Alayna Blash, DPM, is an educator, facilitator, avid journaler, and former practicing podiatrist whose work sits at the intersection of care, reflection, wellness, and intentional growth. Her clinical background provides firsthand experience with the responsibility of making decisions that impact patient health, supporting individuals through vulnerable moments, and carrying the emotional and professional weight that often comes with caring for others.

Now working in higher education and student success, Dr. Blash brings that same commitment to care into the reflective spaces she creates. Through guided journaling and expressive writing, she helps individuals examine what they are carrying, recognize the impact of stress and invisible labor, and create space for clarity, restoration, and intentional action.

At BMHC26, Dr. Blash will lead a guided journaling experience for birth workers and maternal health professionals focused on professional and personal preconceptions, burnout, secondary trauma, reproductive autonomy, reflection, and goal setting. Grounded in a simple belief that caregivers need care, too, her session invites those who spend so much of themselves caring for others to consider what they need to sustain both themselves and the important work they do.