Evergreen Birth & Wellness

12/06/2022

36 weeks 🌞 feeling at peace and completely at ease thinking about this birth and our addition to our sweet family 💛

07/26/2022

A couple months ago I decided I’d no longer attend births in hospitals. I made this hefty decision after a particular hospital birth left me completely traumatized and heartbroken.

I’ve been pretty nervous about coming forward and opening up about my decision, because the last thing I’d want is for anyone (especially previous clients) to feel judged for their decision to birth in the hospital. Personally, with my own first birth I immediately found an OB that worked out of Baylor and assumed that was exactly what everyone else did. It wasn’t until my wonderful friend Nina, who grew up out of the states, let me know that in most other developed countries, midwives are the norm. So I completely understand why the majority of folks choose hospitals. It’s engrained in us as a society.

Since becoming a doula and childbirth educator, since attending births, since having my own out-of-hospital birth, since doing hundreds of hours of research, I’d say I have a pretty good understanding of *physiological* birth. And I’ll spend the rest of my days advocating for physiological birth, because *for the most part,* that is not what happens in hospitals.

Physiological birth is what happens when a woman is allowed the space to go into labor spontaneously, her hormones beautifully and intrinsically work together to progress her contractions and the dilation of her cervix, her baby descends into her vaginal canal, (usually) she feels the urge to push, her baby is born, and her hormones continue in their dance to facilitate the bond of her and her baby and breastfeeding.

It’s so simple. Variations of normal are always there, but when a woman feels safe and supported, birth usually works just fine.

For various reasons, most hospital births have a significant number of interventions that can negatively affect the woman, her baby, her experience, their bond. And what I can’t get past, is that most of these interventions aren’t evidence-based and plenty of times can have more risk than benefit.

I see what the possibility of birth can look like. I’ve witnessed undisturbed, ecstatic birth. I believe that most women are able to have this experience, if the space is right, and if that’s what they desire.

Honestly, I no longer understand where I fit into our system of technological birth. But I know I have a choice in the matter, and I choose to no longer be witness to, what I believe, is a system that is not serving women and babies as it should.

As a doula, I’ll always be here to help and support women. Things will just look a little different going forward. These boundaries are necessary for myself, and I’m honestly super excited to see what the future holds and where this path leads me.

04/19/2022

I recently had the honor of chatting with about Evergreen, my doula practice, and all things birth 💛

Let me know what you think!

Link in bio 🙏🏻

02/17/2022

Recently had the most magical experience. A dear client’s labor started to pick up rapidly, and we quickly realized we weren’t going to make it to the birth center… She birthed her baby right there in her bedroom, standing in her power, completely undisturbed, with just myself, someone she’s grown to trust wholly, there to assist her.

Magic. Pure magic. Her baby girl took her first breaths with her mama holding her close, helping her regulate and transition from the womb to this world.

While visiting with her a few days later, she told me feels like superwoman. That she’s never felt so empowered before. She had zero disruptions, which means the psychological process of birth was allowed to unfold as it normally does and should = beautifully. By that, I mean, the endorphins and hormones that moved through her encourage her to feel like a badass mama who is roaring with energy and love for her baby.

✨It’s evolution✨
Biology wants us to procreate.
So the process of birth is meant to be divine.
It’s meant to encourage love and connection with our babes.

Just like this mama, I’m also feeling extremely empowered. If I’m honest, I’ve been struggling lately witnessing birth interventions and disruptions. This experience has meant so much to me and is absolutely going to shape and shift how I practice as a keeper of physiological birth moving forward.

✨Stay tuned✨

02/03/2022

Hey, Mamas! 🤰🏽⁠⁠
Join us every Saturday for our prenatal/postpartum series taught by the incredible Melissa and Holli! 🤗⁠⁠
This class brings together our expecting and new parents to offer support, community, and a safe yoga practice, all while helping families prepare for their new little bundle of joy! ⁠⁠
Our wonderful instructors leading this series are a certified doula and yoga instructor and a certified prenatal/postpartum yoga teacher.⁠⁠
We look forward to seeing you in class! ⁠

01/18/2022

✨Six weeks postpartum with Juniper✨

Throughout all time, postpartum practices have looked pretty similar. Despite centuries and millennia of differences in time, miles and miles of separation, the practices are the same.

