Chava Birth, Brigham City, UT (2026)

02/28/2026

As Black History Month comes to a close, I have been thinking a lot about the roots of the work I do.

Because before birth moved into hospitals, before obstetrics became a medical specialty, before policies and protocols, there were Black midwives carrying communities.

They attended births in living rooms and bedrooms. They walked miles to reach laboring mothers. They practiced continuity long before it became professional language. They knew the women they served. They cared for entire families, often across generations.

In the American South, Black granny midwives attended the majority of births in their communities well into the 1900s. One of the most well known was Mary Coley, a Georgia midwife who caught thousands of babies and represented a legacy of skilled, community based care.

As birth became medicalized, many Black midwives were pushed out through regulation and systemic discrimination. A lineage of community midwifery was disrupted.

Today, Black mothers in the US are still significantly more likely to experience complications and maternal mortality than white mothers, regardless of income or education. That reality is not separate from history.

My own beginning in birth work is tied to this legacy. For 2 of my pregnancies, I was cared for by Jennie Joseph, a Black midwife whose model centers dignity, access, and relationship. Being her client shaped the way I understand birth. I later became a doula through her training program, and it further grounded me in the importance of continuity, listening, and building systems that actually serve mothers.

When I think about birth, I think about relationships. I think about sitting in a living room for prenatal visits and knowing a family before labor begins. That model isn’t new. It has deep Black roots.

As a white midwife and mother, I know I carry privilege within a system that doesn’t treat all women equally. Naming that matters. It shapes how I listen, how I practice, and how I advocate.

Black History Month may be ending, but honoring this legacy and advocating for safer, more respectful care for Black mothers cannot be limited to one month. ❤️

02/25/2026

After a baby is born, the umbilical cord doesn’t stop working right away. By delaying cord clamping, blood continues to transfer from the placenta to the baby. This can increase a newborn’s blood volume by up to 30 percent and significantly improve iron stores for the first several months of life. Higher iron levels are associated with lower rates of infant anemia and support brain development. Delayed cord clamping has also been shown to reduce the need for blood transfusions in preterm infants. For most healthy term babies, waiting poses no increased risk and supports normal physiologic transition after birth.

In most births, the cord continues to pulse for several minutes after the baby is born, often 5 to 10 minutes, and sometimes longer. As the transfusion finishes, the cord gradually slows, then stops pulsing and changes in appearance from thick and blue to flatter and pale or white. This is a visible sign that most of the placental blood has transferred to the baby.

At home, this usually isn’t something we have to plan or time. At most home births, the cord is left intact until the placenta is delivered and there’s no more blood supply, unless the family asks for it to be clamped sooner. There’s no rush to cut the cord because there’s no medical reason to rush it, and families are always part of that decision.

02/23/2026

Today is Alannah’s birthday and it feels like the perfect moment to give her a shout out!

She has been with me from the very beginning of Chava Birth. She started as a brand new observe student with literally nothing but passion and a quiet confidence and now she is officially stepping into her primary phase of schooling and growing into the role of midwife and it feels both natural but also SO earned.

I joke that she is never ever allowed to leave me because I trained her exactly the way I like things done (and I can be particular) and she knows my setups, my flow, my preferences, and my practice style inside and out. But the real truth is that she is my right hand in every sense both in this work and in life. Steady, thoughtful, capable, and so deeply invested. Everyone should be so lucky.

There are moments I catch myself watching her take more initiative and responsibility and I feel like a proud mom, watching someone I care about grow into something she is clearly meant for. And yes, it also makes me feel good about myself as her teacher, which I will absolutely take. ☀️

She is talented, passionate, and has so much potential ahead of her. I am endlessly proud of how far she has come and genuinely excited for what is next for her and our practice.

Happy birthday Alannah! I’m so grateful I get to do this work with you by my side. ❤️

02/20/2026

You can try to describe the moment you met your baby, the rush of relief and disbelief, the love that hits before you’ve even fully processed what just happened. It’s joy and awe and vulnerability all tangled together, and it feels bigger than the room you’re in. You’re still shaking, still coming back into your body, and already completely undone by this new little person in your arms. When you’re pregnant you imagine this moment for months, you picture what it will feel like and who you’ll be in it, and then it happens and it’s different than anything you imagined. Fuller, deeper, and better in a way you couldn’t rehearse. ❤️

📷: .sacred.births

02/17/2026

I’m SO excited to share that I’m officially partnering with Rowan at to offer a new add on option for clients.

You can now add professional photography to any package or even just to the global fee. For $500, you get to choose either a maternity session or a newborn session! The biggest perk is that it can be rolled into your monthly payments with me, which makes it a much more cost effective option for families who already know this is something they will want.

Rowan has been our family’s preferred photographer since 2020. She has taken countless family photos for us, two maternity sessions, two newborn sessions, cake smashes, lifestyle, and photographed two of my own births. She’s also one of my closest friends, which makes this feel especially meaningful.

Scroll to see some of the photos she’s taken for our family and head to her page to see more. You’ve probably already seen her work on this page more times than you realize!

