Liz’s Birth Services

08/10/2023

Hi birthy friends! Wow, it’s been a while! 👋🏼

I appreciate and hold so much gratitude for those who’ve trusted me to be in their birth space but also those who’ve recommended me to others! You all hold such a special place in my heart. Birth and helping guide women back to their instinctual, maternal nature is so important to me.

I’ve had an influx of amazing women reach out to me about my services recently. I am beyond excited! But… please know that unfortunately I cannot hold a spot for you if I do not have a signed contract.

For example, if you reach out and want to hire me on and then I do not hear from you for some time, it is possible I may get more inquiries and I simply cannot hold a spot without a signed formal agreement. I hope this is understood, I wish I could take on several clients a month but my business is a one woman job. I do though take on 2 per month and as of right now I am booking up quick!

So much love for you all and I am so excited for this next season of birth “work”! 🤍🫶🏼

In the mean time, I’ll be looking for a back up doula so I can comfortably take on more clients. If any local doulas are interested in working together as each other’s back ups, please message me.

Thank you! ❤️🥰

Send a message to learn more

02/15/2023

🎉 The Swag is rolling in for our March 4th Expo and this stuff is seriously awesome - be one of the first 50 families and claim your bag! Attendance is FREE

Come meet with birth professionals, win prizes, and hear speakers from the Birth community 🚼

Items pictured from : Todd Counseling (Sarah Todd) and ABC Lactation (Akelia Charley)

09/16/2022

Hey birthy friends! 👋🏼

I have an announcement! 📣

Soon I’ll be doing a short trial run for childbirth education classes. During this period I will be doing a discounted price of $150 (50% off of what it will be). For the next two weeks, any time between September 19th and October 3rd you can PM me to book a class.

This class will include helping you create a birth plan if you’re currently pregnant, providing you with evidence based resources, hands on comfort measures and techniques to help you cope with labor mentally and physically and so much more!

Excited to connect with you! ❤️✨

07/03/2022

Poor fetal position is one of the main reasons for a C-section. If having a vaginal birth is your preference, or you are trying for a VBAC, fetal positioning matters.

Doing the right exercises during pregnancy can help fetal positioning by creating balance in the pelvis. A balanced pelvis is important because it helps babies find the best way to navigate down and out.

Check out our blog to find more Optimal Fetal Positions (link in bio)

06/24/2022

I saw this on FB and had to repost it. This is not an opinion piece, some fact

06/19/2022

And this here is why I NEVER break a woman’s waters at home - or anywhere (this, and a few other reasons). I’ll explain why in a second… but first… this is the placenta of a client of mine who recently gave birth at home. You can see there are some blood vessels placed in the membranes rather than in the placenta where they would normally be. The line represents the end of the placental tissue.

Breaking a woman’s waters in labour is called ‘artificial rupture of the membranes’ and your care provider might describe it as ‘breaking your waters’ or ‘JUST going to break your waters’.

In all the times I’ve heard maternity care providers ask for consent from a woman to break their waters, I’ve never heard one describe the risks of this procedure.

One of the risks is that there could be blood vessels placed IN the membranes rather than the usual placement of in the placenta. Remembering that ALL the blood in the placental vessels is the babies, you can imagine what would happen if one of the vessels of the ‘no placenta’ side got damaged. The baby would lose its blood supply faster than your care provider to get you to the operating theatre to get your baby out safely.

When midwives or doctors break your waters they use a crochet hook looking tool to break open the membranes and release the amniotic fluid from around the baby… they can also never truely know what they are doing because it’s all done by feel and not sight.

