MICHAELA BOLDY is a registered nurse, certified aromatherapy practitioner, certified infant massage instructor, and the mother of four children. She is a member of the National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy and has taught aromatherapy, anatomy, and physiology in the San Francisco Bay Area. After successfully incorporating aromatherapy into her own childbirth, she founded Michaela Boldy Aromatherapy to sell the two essential oil blends she had created for herself, which were sold in hospital stores throughout Northern California. With the support of midwives, she introduced aromatherapy to the work of doulas and midwives affiliated with hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a result, a small trial was initiated to demonstrate aromatherapy as being highly effective for promoting relaxation and reducing anxiety during birth. Boldy now lives in the United Kingdom.