emphasis - doula & birthwork

08/06/2025

Well, my August clients have all birthed 🫠 - so I'm happy to work with another family with an August due date! The fall and winter are filling up with amazing families - please reach out soon if you think we might be a good fit. 😊 Always happy to chat about pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and what doula support can look like.

08/05/2025

Here are some examples of what the beginnings of informed consent conversations can sound like. It's not telling you what you have to do. It's not telling you their opinion and only (if asked) providing evidence to back that up. It's providing you with all the tools and conversations you need to consider all options and determine what is best for you and your baby. Giving you enough time and space. Affirming that your instinct matters, too. In prenatal meetings, we discuss what informed consent actually looks like and how to get what you need to make your best decisions! You deserve all the info you need to feel good about your choices. ✨

07/14/2025

Holy moly. 🥹😍 This birth was wild and beautiful. Quickly progressing at home, intuitive movement and support, an informed decision for an epidural, a "practice push" that led to a crowning baby 😆, and a whole lot of joy. 💜 Sophia and Nick were so connected through this process, and it was a beautiful way to meet sweet baby Ella. I'm so proud of them and the way that they navigate every decision with such thought and care. Ellanora, you were welcomed into this world with such love and are so lucky to have such an incredible family!

06/18/2025

Kind words from incredible clients! 💕

"Working with Rachel was absolutely pivotal in our pregnancy and birth journey. She was a wealth of knowledge and support. We had a breech baby and Rachel immediately sprang to action with connecting us to incredible practitioners and providers. She supported us emotionally coming to terms with different delivery outcomes and talked us through how she could advocate for what was important to us. It was clear that she would support and champion whatever our vision was for birth without judgment or bias. She showed up with little notice (while having three kids herself and being 3 months postpartum) to an early morning procedure we had and was happy to do so! We had a successful ECV and went on to have a great delivery and birth! During labor she was intuitive with what I would need and worked seamlessly with the hospital staff as well! After delivery her support continued with frequent check ins, resource sharing and kind words. We hope to work with Rachel with all our future pregnancies and could not recommend her more!" -Sophia and Nick

04/14/2025

I've heard a lot of theorizing about the ideal time to bring a doula onto your birth team. Some blogs and sites will say second or even third trimester, but I'm here to tell you to hire ASAP! The first trimester can be difficult. There are emotions and nausea and fatigue and anxieties and aversions and logistics. You're starting to think about what kind of birth you want, navigating all of the books and podcasts and Internet opinions, trying to figure out insurance and parental leave and parenthood. And you may not be sharing your news, so you're doing this in isolation. Bringing in the support of a professional birthworker can make all the difference. Not to mention, it's more bang for your buck!

It's also worth noting that if my clients experience a loss in the first trimester, I will reimburse the deposit and provide loss support. ❤️

03/06/2025

Sibling doula post! In addition to birth and postpartum doula services, I also offer sibling doula services. Typically this is for home or birth center births, but it's a role that can be helpful in all birthing locations. I prioritize families who desire to have their kids involved in the birth, like this amazing family! While I, of course, tend to the children's needs by making meals, helping with sleep, changing diapers, and playing, I also help to integrate them into the birthing experience, normalizing the sights and sounds, calming any anxieties that may come up, and guiding them on what kind of support their parents may want. Kids only fear birth as much as we do - when we normalize and allow them to witness the process, we destigmatize birth and empower the next generation! 💕💪🏼

Birther:
Birth doula:
Midwife:

03/03/2025

I love these kinds of things. 🥹🥰😭 It is such an honor to work with families in the birthing space - to offer normalization, space, encouragement, positions, breaks, snacks, explanations, water, counter pressure, ideas, whatever is needed. Each family becomes a part of my story as a doula, and it is heartwarming to hear that my support was an important part of their story as well.

"Rachel, we continue to think of you as our birth superhero. We are forever grateful for your help bringing our sweetie into the world! Love, Brenna"

"We loved your help and guidance! Dave"

02/03/2025

Upcoming birth availability! My calendar is filling up, but there is room for more amazing families in every month but February. 😊 Please reach out with questions, share this post, talk to your pregnant friends about the benefits of doula support and send them my way. Everyone deserves a birth expert who is 100% on their team. ❤️

02/02/2025

Scrunchy face. Plump, purple umbilical cord. Only parent's hands touching. Vernix left alone. Peace, bonding, gentleness. 17 minutes after birth can look like this. ✌🏼❤️

01/28/2025

Powerful opportunity for surgical birth parents!

It's time for the 3rd round of Cesarean Scar photos! We're excited to partner with the Snuggle House Foundation, who is hosting the photoshoot this year.

Visit www.ourcesareanscars.org to see images and reflections from the past two years of this project.

Sign up to participate: https://tinyurl.com/yrypur4x

01/25/2025

As people's rights are under attack, I want to be very clear about my position. Please reach out if you need support or resources.

01/23/2025

"As we reflect on this year, we want to take a moment to express our gratitude for everything you did to support us during Baby's birth. Your presence and care made such a difference in our journey of becoming a family of three. Having you a part of our birth experience was truly a gift and we will forever be thankful you will always be a part of our family's story. Wishing you a peaceful and joyful holiday season."
My clients sure know how to make me cry! I'm so glad I found this card in a pile of mail a toddler somehow hid. 😆 And so grateful for amazing clients and their kind words. 💜