Birth and Postpartum Doula care

I believe in birth and birthing bodies. I believe in an uninterrupted physiological birth process. I believe human birth is driven by the innate needs of bodily autonomy and community support. I believe we can learn about ourselves from watching our animal friends give birth. The experience of giving birth is unique each time. However, as a birth-worker of over 24 years, I have never witnessed (or experienced!) a birth that was ‘no big deal’. No matter what birth brings, it is a threshold and it necessarily brings about challenge and change.

Having a doula by your side can make all the difference in how this wild ride of birth plays out, both in terms of the clinical specifics and in terms of how the story of birth takes shape inside of you, your child and your family. I have come to firmly believe that the kind of birth you have is not nearly as important as how you and your baby feel about your birth.

I’ve been incredibly blessed to help hundreds of families make this transition to new parenthood. I’ve supported families (and births) of all kinds as they define, and then re-define, what this path means for them. This is *your* journey. I simply serve as a facilitator; a ‘mirror’ reflecting your own way through.

As a CPM-trained midwife, I bring many skills and levels of understanding to my work as a doula. I understand what informed-choice/consent means and have many years of experience in preparing families for the many choices in their prenatal care and the immediate postpartum time. I am skilled at supporting breast/chest feeding and problem-solving difficulties as they arise. I offer my years of experience as a bodyworker and craniosacral therapist, as well as my knowledge as an Herbalist of almost 30 years.

Doulas can empower mothers (birthers) to achieve the best birth outcomes possible, and all outcomes— births, infants, and mothers—seem to be affected more positively if support is provided by a doula in addition to the medical personnel. The doula focuses on individualized support before, during, and after birth; whereas nurses often are attending to several women in labor and responsible for many clinical and administrative tasks besides direct labor support. Research indicates that the expectation of nurse support by expectant women may be far greater than what is actually provided (Tumblin & Simkin, 2001). Hospitals could address this disparity by including a system of doula support.
— The Journal of Perinatal Education, Impact of Doulas on Healthy Birth Outcomes

During prenatal appointments there is time to discuss:

• Upcoming milestones and ‘tests’ that will be offered, such that you can make informed choices when possible
• Hopes and preferences, fears and concerns, so that you can find more ease and confidence in your path forward
• Expectations of a hospital, home, or birth center birth and how to advocate for your wishes and preferences 
• Herbal remedies and nutritional support for common complaints of pregnancy
• Resources for evidence-based information on topics relevant to you and your hopes for your pregnancy and birth experience
• Comfort measures, movement, and pain management options for your birth
• And anything else that feels important to you.

• VBAC
• Cesarean birth
• Unmedicated natural birth
• Epidural supported labor
• Hypnosis for birth
• Parenting after loss or infertility
• Sexual or other trauma

I offer a sliding scale. You are welcome to place yourself anywhere on the scale as you see fit. I also maintain a Community Supported Wellness Fund through contributions from clients and community members. If you would like to contribute to it or draw from it please do let me know! I try to offer at least one free care option per year. This is my small way of helping to create equity in an inherently inequitable system.

This website does a great job of talking about how to place yourself responsibly on a sliding scale. If you are in a hurry, just scroll down to the ‘green bottle’ info graphic.

In place of choosing a care package below, you can choose to create your own package and I will come up with a custom price!

Add-ons include: Birth tub rental for early labor or postpartum bathing ritual, private or group childbirth classes, craniosacral sessions, herbal consults, additional hour-long postpartum appointments, additional prenatal appointments or postpartum care on an hourly basis.

Traditional cultures the world over have understood that the postpartum period is a tender time of great opportunity. It’s a time to bond, establish breastfeeding, negotiate self-care routines, and it reveals a great need for rest, nourishment and warmth. It’s the beginning of relationships that last a lifetime. How the postpartum period unfolds can create deep-seated roots in the health of the birth parent and child later in life. A postpartum doula can make all the difference in how this time is optimized to give the whole family the best start possible.

As your postpartum doula, I am available to help with newborn care, breastfeeding comfort and trouble-shooting, light household chores and housekeeping, meal prep, older sibling care, sleep support, birth process work and placenta medicine preparation. I bring my skills as a midwife, herbalist and craniosacral practitioner to offer support in many unique ways that are often incredibly beneficial for the postpartum period. I cater my care to the needs of your family, weaving together aspects of Ayurveda, TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and Traditional Mexican Medicine to create a framework for understanding what is happening and what is needed physically and spiritually in this time of restoration and recovery.

My rate for hourly postpartum care is $45-65 per hour.