Birdsong Birth & Postpartum Support

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Birdsong Birth & Postpartum Support

✨A Postpartum centric space for parents, doulas and families✨ We are Erica and Laura. We are parents helping parents.

We met and fell in friend love in 2013 and have been swapping trials, tribulations, available joy™ and rude jokes ever since. We are both postpartum-centric full spectrum doulas caring for people across the parenthood threshold. Erica is a Southern Gal with Mississippi hospitality that will make your Grandma swoon and Laura is a friendly west coast Canadian who still proudly insists on using the m

etric system. Ours is a blend of total reverence for the miraculous nature of birth and newborn-hood and total irreverence for the need to have it look like one never ending commercial of perfection. We like to laugh and cry in equal measure and hope to bring a warmth and lightness, positivity and deep compassion to each family we work with.

05/28/2025

I posted on stories for the first time in FOREVER yesterday and there was such loving feedback and so I just wanted to say hi here on the grid! 👋 Hi friends! I’m Erica. I’m a postpartum-centric full spectrum doula and the founder of Birdsong, where we’re rethinking what nourished support looks like during postpartum (and way beyond).⁠ I co-founded this space with my doula bestie, Laura, who has since stepped back from doula work to become a social worker.⁠
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I work at the intersection of birth and postpartum justice, public health, and community care and I’m especially passionate about supporting doulas through mentorship, training, and honest, grounded resources.⁠
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This is where I plan to share thoughts on postpartum, slow living, and building something that centers healing and connection. So glad you’re here. 💛⁠
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If you’re new here, say hi in the comments or share what brought you to this space 🧡 If you’ve been here for a while I’d still love you to say hey and connect. I’d love to know how Birdsong can support you, whether you’re in the thick of postpartum, dreaming up your doula practice, or just curious about what healing-centered community care really looks like.

05/26/2025

This book has been shaping my world in ways big and small. I love it so much that I gifted it to my partner for the Spring Solstice, as the serviceberry tree holds deep significance in our family’s story. ⁠
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It’s the tree we planted in our Brooklyn backyard, over the resting place of our beloved pup, while I was pregnant with our second child. That tree became a source of nourishment, not just for us, but for our neighbors, the birds, and the whole little ecosystem around it.⁠
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And now it has woven itself into our family’s rhythm, we’ve even built a homeschool curriculum around it. Just the other day, my eldest, in the middle of playing video games with a friend, announced, “I have to go enjoy the gifts of life” before heading to dinner. That moment was straight out of The Serviceberry, a reflection of what he’s (re:we’ve) been learning and living.⁠
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The book itself is an invitation to see the world differently, to shift away from scarcity and embrace abundance, reciprocity, and interdependence. The serviceberry tree, often unnoticed, offers its fruit freely, not just for itself, but for birds, animals, and the ecosystem around it. ⁠
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This book asks us to consider: ⁠
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🌱 What if we moved through the world in that same spirit? ⁠
🌱 What if we built our lives, our communities, and our work around the idea that giving and receiving are intertwined, that care and nourishment multiply when shared?⁠
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I’d love to hear your reflections if you pick this one up. Let’s talk about it 💛⁠
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If you’re looking for more reads that inspire, challenge, and nourish, check out my curated book lists in the Birdsong Bookshop, filled with my favorite picks for doulas, parents, and healers. ⁠
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Link in bio to learn more! 📚✨

03/12/2025

🌱 ROOTS: The Doula Mentorship You’ve Been Looking For 🌱

Starting your doula journey can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to figure it out alone. ROOTS is more than just a mentorship—it’s a space to plant yourself, to be nurtured, and to grow.

✨ Community over competition
✨ Sustainability first
✨ Radical birth justice
✨ A steady place to land and thrive

Join the ROOTS Beginner Doula Tier for mentorship, resources, and a supportive community to help you build a practice that’s both fulfilling and sustainable. 🌿

Ready to grow? Learn more at patreon.com/birdsongbrooklyn

02/28/2025

I have been quoting Prentis Hemphill for years in my teaching, mentorship, and speaking engagements—most notably their wisdom:⁠
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“Boundaries are the distance at which I can love you and me simultaneously.”⁠
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So when I found out they were writing a book, I was thrilled. What It Takes to Heal is a profound and necessary offering—one that speaks directly to those of us who hold space for others, whether in birth work, community care, or the ongoing labor of healing ourselves while tending to the world.⁠
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Prentis does not offer easy, packaged solutions (because we know healing is never linear), but instead invites us into a deeper relationship with our own capacity for love, justice, and transformation. ⁠
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They weave personal narrative, collective wisdom, and embodied practice into a text that is both grounding and expansive—an invitation to reckon with our wounds and reimagine how we heal, together.⁠
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For doulas, caregivers, and anyone engaged in liberatory work, What It Takes to Heal is essential reading. It challenges us to reframe healing not as an individual pursuit, but as a communal act—one that requires courage, accountability, and an unwavering commitment to collective care.⁠
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This book will live on my shelf next to the ones I reach for over and over again, and I know I’ll be quoting even more in the years to come.⁠
If you’re looking for more reads that inspire, challenge, and nourish, check out my curated book lists in the Birdsong Bookshop—filled with my favorite picks for doulas, parents, and healers.⁠
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Comment “BOOKS” to learn more.