✨We rest with our baby, allowing our community to help take care of other things. We do this so that we heal faster, we bond more with our baby, we REST after growing and birthing a human.

✨We eat specific foods. These foods are warm, which produces more oxytocin (the “love hormone”), soft/mushy, nutrient-dense, and easy to digest. Our digestive system is extremely weak postpartum, which is why we introduce foods systematically.

✨We wrap our bellies or practice other forms of bodywork. Remember, warmth = oxytocin. Binding, or wrapping, your womb keeps that sacred space warm, which facilities healing.

✨And we commune. With our family. Our friends. We rely on our village or our tribe to help lift us up, so we may heal and fill our baby’s cup (literally).

Evergreen Birth & Wellness honors the sacred postpartum window throughout various modalities and practices. All on a sliding scale payment structure. I’d love to help support you through your postpartum window 🙏🏻

01/05/2022

New year. Same yoga + community goodness with myself and at

See you Saturdays at 12:30 pm for yoga, followed by circle time. Donation-based, as always 🌞

Mamas, feel free to bring those sweet babies with you!

11/30/2021

One of my December mamas had her baby a little early (you’re AMAZING and I’m so happy for you ), so I have a last minute spot open for a December baby!

In case you’re wondering if it’s too late to hire a doula, we still have plenty of time to work out your ideal birth preferences, do some body work together to get you more comfortable and baby into a great position, and give you some uplifting, empowering support.

As always, my services are offered on a sliding scale, so that everyone who wants support, gets support 🙏🏻

📸:

11/16/2021

During our previous pre/postnatal yoga class, I got to wear baby Alannah and teach while her mama got to yoga 🙌🏻

Baby snuggle are always great. But they’re especially sentimental when you’ve had this mama in class throughout most of her pregnancy, you’ve established a great relationship, and she’s back 5 weeks postpartum to move and be with a community of women going through the same part of life that she’s in 💛

And the functional yogi in me just has to call out my terrible “park mom” posture! 😝 ladies, this is the result of lack of core strength. Your core isn’t strong enough to support your midsection, so you end up dumping into your low back which keeps your glutes and hip flexors nice and tight, which leads to low back pain.

Gotta admit, I was pretty appalled at my posture when I saw this pic 😅 but I’m trying to use it as motivation to really bring back my focus to my core and pelvic floor. I love riding my bike and doing yoga, but sometimes your body needs targeted exercises 👍🏻

Reach out if you also have “park mom” posture and need some motivation and accountability to work on your core along with me 🥰

Summer Peterson

11/08/2021

In the kitchen today mixing up this lovely postpartum herbal bath blend 🥰 this mix of herbs has both calming and healing properties, and is designed to be used immediately postpartum and again throughout the next couple of weeks.

I’m making this batch for a lovely mama who connected with me after learning about my approach, which focuses on holistic, traditional practices, accessibility, and community.

Her and I worked together to design a postpartum package that fit her specific needs. She’s working hard right now, and I’m anxiously awaiting the call telling me she’s birthed her sweet babe and is ready for me to bring her warm beef bone broth, postpartum herbal tea, and her herbal bath blend. In a few days, I’ll be right back by her side, checking in on her, dropping off her encapsulated placenta and tincture and then binding her belly.

My intention is to nourish this mama and make sure she knows she’s supported - physically, nutritionally, and emotionally. I firmly believe that taking care of yourself well those first few weeks postpartum, can make a huge impact on yourself, and ultimately your family and your circle.

Thank you for the honor of supporting you 🙏🏻

10/29/2021

Holli and I are so excited to welcome postpartum mamas and their new babes to yoga class!

We’ve recently had a handful of mamas give birth which has really inspired us to open our class up to new babes along with their new mamas 🥰

We think it’s so important to provide a space for new parents to come and move, and be surrounded by light and love. Very few things about parenting is easy, but a community and support system can make such a big difference.

As always, come as you are. That might mean you’re covered in spit up and have no intention of doing much movement bc of exhaustion. Or you’re feeling extra gassy due to pregnancy lately. We’ve all been there. And this is a safe space.

Can’t wait to see you!

