​MEET CLAUDIA BOOKER

For the past nine years, Claudia Booker has served the women of the Washington metropolitan area as a birth doula in hospital, birth center and home birth settings and as a midwife birth assistant in birth center and home birth settings for more than 500 births.

One year ago she became a CPM credentialed (PEP process) homebirth midwife. She is licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia and serves home birth families throughout the Washington metro area.

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In 2004, she founded the volunteer labor support program at the Family Birth and Health Center in Washington, DC where she has served as a midwife birth assistant for the Center’s birth center births and as a birth doula for the Center’s hospital births. From 2006 until her leaving in 2007 she served as a midwife assistant there. Since 2006, Claudia has served as a midwife birth assistant at Birth Care and Women’s Center in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia for births at that birth center and for home births and with other local home birth midwives.

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Claudia is a recent Certified Professional Midwife (CPM). She is also a DONA-certified birth doula, an-ICTC certified labor and post partum doula, a CAPPA-certified childbirth educator, and a certified La Leche League International breastfeeding peer counselor and peer counselor program manager. She holds certifications in neonatal resuscitation, BSL health care provider’s first aid and CPR, IV venipuncture, and phlebotomy.

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In addition, Claudia is an experienced practitioner of Reiki, acupressure, homeopathy and herbalolgy for pregnancy and labor, as well as the Spinning Babies technique and Rebozo techniques for correcting mal-positioned babies. She has spent a portion of the last six summers being trained by Ina May Gaskin and the midwives at The Farm in advanced midwife assistant skills, and basic and advanced midwifery skills.

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In 2009, Claudia organized the “Heads Up on Infant Mortality- DC Project”, a community outreach to educate the citizens and officials of the District on the heartbreaking state of infant mortality in the District. As part of this project, volunteers knitted and crocheted over 1,000 newborn hats which were given to the NICU units of District hospitals.

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In 2010, Claudia participated in an African Birth Collective sponsored trip to Kafountine Casamance, Senegal where she served at the Kafountine Maternite as a midwifery student performing primary labor and delivery care management, under supervision, for the laboring women who birthed in this clinic. In addition, provided support to the clinic’s sage femmes and matrones by performing prenatal, post partum and newborn exams and care.

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This year Claudia began her practice as a Certified Professional Midwife and she is licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

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Claudia has written a pamphlet, “How to Grow a Healthy Baby – How to Keep a Healthy Baby” (available in English and Spanish), co-authored articles with Wendy Gordon, CPM for a recent AME newsletter and an upcoming article with Vikki Penwell and Jennie Joseph for Midwifery Today magazine. She has been included in Miriam Zoila Perez book “Radical Doula”. 

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Claudia is an active member of International Center for Traditional Childbearing (ICTC), DONA, La Leche League International, CAPPA, DC Breastfeeding Coalition, and Mocha Moms of Washington, DC.

Earlier this year she and five others of the Inner Council of MANA’s Midwives of Colors section resigned. Claudia is also the recipient of the American Association of Birth Center 2006 Community Service Award and of the ICTC 2010 National Leadership Award. She is a member of the District’s Infant Mortality Review Committee. Claudia is a practicing attorney in Washington, DC and the proud mother of preschool teacher.