If you’ve been planning on maternity or newborn photos anyway, this makes it simple. Reach out to either of us for more info! ❤️

02/14/2026

“Labor is the only blind date where you know you’ll meet the love of your life.” 💕

But it’s not just about the baby. Something shifts between the people in the room too. Partners see each other differently after witnessing that kind of strength and vulnerability. Parents step into a new version of themselves together. Love stretches and deepens in ways that are hard to explain, but if you’ve lived it you know what I mean.

On Valentine’s Day today, it feels worth remembering that love isn’t just shown through flowers, chocolates, or date nights (though we hope you get those too!) Sometimes it looks like staying present through something hard and coming out changed on the other side together.

02/11/2026

Last month we were at a vendor event, talking with families and meeting so many people as they passed by our booth.

What surprised me most wasn’t the young families looking for info on our services, but the older women who stopped and stayed to chat.

So many of them started telling us their birth stories. Births that happened 30 or 40 years ago, yet the details were still sharp. How the room felt, what their body was doing, who was there, the moment something shifted as their baby was born. All of those memories were still right there.

It was a reminder of how deeply birth stays with us. These moments don’t just pass with time. They stay with us, for better or for worse.

That’s why who you invite into your birth space matters! And where you choose to birth matters! The people present, the support offered, the way you are treated. Those details become part of the story you carry forward. You’ll remember. Again, for better or for worse.

When stories like these are shared, they connect generations. They give language to experiences that might otherwise stay unspoken. They remind us that birth is never small.

Birth matters. Stories matter. ❤️

If you feel called to share yours in the comments, please do!

02/08/2026

You’ll often see newborns making a sucking motion even when there’s nothing there. It surprises a lot of parents at first, especially if they’re watching closely and trying to learn every cue. This isn’t hunger and it doesn’t mean anything is missing. Babies are born with a strong sucking reflex and they use it for much more than feeding. Sucking helps regulate their nervous system, supports digestion, and brings a sense of calm after the intensity of birth. You’ll usually notice it during sleep, while doing skin to skin, or in those quiet moments when a baby is relaxed and settled. It’s one of the earliest ways newborns comfort themselves and adjust to being in their body outside the womb. Nothing to correct and nothing to interrupt, just a small glimpse of how babies are wired to find safety and regulation right from the start. And let’s face it, it’s probably the cutest thing we’ve ever seen. ❤️

02/05/2026

Around 24 to 48 hours after birth, we return for a postpartum visit to check in on both parent and baby and to complete newborn testing.

One of those screenings is the newborn hearing screen. It is gentle, painless, and often done while baby is sleeping. Small sensors are placed on the ears to measure how the inner ear responds to sound. This little cutie slept right through his!

A pass means your baby’s hearing responses are within the expected range at that time. A refer does not automatically mean hearing loss. Fluid, vernix, temporary middle ear issues, or normal newborn movement can affect results and the screen may simply need to be repeated.

Early hearing screening matters because some hearing concerns are temporary or treatable, especially when identified early. Screening allows for timely follow up, treatment when appropriate, and support during critical periods of development.

02/02/2026

It’s 2/2, so let’s talk about 2.
Specifically, the second trimester!

For many people, the second trimester is often called the honeymoon phase of pregnancy. Nausea may ease up, energy can start to return, and appointments begin to feel more grounded and connected rather than survival focused.

Two trimesters in and so much has already changed. Baby is growing quickly, movement becomes more familiar, and pregnancy often starts to feel more real during this stage.

The second trimester spans weeks 13 through 27. It is a bridge between early pregnancy and the preparation of late pregnancy, when many families begin thinking ahead in small ways and settling into the pregnancy.

Sometimes that looks like starting to prep a nursery or organizing baby things. And when prenatal visits happen in those finished rooms, it’s always a really special reminder of who we’re all preparing for. We loved getting to spend time in this beautiful space our client created. ❤️

01/31/2026

So grateful for words like these! Walking with families from pregnancy through postpartum is deeply personal work, and it means so much to hear that they felt safe, supported, and confident in themselves throughout the process.

If we have served you and you feel called to share your experience, I would truly appreciate a Google review. It helps other families find their way to care that feels aligned and intentional. The link is in my bio. ❤️

Thank you to every family who trusts us with such sacred moments!

01/29/2026

Comfort measures in labor matter more than most people realize, especially in a home birth setting. Simple things like hands on support, counter pressure, position changes, movement, breath cues, warmth, water, and steady reassurance can make an enormous difference in how labor feels and how supported someone feels moving through it. These tools help the body relax, encourage progress, and can reduce the need to fight through contractions alone.

This is also where having a designated doula can be incredibly helpful. A doula’s role is to focus fully on comfort, emotional support, and continuous presence so you are never navigating labor by yourself. Because sometimes that support comes from a really good set of hands. We step in to help as we can too, of course. Student midwife Alannah is especially known around here for her hip squeezes.

Birth is not just about getting through contractions. It is about feeling safe, supported, and cared for while your body does what it knows how to do!

📷: .sacred.births

Chava Birth

02/28/2026

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02/23/2026

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02/14/2026

02/11/2026

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