10/26/2021

weekly yoga schedule for those looking to move, breathe deeply, and take some time for themselves 🙏🏻
come join us and find your community. link in bio to sign up 🌞

10/22/2021

I’m so sad that I won’t be at our prenatal/postpartum yoga class tomorrow, but going away for the weekend for some much needed relaxation! Well, as relaxed as you can get while trying to stop your toddler from flinging herself into the lake 😅

The amazing will be leading class and you don’t want to miss 🌞

✨please sign up for class in advance so we know how many folks to prepare for✨

Link in bio to sign in 🙌🏻

10/07/2021

🙏🏻

Twinkle, twinkle little... its our next spotlight! Today we are bragging about Mayo of Evergreen Birth & Wellness

Melissa shared, I became interested in becoming a doula after becoming pregnant with my daughter, Juniper." Her own birth desires influenced her strongly, "I realized very quickly that what I was wanting in a birth experience, wasn’t necessarily the “mainstream,” and I felt I needed so much support in navigating that reality." And that led to her own journey to serve, "I decided I wanted to support and empower others throughout their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum and help them discover what they were wanting from the experience."

"I’m inspired everyday by the human body!" Melissa continued, "It’s such an honor to be able to help support women and their bodies throughout the entire process of becoming pregnant, then staying healthy and comfortable throughout pregnancy, and then navigating the postpartum experience."

You can follow Melissa's journey on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/evergreenbirthandwellness

10/05/2021

Bringing some tea to a new mama 🌞

I took this picture a couple months ago, but I’m bringing the same mix today… this is CCF tea, or cumin, coriander, and fennel tea. I was first introduced to this tea by while trying to calm my pitta and help me reduce heartburn, and I’ve since learned that this tea is also wonderful for aiding in digestion and increasing milk supply! Mama is needing some help with her supply, so I’m bringing over this tea and some oatmeal balls 🙌🏻

Did you drink any teas, or utilize herbs and spices while pregnant or postpartum?

I’m hosting a workshop this Saturday called Ayurveda-Inspired Guide to Pregnancy + Postpartum - we’ll talk more about why this tea (and others) are so handy, and other natural, traditional tips on common issues experienced while pregnant or newly postpartum.

Reach out with questions!

✨ Link in bio to sign up ✨

09/30/2021

There’s SO many wonderful reasons to hire a doula! But here are some of my favorite ways to support my clients:

✨troubleshoot with you on ways you can get more comfortable throughout pregnancy

✨check in with you after your doctor or midwife’s appointments to talk through any new information that came up and process how it might affect your plans for labor

✨talk to you on the phone when you start feeling contractions to help you figure out if this is labor-labor or just warming up

✨suggest specific positioning throughout your labor to help your labor progress

✨squeeze your hips for the duration of every contraction

✨keep the environment (including everyone around you) feeling calm and supportive

✨quietly suggest to your partner that they push on your knees (in just the right place!) to relieve some of the intensity of a contraction 

✨rub your back between surges to help you relax and rest

✨gently remind you of your preferences and goals when labor gets challenging

✨support you in getting what you need if your priorities change

✨gently ask you if you need a little time to process your decision when a new course of action is proposed by your caregiver

✨check in with you 24-48 hours after you gave birth to find out how you are feeling…and validate for you the intense emotional experience of those early days postpartum

✨come to your house in the first week after you give birth to process the birth experience, remind you what a badass you are, and laugh (or cry!) with you about things that happened during labor

To sum things up, I help support you in having the birth experience you desire. That support looks different for different folks, but I do offer free 30 min consultations if you’d like to get to know one another more and chat about how I can support you 💛

Mama:
📸:

09/28/2021

✨Ayurveda-Inspired Guide to Pregnancy + Postpartum✨
October 10th, 4-530 pm 

Can’t wait for this workshop! We’ll be discussing several Ayurvedic practices to help you have a more comfortable pregnancy, as well as how to take care of yourself throughout the postpartum time period.  

There’s no better time than pregnancy + postpartum to learn how to take care of your body from the inside out 🥰

There’s still a couple spots left - link to sign up in bio 🙏🏻

09/27/2021

So proud of this amazing mama that I had the honor of teaching throughout most of her pregnancy.

Congrats Ruthe and thank you for bringing sweet baby Lucy to class for us to ooh and aah over her!