appreciation and respect for the process of bringing a child into this world. My oldest child’s birth was a cesarean due to a frank breech presentation, my second and third children’s births were VBACs (vaginal birth after cesarean) in the hospital attended by a certified nurse midwife, and my fourth child was born at home with a certified nurse midwife. In addition to each birth, I also experienced external cephalic versions with my first and third children; the first one, unsuccessful and the next, successful.

With the birth of my children, I became active in the Chicago birth community. In 2006, when I was pregnant with my third child, I co-founded the Chicago chapter of International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN), whose goal is to improve maternal-child health by preventing unnecessary cesareans through education, provide support for cesarean recovery, and promote Vaginal Birth after Cesarean and I was the chapter leader for several years. 

I also produced “Birth,” a documentary-style play based on over 100 interviews conducted by playwright Karen Brody with mothers across America. And I organized a community event with Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein when they were in town for the Chicago premiere of “The Business of Being Born.” In 2008, I attended labor and birth doula training through DONA and eventually in 2016 began volunteering as a labor and birth doula with Chicago Volunteer Doulas, an organization that provides comprehensive doula services especially for vulnerable communities in the Chicago area.

In addition to birth and postpartum work, I continue to engage in additional courses to enrich my clients’ birth and postpartum experiences. I’m currently enrolled in an intensive, nine-month postpartum certification program with Rachelle Seliga. I’m also a member of the Intentional Birth doula community. Most recently, I joined the Board of Sokana Collective, a Birth Justice Doula Agency and Training Academy in Chicago