Welcome, I’m Cesca (she/they).
I am a queer, biracial doula and non-religious chaplain located in New Haven, Connecticut — in process to receive an M.Div. at Yale Divinity School, studying the theological ethics of birth and death, generational spiritual health, and what it means to build faith and ritual from scratch.
What sustains me as a doula is commitment to community parenting — where we all hold the babies, all chip in resources, and thereby carve access to a freedom of being that surpasses baby & parent. My practice is rooted in the belief that community support can be inherent in how we conceive, grow, and raise our babies; that both conceiving and parenting are political & spiritual undertakings that are strengthened when our communities are showing up for us.
I envision community where:
We accept nothing less than free, informed, voluntary consent as a foundation for providing care.
No body (regardless of gender, size, race, or income level) is pathologized for being pregnant or wanting to conceive.
We reject cisnormative assumptions that reproductive health spheres project onto our right to self-determine gender.
We reject cisnormative discourses that have determined how we conceive, carry, and parent children.
Our freedom and access to reproductive choice do not come at the cost of housing, food, or legal security.
Our movements, projects, and programs are truly multigenerational — where childcare and parental support are seen as essential.
Parenthood is understood as a co-existing identity — along with being parents, we are known and valued for our other identities and capacities.
I came to birth work with a professional history in both art and social work, with my immediate background in supporting young parents through housing insecurity and life transition (wellness, sobriety, education, employment). I completed my training with Ancient Song Doula Services, a Brooklyn-based collective fighting urgent care caps within Black birthing health through direct advocacy and community training. Ancient Song’s BIPOC community, Black pedagogy, and focus on full-spectrum services led me to the collective.
I have experience working with first-time births, single parents-to-be, birthing people for whom English is their second language, undocumented individuals, and systems-involved families (ACS/CPS, foster care, criminal justice).
Outside of this work, I love art-making, tending my own spiritual practice, beach days at Jacob Riis beach, artist markets, and solo dates to the movies.
