Katrina Goodman

Owner, Traditional Midwife, Doula, Birth Educator, and Fitness and Nutrition Coach

I have lived in the metro-Atlanta area my entire life.  I was born in Marietta and grew up in the same house with my mom, dad, and brother.  It took me a while to figure out what my calling was and tried my hand at everything from sales to security for the local Air Force base.  Along the way, I met my husband.  Time seemed to melt away until one day we realized we were about to turn 30 and had no children. With some simple math and future planning, we realized it was past time.

Even being well into our twenties, we were completely naïve to the world of having children.  We assumed when we were ready things would just work.  Years prior my OBGYN told me, “When you are ready to have kids, it is going to happen fast.  Your body is perfect for childbirth.” Month after month, tests were always negative.  We tried the wives’ tales, still nothing.  Finally, we decided to get everything medically examined.  I was told I had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) indicated by a ring of cysts.  It didn’t mean I couldn’t have children, but I would have to take medication to ovulate.

Within three months of the medication, I was pregnant.  I decided we needed to educate ourselves and signed up for a childbirth education class.  Not to be confused with breathing techniques, etc. This was like a biology class, and I learned a ton of information.  A couple of visits back to the OBGYN I had been going to my whole life helped me realize I needed to change gears.  Every visit was a push on when to schedule a C-Section, all from the same person that told me my body was perfect for childbirth.

It took a considerable effort to find a doctor who was supportive of natural child labor, but we found a perinatologist that was willing to be supportive and not push for a cesarean. Now we were set to go, until my daughter wound up breech.  Our Dr. was supportive, and we tried all we could, even going through an External Cephalic Version (ECV) and the beginnings of labor.  But after some time, I ended up doing a C-Section.  My daughter’s butt was bruised for a week from being stuck in the birth canal for so long.

Within a year after that we had moved from our Kennesaw home and into a larger place in Woodstock.  Now that we had room, it was time to get back on the medication and have more kids!  Feeling I had learned a significant amount of childbirth knowledge and with support of some friends, we decided to do a homebirth this time.  We were still concerned “What if’s” and found a Certified Nurse Midwife.  She had worked in a hospital setting and carried medications.  It was enough to put the hesitations at ease.

It was a long labor, but there were no complications.  Once it was all over, I realized I didn’t know the proper way to push.  You think you know a lot, until something so simple slaps you in the face.  Who would have thought you could do that wrong!

The experiences from my first two births and some influence from a close friend helped me find my calling. I loved learning about childbirth, I loved being a part of childbirth, and I wanted to help women discover the same things I had.  I became a certified Doula.

It wasn’t long after, and with the help of medication, I was pregnant with my third daughter.  Feeling confident, I decided I didn’t need the Certified Nurse Midwife and went with a Certified Professional Midwife.  The difference being they aren’t nurses and don’t have access to the same medications.  Things went great.  It was a smooth labor and ended in a water birth.

The aftermath was a lot different though.  Ever since my time in security, I have eaten healthy and worked out regularly.  I bounced back from the other two pregnancies…but the third wasn’t as easy.  I decided to seek the help of a body building coach, trained in Nutritional Science.  It worked, so well in fact, I ended up doing a Figure Competition in 2021 and took first place.

I loved this too and started going through a new prep in hopes of taking part in the same competition the following year.  Everything was going great.  I had three awesome daughters, my doula practice was going well, and I was in the best shape of my life.  I also decided I wanted to take the leap with some additional experience and training to be a midwife.

Then something felt different.  My prep for competition was not going like I was expecting. I took a pregnancy test on a whim, and it was positive.  I couldn’t believe it.  The whole family was excited, but it felt surreal.  No medication, how could it have been possible?  I was told it wasn’t with PCOS.  I talked to my fitness coach, and he said he wasn’t surprised.  A lot of women get pregnant once their diet and exercise are right, even those that said they couldn’t get pregnant before.  A little while later, we found out it was a boy.  After three girls in a row, we couldn’t believe it.

Feeling like I had a great understanding of pregnancy, birth, and how nutrition plays a role, I decided this pregnancy was going to be with minimal help.  I hired a traditional midwife friend of mine and had the additional support of friends I have made along the way.  One day I went to the gym, to the store, and had to rush home from not feeling well.  It was time.  It was past time.  Our son was born within 45 minutes of me getting home.  Everything was done and over within an hour and a half, leaving my husband, daughters, and me home with a newborn baby boy.  All we could do is look at each other, laugh, and say, “Did that just happen!?”

These experiences shaped my life and made me into the doula, midwife, and fitness/nutrition coach I am today.  I have learned there is a hidden world out there when it comes to pregnancy, fitness, and nutrition.  A world not concerned with money or treating you like a number, but with science, facts, and evidence.  After all, “Our bodies are perfect for pregnancy and birth.” In fact, we have been specifically designed by God for it.