Ceremonial Birth Doula Services
Birth is a Ceremony
Birth is a sacred rite of passage - a ceremony that touches every part of who we are.
Birth is a threshold experience of expansion and creation.
As we expand, we create. As we create, we expand.
As we birth our babies, we also birth entirely new parts of ourselves.
expand our edges, gather power from within us.
As a doula, it is my job to hold space for your ceremony to unfold - creating a sacred container for your birth, calling you back to yourself, and helping you as you find your voice and your power in your transformation. We journey the forge - together.
Birth is a time to plan, and also to be present with what is. No two births are the same. In any sacred space - especially birth - it is the spaceholder's responsibility to pause and orient to what is actually alive, and respond appropriately - keeping a sacred container.
In birth, there are also ways in which you must journey entirely alone.
As a doula, I witness this inner journey, and support the external space for you to navigate it on your own terms.
Birth is a time for deep listening. It is a unique experience and a moment-to-moment transmission of the body and the Spirit. As we journey throuth the depths of the birthing process, we expand our edges, gather our own inner power and birth new parts of ourselves.
The self that emerges on the other side is an entirely new self, with baby in arms.
It is my inspiration as a doula to support the process you finding what is truly for you in this process.
What is uniquely yours to learn and experience?
It is my prayer to meet you there.
In the births of my sons, I learned the incredible power of deep and trusting love. How a Mother is held and loved in birth has such a significant impact on her capacity to navigate a birth experience on her own terms. This is a transmission I carry closely in my heart.
"How can I love this woman more fully? What does she need right now?"
These are questions that are forever on my heart.
Given the ceremonial nature of the way I support birth, I am only working with homebirthing families.
In the circumstance of a homebirthing (or homebirth intending family) needing to transfer care to a hospital system - I stay with you to support in navigating the hospital system and continuing to birth on your own terms.
Ceremonial Birth Doula Services
By nature, birth is an intimate experience. When working with a family, it is important to me to establish relationship with both parents (if applicable). I make myself as available as needed to visit with and get to know you before birth. We spend actual time together.
My Ceremonial Birth Doula package includes three ceremonies: one to prepare for birth, one for birth, and one to close the birth.
Mother's Blessing
Around 36 weeks, we gather in ceremony for the opening energies of the birth. It is in this threshold that I notice you may begin to orient more deeply inward toward your birth and your baby. Birth preparation tends to feel more important at this phase, and I notice a distinct shift in your energy. As a birthkeeper, this is when I feel an instinctual pull to be more available. We celebrate and welcome this deepening with a Mother's Blessing Ceremony.
At a Mother's Blessing, we gather your closest women - or perhaps just us - to circle around you. We shower you in your favorite foods, gentle massage, song and celebration of you and your baby! We sing to you, and craft a ceremony just for your needs - honoring and witnessing your creative power. This could include henna, flower bathing, adornments, or so many other things to celebrate you. The Mother's Blessing prepares you for the journey ahead, and brings any pieces that require tending into clearer focus.
Birth Ceremony
By the time the birth ceremony arrives, we have taken a significant amount of time together to prepare you and your space. We've talked about belief systems, fears, scenarios, ideal circumstances, and preferences. I have a general understanding of your home and birth space already. On the day or night of your birth, I arrive when you are ready for me. The ceremonial space I hold for you is entirely your own. Your choice of music, lighting, smells, song, etc. is discussed ahead of time. I am available to tend, witness, drum, hold space, and generally advocate for your wellbeing. I am there to assist your partner and family however they need, make the tea, lighten the mood, etc. I track the states of consciousness as you pass through them, guiding you back into the naturally occurring altered state when needed, and providing hands-on doula care when needed. I assess what the nervous systems in the room need - nourishment, orienting to safety, perhaps a shift in setting, fresh air or a moment of lightness. When all is well, often what a birthing Mother really needs is to be given space without being watched. I stay present with the ceremony as it unfolds. I stay until baby is here, you and your body is well tended, and you are oriented back to the time and space you are in. We close ceremony together with gentle acknowledgement and blessing. I return for a postpartum visit as soon as needed for integration and placenta readings if desired.
Reading placentas is an offering to deepen the relationship between baby and parents.
Up until birth, the placenta is the caretaker of the baby - protecting, providing and nourishing them as they grow.
Baby and placenta grew together as companions, in a world within worlds - the womb.
The baby's placenta offers us insight into the soul that has emerged, the relationship they are here to cultivate with their parents, and their own energetic constitution. It is my delight to offer these special readings to families shortly after the birth.
*Placenta readings can be done within the first few days of birth with a fresh placenta.
If it will be more than a few days, please freeze your placenta. Be sure to thaw it before I come over!
Placenta Reading
About six to ten weeks after the baby is born, we hold a Closing of the Bones Ceremony for you.
In birth our spirits and bodies open - perhaps more than any other time in life. In closing the bones, we seal the energies of the birth.
In this ceremony, I provide gentle bodywork and body wrapping if desired to bring your womb and your body back into place. We honor the story and the process.I provide you with somatic integration support. We welcome you into your new version of yourself. Closing the bones is an opportunity for deep grounding and integration.
Closing the Bones
Pricing:
My pricing for the ceremonial birth doula experience is unique to each family.
My sliding scale begins at $1,000.
If it is possible for a family to pay more, I sincerely ask that you offer the amount you can feasibly tolerate.
The full price for the amount of energy and hours I put into the entire experience is upwards of $4,000-$5,000.
No questions are asked regarding your place in the sliding scale.
It is important to me that the Mothers and families who are deeply craving their threshold of birth to be held in a sacred way are able to do so.
Please be in contact with me directly if you have any questions regarding my pricing.
Mother's Blessing - Closing the Bones - Placenta Readings
Are available, seprate from the birth doula experience
Please contact me directly if you'd like to work with me for yourself or as a gift to someone else
This is my greatest honor and I love hosting them!
If you are needing a Postpartum Doula for regularly scheduled postpartum visits, please contact me directly. My interest and skills are best suited toward serving by providing counsel, baby care, integration, care of Mother, bodywork and soul-level care to Mother, baby and family.
If you are needing more physical labor such as household assistance, help with older siblings, etc. you may be better served by another doula. We will design a plan for your care, or if needed, resource another doula for care. I am happy to help you make that connection.
My sliding scale for postpartum visits begins at $50/hr. My full rate is $100/hr.
In the case of a loss, I am invested in supporting and serving women in a ceremonial and sacred way,
regardless of if you have previously hired me as a doula, and free of cost.
If you find yourself in this situation, sincerely, please reach out. There is no need to be in these moments alone.