Holistic Birthkeeping
Holistic Birthkeeping
My goal as a holistic birthkeeper — a birth & postpartum doula — is to be a deeply connected woman who
may hold space, witness, accompany, guide, support, & not interfere, all in a woman-centered model of care.
• • • • • • •
BIRTH
The process of birth is not a clinical event, rather it is a powerful, profound, and transformative journey. Birth is natural, it is normal, and it transcends the boundaries of individual species. Pregnancy and labor are not a disease, and rarely are they a medical event. The current prevalent medical model of labor and birth treats most birthing women as needing to be managed and directed by a caregiver. Let us subscribe to a different model of care where women are emboldened, empowered, and reminded that it is innately in a woman’s very cells to know this process; she need only listen.
Imagine your ideal birth. What might that look like?
Does it include you having a caregiver who listens to your needs & wants, and supports them? Is your body allowed to follow its own rhythm in labor as opposed to being directed based on what is convenient for other people’s schedules? Where might you truly feel safest giving birth — a hospital, birthing center, at home? Do you want a doctor or midwife present? Are you considering an unassisted or free-birth? Are you looking to leave “the system” yet still want support?
Whether this is your first or fifth birth, it is up to you to decide what kind of birth experience you desire, and to set yourself up for the greatest possibility of making it happen. Having supportive advocates — your partner, family, friends, doula — who are genuinely invested in your best interests can help you achieve your ideal birth.
The amount of information surrounding birth is enormous. Much of media’s representation of birth is inaccurate and misleading. This doesn’t have to be a scary process you navigate alone. I firmly believe women are meant to support each other in childbirth, as we have throughout time. I feel called to this path, to being of service in the making of mothers and of family. So potent is the idea that by supporting a healthy & positive term, labor & birth means there’s potential to avoid certain trauma that could eventually lead to disease and illness later on in life.
What if you were told that you didn’t even need to “push” out your baby? That your baby can essentially birth itself? That you may push if you feel the physiologic urge to do so, and that it can also be so gentle? What if you allowed your baby to “self-latch” onto your breast when they are ready to, as opposed to trying to force it immediately, and potentially causing stress to both you and baby in doing so?
We often celebrate individualization moreover cooperation, yet we can benefit greatly from working together, side by side, without the obstacle of a power dynamic. A doula can help you ask the questions you may not know you have, to urge you and your partner to claim the power you may not realize is yours, and take care of other details so that your partner can fully step into the main supporting role.
My commitment is to be there to support the mother, child(ren) & family, hold sacred the space, and witness the powerful transformation that is birth. It is an absolute privilege to be invited into such an intimate, momentous rite of passage, and I would be honored to be in attendance.
• • • • • • •
POSTPARTUM
The fundamental human needs in the postpartum time are rest, nourishment, warmth, support, bodywork, connection, and community. Postpartum care traditions around the world have intrinsic parallels because they are rooted in our physiologic human design.
Traditional postpartum care practices have largely been forgotten in our modern culture. Much of what encompasses perinatal disease, disorder, and dysfunction is very common, but that does not make it normal. Society has come to accept this unhealthy and unnecessary standard because of its prevalence, and we have been conditioned to the belief that “that’s just how it is.”
The care and nourishment (or lack thereof) a woman receives during her immediate postpartum time will exponentially impact her health and well-being for the rest of her life. Postpartum is one of the three “Golden Opportunities” — along with menarche and menopause — in which the constitution of the body can be either renewed or devastated. Meaning, if a woman is well taken care of/supported/nourished in the months following childbirth, the potential exists to dramatically increase her vitality and heal previous illness. Conversely, if she is not taken care of/supported/lacking of nourishment, pre-existing conditions may worsen and pre-dispositions/new health problems can take hold.
Making the immediate postpartum time a period of rest and recuperation is PHYSIOLOGICALLY NECESSARY for humans to THRIVE. This is not a matter of morals, ethics, judgement, luxury, privilege, etc. It is rooted in physiologic truth.
The “Three Generation Footprint” informs us that one’s health is affected not only by the mother, but also by the maternal grandmother. Which implies both significant power and responsibility in the hands of every mother, and her influence on the future of humanity.
Pregnancy, labor, and birth are times of immense opening — physically, emotionally, spiritually. True postpartum care plays an important role in the closing of this transition and her body, and the completion of the rite of passage of the child-bearing continuum.
I hold profound respect and honor for the role of ‘Mother’ and all that it encompasses. I know that part of my work, in our world at this time, is to walk alongside others in collectively curating and cultivating a holistic paradigm for thriving Life.
RATES & PACKAGES
Birth & Postpartum Care Package — $1200
Includes:
1 Prenatal Visit / Birth Plan
1 - 60 min Prenatal Massage
Labor / Birth Support
1 Postpartum Visit with Massage, Moxibustion, Closing of the Bones, & Bellybinding
Phone / Email Support
Resources & Recommendations
On-Call from 38 - 42 weeks
Brings supplies such as cold towels, essential oils, massage oil, rebozo, music,
speaker, guided meditations, snacks, & electrolytes
Add other offerings to the base package to curate your own perfect plan!
Offerings & Add-Ons
Additional Prenatal/Postpartum Visit — $60
*Father/Partner is encouraged to be present during sessions
Closing of the Bones — $80 initial session with ceremony; $25/additional closing
Moxibustion — $50 per session; $15 as an add-on to a massage
Overnight Postpartum Support (8 hours) — $320
or $40/hour (4 hour minimum)
60 min — $100, 75 min — $115, 90 min — $135, 120 min — $170
Baby Massage & Education Session- $75
Photography Sessions — $350
Pregnancy, Baby, Family Portraits; 1 hr session + 20 retouched, high-resolution digital images; $10/additional image {Photo Portfolio}
Labor/Birth Photo Documentation — $350
[If added on to a doula package]: Includes photographic coverage of your labor & birth for as long as I’m there + 25 retouched, high-resolution digital images; $10/additional image
[Also available for hire to just photograph the labor and birth - if no doula support is desired]: Investment starts at $600 & includes up to 8 hrs of coverage + 25 retouched, high-resolution digital images; $10/additional image
Father/Partner Coaching Session (Pre-labor) — $60
Handmade Custom Craft — $75
A special & unique item for you and your baby made during your labor & woven with the magic of your experience {Craft Portfolio}
Birth Story Scribe — $100
Collaborative help with putting your transformative journey into words and on paper so that you may always remember every important detail
Mediation Session — $60
Gift Certificates
Start a Doula Fund!
Non-Resourced Family Discount Available
Please contact me to inquire about this
No time limit/additional fee for longer labors
There may be an extra charge for longer distance commutes