02/26/2025

✨ Income Streams for Doulas = Burnout Prevention ✨⁠
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Doulas, your work is deeply heart-centered—but your bank account can not run on vibes and gratitude alone. 💸💛 Diversifying your income streams means you can support your community and sustain yourself without running on fumes.⁠
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Burnout is real, no matter what kind of doula work you do. Whether you’re welcoming babies, guiding weaning, holding space for loss, supporting abortion care, walking folks through transitions, or offering end-of-life companionship—your skills are valuable and should be compensated accordingly. 🌀⁠
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You don’t have to rely only on client work (because let’s be honest, the on-call life can have you questioning your entire existence at 3 AM). Teaching, curating support kits, virtual consults, brand partnerships, and digital resources are all ways to make your work work for you.⁠
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💡 This resource went out to my Patreon community last month—if you want early access to tools like this (and more sustainable ways to doula), join us over there.
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Tag a doula who needs to see this! What income streams are already working for you? Which one do you want to explore more? Let’s build sustainable, thriving doula businesses together.👇🏽✨⁠
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02/23/2025

February carries both the weight of winter fatigue and the warmth of love-centered celebrations. In the midst of shorter days and slower rhythms, it’s a good time to remember—love languages apply to postpartum, too.⁠
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Love can look like a warm meal placed in front of you when you’re too tired to cook. It can sound like words of affirmation from a friend reminding you that you’re doing an incredible job. It can feel like the steady weight of your newborn snuggled against your chest, or the quiet relief of someone stepping in to care for you while you rest.⁠
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Tuning into what nourishes you most—whether it’s acts of service, words, touch, time, or small gestures of care—can make this season feel a little softer, a little lighter. You deserve love in the ways that feel most meaningful to you. Let yourself receive it. ❤️⁠
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💛 What’s a small act of love that’s felt nourishing to you lately? Share in the comments. ⬇️⁠
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02/18/2025

✨ Upcoming Events for Doulas & Parents ✨⁠
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🌿 Tea and Tending: Doula Drop-In⁠
A casual, nourishing space for doulas to connect, share experiences, and receive support. This monthly mentorship gathering is held through my Patreon community.⁠
📅 February 19 at 11 AM⁠
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🌀 Anchor for Doulas: Mentoring the Mentors⁠
A dedicated space for experienced doulas to deepen their leadership, explore peer mentorship, and uplift the next generation of doulas. Join us for meaningful conversations about guidance, longevity, and impact in care work.⁠
📅 Friday, February 21, 2025, at 11 AM⁠
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☕ New Spiral of TETHER Begins – Spring Equinox⁠
TETHER is our private community for parents and caregivers, providing grounded postpartum and early parenthood support. Looking for a nurturing space to grow and connect? DM me to learn more!⁠
📅 Starting March 20, 2025⁠
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✨ Want to join these gatherings? Become part of our mentorship and community on Patreon. 💛⁠
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Learn more: https://www.patreon.com/birdsongbrooklyn

11/13/2024

Honored to be teaching this free class this weekend. Share with anyone you know that's planning a GBAC/VBAC

11/05/2024

Why I call myself a postpartum-centric, full-spectrum doula

My journey as a doula began in postpartum care. It’s where I planted my roots and learned firsthand that postpartum isn’t a chapter—it’s a continuum. Even as I expanded my support to birth, miscarriage, abortion, loss, and death, I keep returning to postpartum, because everything has a postpartum—an “after” that extends and transforms forever.

At Birdsong, we say we begin with the end in mind. This philosophy reflects a profound truth: if we center the “later” as we approach the “now,” everything aligns more deeply. When we look at birth, loss, or any transitional moment through the lens of how this experience will shape someone’s life in a year, five years, or beyond, we see a fuller picture. We make choices that honor the wholeness of each person, not just in the peak moments but in the days and years that follow.

The inevitable “after” deserves our attention, our care, our respect. It holds memories, joys, and healing, but it also holds wounds that can echo forward if left unattended. Being postpartum-centric means I am here for all of it—the arrivals, the goodbyes, and every boring slow and gorgeous ‘after’ that unfolds in between.

What threshold moments in the “now” could be adjusted to better honor the “after”? I’ll go first…

Think about the way care providers often encourage people with epidurals to push as hard as they can, without considering how more intense tearing could impact their healing and ability to care for their newborn afterward. When we take the postpartum into account, we can make choices in birth that protect the body’s recovery, making that ‘after’ just a bit easier.

What’s a threshold moment you think could be more mindful of the postpartum? Drop a comment below or DM me to share your thoughts. 🌿

11/02/2024

This NO-vember, let’s embrace the power of ‘NO’! 🌱 Postpartum folks, here’s your reminder that saying ‘no’ is sometimes the best form of self-care and is usually saying YES to you and your baby. From unwanted visitors to unsolicited advice—check out these 10 things worth saying NO to this month. ✨ In case no one told you, setting boundaries is an act of love. ❤️

What are you saying no to? Let’s fill the comments up with beautiful boundaries!

Address

New York, NY

Telephone

+13473917750

Website

http://birdsongdoulas.com/

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