The risks include:
- cord prolapse
- physical damage to the baby from the tool
- exsanguination of the baby if blood vessels are ruptured
- increased labour pain
- increased risk of infection

Breaking a woman’s waters is never ‘JUST’ breaking waters. It’s an intervention and it has risks

06/13/2022

Can I labor over there?
Can I labor on the chair?
No! No labor over there!
Don’t labor on the chair!
Sit there, sit there, you will see,
You must labor with this IV!
I do not like this sharp IV!
I need to move, to dance, to p*e!
Doctor, Doctor, let me be;
Say, get your pesky hands off me!
No! You can’t move, or dance, or p*e!
You must labor with this IV!
Not over there, not on the chair,
Not with the ball, you’ll have a fall!
Can I labor with a doula?
Can I use some calendula?
Can I labor on hands and knees?
Can I birth just how I please?
No! Not with a doula!
No –what’s calendula?
Lay back, lay back, count to ten,
Breathe –he he hoo –push again!
No thank you, doctors, nurse, and crew,
I’ll go and labor without you.
I’ll labor here, I’ll labor there!
In the shower –everywhere!
I’ll labor standing, squatting, sitting
I’ll labor on my couch while knitting!
I’ll have a doula –I’ll have three!
They’ll let me eat and bring me tea.
Try them! Try them! You will see!
You can go shove that darn IV.

05/30/2022

"This is one of many Spinning Babies® positions to help the baby down the pelvis. It’s called Walcher's Maneuver. I get so happy when I see midwives in hospitals using these techniques. Many tend to go straight to more drugs to get stronger contractions to “force” the baby out, but when it’s stuck the baby don’t need more pressure but a better position in the pelvis. After a long birth, the doctor came in and talked to the mum about the possibility of a cesarian. She really wanted a vaginal birth and asked the midwife if there was anything else they could try. She was fully dilated but the baby was too high. They first tried a Spinning Babies technique called Sidelying Release but it didn’t work so the midwife made her lay on the bed like this. Two contractions and suddenly we could hear a new sound from her moaning, and her belly changed its form. 5 minutes later a beautiful baby was born. After attending a Spinning Babies® Workshop with Birthsupport.NL, I saw the birthing process with new eyes. I’m hoping more midwives could get the chance to learn these positions!" - Fødselsfotografen

More on Walcher's: bit.ly/SpBWB

03/15/2022

.
🤰.wellness🤰
🩺 🩺

📷 📷

They write:

"Resuscitation in the home setting 🫁

〰︎〰︎〰︎

Research is beginning to emerge in support of physiology and common sense. A recent randomised controlled trial concluded that resuscitation with an intact umbilical cord results in improved oxygen saturations and higher Apgar scores, with no negative consequences (Andersson et al. 2019). The discussion section of this article also cites research demonstrating that an intact cord improves resuscitation and reduces post-resuscitation complications.

Babies are born with their own resuscitation equipment. The placenta not only helps the baby to transition, but assists with resuscitation if needed. There is no reason to clamp and cut the cord of a baby who needs help. Doing so will create more problems for the baby and mother. Anything that needs to be done can be done with back-up from the placenta, and the involvement of the mother. Babies know their parents voice better than anyone else’s. Parents are encouraged to talk to their baby while resuscitation occurs.

In this picture, we are about finished with the resuscitation. Notice babys color is pink, tone is good, and if you could hear this image, baby is now making effort to breath spontaneously. It is particularly common for waterbirth babies to take a little longer to “come around” and take their first breath. And sometimes they need a little help from their team ❤️ "

03/02/2022

- ottime notizie dall'Australia, che confermano ciò che sosteniamo da sempre!!!
Anche i bambini che hanno difficoltà alla nascita hanno esiti migliori se tenuti vicini alla mamma e con il loro cordone integro, anche durante le manovre di rianimazione.
Lo studio dimostra che mantenere il cordone integro salvaguardia da danni cerebrali.
Nel mondo stanno già iniziando a cambiare i protocolli neontali e a riorganizzare le sale parto, aspettiamo che anche in Italia arrivi l'aggiornamento.

02/21/2022

01/07/2022

From home births to supporting C-section mamas, midwives do it all.

