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 25 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. Using the term ‘choice’ is very intentional here. I aim to make sure your body knows that the way forward is actually one that has been co-created and is not simply a process of eventual consent. I have many years of experience in preparing families for the many choices that arise in their prenatal care and the immediate postpartum time. I am skilled at supporting breast/chest crawl to offer your baby agency in how they first attach, which I firmly believe can impact them throughout life. In my experience, this can go a long way to prevent and problem-solve feeding difficulties. I freely offer my 30 years of experience as a bodyworker, as well as my knowledge as an Herbalist of almost 30 years.

Doulas care for pregnant and birthing people in ways that the healthcare system cannot. Doulas have the time to get to know you individually and to know your fears and wishes intimately. A doula’s primary job is to see that you feel empowered and supported during your pregnancy and birth. That is all. They are not encumbered by an institutions’ protocols or by the deep fear of litigation. Their main focus is *your* experience and your needs on all levels.

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

Several studies (here and here, a simple search turns up several more!) have shown that simply having a doula in the room while a woman is birthing significantly and consistently improves outcomes for both birther and baby. A happy side effect of this is that doulas decrease overall health care costs in our country! It’s a win- win!

Did you know that the U.S. has, by FAR, the highest rate of birth morbidity and mortality (birthers and babies being injured or dying during the perinatal period) than literally any other high-income nation? This is true even though we spend, per capita, far more on perinatal care than any other comparable country. People of color, across the board, are injured or die in numbers far greater than caucasian women. Why is this? Well, systemic racism obviously! In addition, I believe it is because there are far more OBGyns caring for pregnant people than Midwives. OBs are highly trained and crucial professionals who specialize in what we call ‘high risk’ births; births that are out of the range of normal. The World Health Organiation found that:

“High-risk complications occur in only 6 percent to 8 percent of all pregnancies.”

Perhaps, in addition to racism, the high rate of maternal mortality and morbidity are related to the fact that most pregnancies are unnecessarily managed (yes, ‘managed’ instead of ‘facilitated’ or ‘cared for’) by providers who are primarily experts in caring for only 6-8% of cases. Perhaps the money we pour into trying to make birth safe through extreme measures of control and intervention in order to appease the fear of practitioners who are not taught about, and perhaps have literally never seen a physiologic or normal birth process, is, to say it gently, unnecessary. In most other high-income nations, the number of midwives far out-weigh the number of OBs based on the facts above. And their birth outcomes and overall cost-analysis are far better than ours! It’s a simple math problem! Doulas clearly off-set this disparity on all levels. And in this country, they are sorely needed.

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

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, warmth and protection, both physically and psychically. 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 entire family, and particularly 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.

It’s always ideal to secure your postpartum time with Tender Courage prenatally. If that is not possible, please always reach out and I will fit you in as I can!

Scroll down to see all of my postpartum care packages

Re-weaving the web of postpartum support, together

 Postpartum Village Mentoring: A creative (and more affordable) postpartum support option.

Do you understand the importance of postpartum care for yourself and your family but have a hard time affording the cost of such services? Is it difficult to ask for help in a deeply vulnerable time? Are you convincing yourself that you don’t really need this kind of care? After all, most of the birthing folks you know have gone without and seem fine…. right? 

Postpartum Village Mentoring is designed with three things in mind: First, not all families can afford to hire a Postpartum Doula to be in their home helping them transition to new life as much as is needed. Secondly, there are often well-meaning loved ones (the village)  who would like to help but don’t know how. And thirdly, our culture could use a lesson or two in how to care for postpartum families within the context of a birthing families’ community. 

So…..

Let’s create a postpartum revolution!

To learn more about how you can start weaving your own Postpartum Village or that of a loved one, you can go here.