Services
Support is crucial in all phases of childbearing -- whether from family, friends, community, or professionals, and ideally from a combination of all of these.
In each phase of your journey, I am here to both provide professional support
as well as assist you in gathering support from your loved ones and community.
Explore the options below and consider what may fit your needs.
If cost is a barrier to receiving care, I am happy to talk with you
and figure out an arrangement that works for both of us.
Grounded support, caring presence and devoted witness
in your birth process and postpartum integration.
Birth Doula & Pregnancy Care
"Birth is wild. Let birth unfold in its wild nature, whenever possible.
When intervention is necessary, keep it as minimal, non-invasive, and respectful as possible."
— Whapio
The process of birth often works beautifully and offers much to both mother and baby when given the opportunity to unfold according to its innate design. I am passionate about protecting physiologic birth and immediate postpartum, meaning allowing the body’s natural processes to unfold on their own, without intervention. I hold the view that modern birth is often over-managed, and that this does not serve most mothers and babies well. However, birth, like life, carries much nuance — situations arise along the way that require individual discernment, choices and tending. There is a time and a place for utilizing the resources of the medical system. No two journeys are alike. There isn’t a “right way” to give birth — and — it is valuable to support its physiologic design as much as possible along the way.
I offer physical, emotional, and educational support before, during, and after childbirth, and help create a positive environment for the mother and her family. I love to hear women's dreams for their birth and encourage them in meeting this experience with openness and receptivity. In pregnancy, I guide you in listening to yourself as you imagine and plan for your birth. With so much advice given from so many different directions, it can be difficult for a woman to orient to her own intuition. Ultimately, I am here to empower women in discerning their individual needs — each pregnancy, birth and baby is different, and only you can listen within and feel for what is right for you. My highest goal is to support you in moving through your pregnancy in coherence with your own truths and needs, and in preparing for your most aligned birth, whatever that looks like. When labor arrives, I encourage you in following your instincts, in finding your flow state, in embracing your innate embodied wisdom, in receiving what you need in each moment. I am there to be an anchor, a companion, a loving presence as this journey unfolds for you. I will walk with you on your unique path. I will sit with you at the altar of your birth and bear witness.
Elements of Care
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2-4 prenatal appointments from onset of care (preferably we establish care no later than 32 weeks -- this is important so that we can form a trusting relationship prior to your birth)
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Nutrition and herbal guidance -- cooking together, meal planning, herbal teas, tinctures and topical remedies
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Bodywork -- gentle loving touch to support comfort, lymph flow, emotional regulation
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Support with considering your options and writing intentions for your birth
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Planning for the postpartum -- we will discuss the needs of the postpartum time and explore resourcing
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A listening ear and grounding presence during your pregnancy and labor
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Comfort measures and physical support during pregnancy and labor
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One postpartum visit to check in, help with whatever may be needed around your home that day, and process your birth experience. If you desire further postpartum care, you may add that (see below).
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Available during the day for text, email and phone support from onset of care
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On call from 37 weeks
Fee: $1,800
I also provide a la carte preconception and pregnancy support, independent of birth doula accompaniment.
This includes all support modalities mentioned above, but no birth support.
Fee: $40 per hour
Physiologic Postpartum Care
“There is a unifying, global postpartum tradition that is etched into our blood and bones.
This global postpartum tradition is physiologic postpartum care. When mothers receive this care,
the postpartum period is deeply regenerative and nourishing.”
— Rachelle Garcia Seliga
The postpartum time is a tremendous initiation of its own. It will ask much of you, physically, mentally and emotionally. You will go to the depths of your energy reserves to caretake the new life you have brought forth, and to learn your new role as a mother. In Western society, it is typical for this time to be overwhelming, chaotic, lonely and draining, because there is often a profound lack of meaningful support for mothers and families. However, it is meant to be a passage of expansiveness, joy and healing, in which its challenges are alchemized into greater strength and wisdom. This is possible when the innate needs of the motherbaby dyad are supported and upheld, as is the practice of our ancestral past and more traditional societies still today. Postpartum traditions across the world are based in the same principles -- this is because the physiology of the postpartum time is universal, and therefore, the care required by the body and soul is identical, regardless of place or culture. Physiologic postpartum care is that which is based on the biological realities of the postpartum period for mother and baby.
It is said in many ancient traditions that in the weeks following birth lies a sacred portal of healing for a woman. The way she is cared for in the first forty days postpartum has implications for the next forty years of her health. If improperly tended in this time, latent disease and health issues can manifest or take hold. However, if well prepared and supported, she can emerge stronger, healthier and more vital than ever before.
When mothers are cared for, centered, and well in their bodies, hearts and minds, it sets them up for lifelong thriving health. This means, in turn, that they have the capacity to mother the next generation from a place of vitality and abundance rather than a place of exhaustion and scarcity. Therefore, not only is proper care in the postpartum essential for mothers, but it is such for their babies, families, and the community at large. Tending a new mother is a community-wide endeavor, and a very important one. As Rachelle Garcia Seliga says, “If you want to take care of the future generation, begin by taking care of the mothers.”
My Approach
I provide tender care focused on the postpartum mother and her needs, so that her energy can go to healing her own body, bonding with her baby and integrating within her family system. Nourishment, loving touch, and heartfelt presence are the foundation of my work -- I am there to listen, witness, and tend you. I am there to validate the indescribably wild experience that it is to become a mother no matter what the particulars of your situation are. My care ranges from the most mundane necessities to bearing witness to your unfolding inner transformation, and everything in between. Childbearing is an event of both the body and the soul, and therefore there is a wide range of support that is called for as one moves through and integrates the journey.
We will establish a relationship prenatally so that we know each other well and can lay the groundwork of your sacred window and beyond. We will meet at least twice to get to know each other (if we aren't already working together for your birth), and do some planning for the postpartum time. Together we will discuss the universal needs of mother and baby in the postpartum, and orient to these based on your resourcing, home and family situation, and desires to make practical plans for how to meet them. It is my goal to help mothers set up a network of care that includes my own visits to their homes after birth, but is not limited to this one facet of support.
And, if you are already postpartum and find yourself in need of more support than you have, I can jump in then too. Sometimes we get caught off guard and I’m here for those situations as well.
In a nutshell, I am there to make sure that you are healthy and well, so that you may claim this portal of physical and spiritual healing that is open for you and meet your new identity in the spacious, supported way that you deserve.
Elements of Care
I am available to come to your home between 1-3 times a week,
depending on your preference and needs, and my schedule.
Support includes:
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Three or more prenatal visits to establish our relationship and plan for your postpartum time
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Resources and documents to help organize thoughts and needs
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Meal planning help
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Assistance gathering and organizing family and community support
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Nourishing, nutrient dense meals appropriate for your postpartum stage and particular needs/desires
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Bone broth, herbal teas, supportive tinctures, aromatherapy
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Herbal baths, sitz baths, and vaginal steaming
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Moxabustion
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Bodywork — gentle loving touch to support comfort, lymph flow, emotional regulation
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Gounding/centering practices as needed
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Companionship in processing your birth experience
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Basic support with baby care & feeding
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Help around the house and with older children
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A listening ear and emotional support during this tender time
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Referrals to other providers for any specific needs that are out of my scope
Fees:
- initial prenatal meeting — free
- second (and any subsequent) prenatal planning meeting — $40 per hour
- postpartum visits — $200 per 3 hour visit. Includes all food, herbs, and other supports listed above. Can schedule for morning or afternoon.
4 visit minimum. Visits can be extended if need be for a fee of $45 per hour.
*If we are also working together for your birth, any prenatal planning
and your first postpartum visit will be free of charge.