12/30/2021

“people tell us not to feed for comfort while they sip their sleepy-time tea.
⠀
people tell us to not cuddle our children to sleep while they spoon their partner.
⠀
people tell us our child is too old to breastfeed while they sip their cow's milk.
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people tell us not to nurse or rock our babies to sleep while they sell us the latest gadget that’s supposed to do the exact same thing.
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people tell us to let them cry, while they go comfort a friend.
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people tell us responding to our child is creating bad habits, while they smoke and drink.
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man, do they tell us! but i’m not them and neither are you. because we hear our instincts loud and clear and they will not be silenced. because even though we are exhausted, we know our baby’s cry is not a protest, but a communication. because we know their need for us at 3am is not a manipulation. because even though our backs and hips ache from sleeping in that dang c position, we know that little indent on the right side of our bed will soon fade away - and we would welcome that pain in our body just to feel them latch on more time.
⠀
people tell us, but we know. we know this is important, we know that this is right for us and our baby, and we know this is just how it’s supposed to be.
⠀
we know mama, they may tell us, but let’s rest in our know.”

Credits:
words: 👸🏼
📷: .photography
📸: Tamika Sadler

12/25/2021

12/20/2021

15 Cool Facts About Breastfeeding

1. Human milk boosts a baby’s immune system big time—helping baby fight viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections, including:
Respiratory tract infections
Ear infections
Bacterial meningitis
Pneumonia
Urinary tract infections
Infant diarrhea
Common colds and flus

2. Breastfeeding can actually reduce baby’s risk of disease later in life, including:
Type I and II diabetes
Hodgkin’s disease
Leukemia
Obesity
High blood pressure
High cholesterol levels
Crohn’s disease
Ulcerative colitis
Asthma
Eczema

3. Breastfeeding reduces mama’s risk of ovarian and breast cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis. The longer she breastfeeds, the higher the benefit. In fact, a woman who breastfeeds for 8 years has nearly a 0% risk of breast cancer.

Get this—breastfeeding a baby girl actually reduces her lifetime risk of breast cancer by 25%.

4. Breastfeeding saves a family approximately $2 to 4 thousand dollars annually (compared to cost of formula).

5. Breastfeeding helps mama heal faster in the postpartum, helping her uterus return to pre-pregnancy size faster and lowering overall postpartum blood loss.

6. Breastfeeding can help mama return to her pre-baby weight. It takes 1000 calories a day on average to produce breast milk. Women are advised to consume an extra 500 calories a day, and the body dips into reserves it built up in pregnancy to make the rest (it’s important to consume those extra calories or the body actually goes into “starvation mode” and holds onto the reserves).

7. Producing breast milk consumes 25% of the body’s energy; the brain only uses 20% by comparison.

8. On average, babies remove 67% of the milk mama has available—they eat until fullness, not until the breast is emptied.

9. Almost 75% of all moms produce more milk in their right breast, whether they are right- or left- handed.

10. Mama’s body is constantly making the perfect milk for baby. Milk changes its nutritional profile as baby grows (milk made for a 3 month old is different than for a 9 month old). Milk can even change day to day—for example, water content may increase during times of hot weather and baby-sickness to provide extra hydration.

11. Human milk contains substances that promote sleep and calmness in babies (who doesn’t love that?) Breastfeeding also calms mama and helps her bond to baby.

12. Breastfed infants are at lower risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

13. Mama’s breasts can detect even a one degree fluctuation in baby’s body temperature and adjust accordingly to heat up or cool down baby as needed. This is one reason skin-to-skin contact in the early days is so crucial.

14. Breastfeeding reduces baby’s risk of cavities later on and may lower the chance they will need braces as kids.

15. Breastfeeding mamas sleep on average 45 minutes more a night, compared to those who formula feed.

http://healthfoundationsbirthcenter.com/2013/11/19/15-cool-facts-about-breastfeeding/

Photo- Woman nursing two babies, Alaska.
Date: [ca. 1903-1908]
Photographer/Illustrator: Lomen Brothers, Nome, Alaska / Dobbs, B.B.