Empowered Birth Alaska

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Empowered Birth Alaska

Providing quality, professional support & services. Your experience, birth, & wellness matter!

Click 'Learn More' to get more information about what EBA can offer to your birth journey experience. Check out our website www.empoweredbirthalaska.com to see a complete list of services, descriptions, and about us.

02/26/2026

There’s three main reasons why my back up doula would be called in to my clients birth: if something happens to me (like I’m physically injured or incapacitated), if two clients are in labor at the same time, or if I’m out of town when a client goes into labor.

This past week, the ladder two happened simultaneously! And I was reminded why I have TWO back up doulas that I’m eternally grateful for. Christine Rogers and Ty Roberts.

I don’t go on vacations very often, less than a week per year on average, last week was one of those. Before I left I made sure that my clients who are due in the next month have my primary back up doula (Christine)’s number, and tagged her in for the week.

A few days later, one client develops a pregnancy related complication and needs to be induced 3 weeks early. When Christine joins them for support, another client goes into labor a week early! So she tags in Ty for them.

I adore both of my back ups beyond words, and I know they’ll take excellent care of my clients. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t an anxious wreck lol. They kept me updated the whole time, and both births went very well!

Beyond taking care of my clients for me, they are also great friends and colleagues to me, we support and doula each other when we’ve had a hard birth, or need an extra brain to think through options for a client. We learn together, laugh together, and have each other’s backs! They’re the best.

Back up doulas matter, and im thankful and proud to have them as mine!

📸 unrelated baby pictured

02/12/2026

I was just watching The Resident while editing pictures, when an episode came on that had me SOBBING by the end. Like, full on ugly crying. It hit SO close to my heart, because it was about a young, healthy black mother that had a csection, and died from preventable complications while still in the hospital. Her husband, and the resident doctor, were begging the doctors and nurses for help when they noticed something didn’t seem right, and their concerns were dismissed and ignored multiple times. Until she crashed.

The United States of America has one of the highest maternal mortality rates of any developed, high income nations. Birthing a baby in the US makes you FOUR times as likely to die during birth or postpartum. And black women are an additional FOUR times more likely to die.

That’s the tragic reality, that’s why advocacy and education matter, that’s how doula support can make a difference. For everyone giving birth. Doula support improves outcomes all around, and satisfaction to boot.

01/21/2026

I just make babies THAT happy 😆 his mom was equally happy to get some much needed sleep while I cared for Baby. I truly adore when I get to spend extra time with my birth families postpartum!

01/11/2026

The charge nurse stopped me on my way out of JBER hospital the other day, “Hays, wait a second I want to talk to you!” My immediate first thought was “oh shoot what happened? What did I do?” 😬

“I just wanted to tell you how great it was working with you and you’re a really good doula!” 🥹 she continued to tell me that the night shift nurse also sang my praises before she left. She said it was really refreshing having a doula in there that worked WITH the staff, AND was advocating for the patient and coaching her seemlessly. Apparently she has had some not great experiences with a few random doulas over the years, undermining staff, being rude to them, and even one who paused the pitocin drip of the patient! 😱

That floored me, because not only is that outside the scope of practice to do anything medical, but that’s downright dangerous to the patient to touch their IV! (Pitocin can only be paused for a short time before restarting, and if paused too long you have to start over taper. It’s started very low and only increased every 30 mins until it’s at a desired affect).

Anyways, that was very humbling to hear from a nurse. And then a few days later at my clients postpartum visit, they also sang my praises and told me the daytime nurse did too!

Im so grateful that I can make a positive difference in such an important time for my clients. It truly means so much to me ❤️

📸 unrelated baby pictured

01/02/2026

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🥳 I had the honor of supporting 26 families this year; 19 births, 471 postpartum hours, and 19 photo sessions 🥰 I am constantly in disbelief that I get to do my dream job every day, and incredibly grateful to make a difference to so many families along the way ❤️

12/18/2025

😂 “she’s doing her best”

12/14/2025

Recently, I was contacted by a couple who had just had their baby and were struggling, a lot. Their birth didn’t go as planned, recovery was harder than anticipated, Baby wasn’t feeding well, they were getting basically no sleep, and they didn’t have any prior experience with newborns. Not good!

They needed help as soon as possible, and luckily, I was able to meet them later that day. We talked about their feeding issues and strategies to make it a little easier, and I gave them a game plan to get through the night until I could spend more time with them the next day.

When I came back we talked more about lactation and feeding, and generally what their current routine is. They needed a way to simplify all the things, and do less so they can prioritize sleep more! But sometimes, the best thing I can do for people is just listen and validate their feelings! This s**t is HARD, no matter what.

Just knowing someone is there for YOU and won’t judge is EVERYTHING when s**t is hitting the fan all around you! And I’m really honored to make a difference in someone’s experience of a very important time in their life ❤️

*unrelated family in the photo*

12/08/2025

I really love when grandparents are able to join in during newborn photos! 🥰 moms with their baby, and their baby’s baby! So special ❤️

11/30/2025

Quantifying the association between doula care and maternal and neonatal outcomes https://ow.ly/8rmW50XzJNO

11/05/2025

My favorite tips for helping your toddler/older kiddos adjust to a new sibling:

- during pregnancy, talk to them about it often! Discuss what newborns are like, and what their role will be as the big sibling. Role model with a baby doll if you can!

- when you see them for the first time after baby’s birth, greet them without the new baby in your arms. Give them some one on one reconnection time, until they’re ready to meet Baby. For some kids this is faster than others, that’s okay!

- when you have to attend to Baby’s needs, use baby-centered language, rather than you-centered. For example, instead of “I need to feed the baby now”, try “the baby needs to eat now”. This helps reduce feelings of jealousy or rivalry.

- utilize friends and family to take your older kid(s) on special outings to get their wiggles out. For most kids, they’ll think it’s a treat to get quality time with other adults! An hour at the park can do wonders for everyone’s mood.

- create time and space for one-on-one time with each parent, daily in the beginning of you can. It’s hard sharing a parents attention with a tiny human who can’t play with you yet!

- it’s everyones job to care for Baby! There’s tasks big sibling can do, and many that mom or dad have to do. Siblings can hand you things, help change diapers, and give love! Older siblings can give baby a pacifier, help hold a bottle, or play with toys with Baby. These are all important jobs! ❤️

But please remember, most siblings will go through an adjustment period. They’ll probably regress in some areas, or have big feelings about things they normally wouldn’t. I think the best thing we can do as parents is just meet them where they’re at, be okay with it, and know it won’t last forever! Even if that means your 5yo wants to be swaddled and suck on a pacifier 😆 i promise it’s normal and won’t last forever!

11/03/2025

Learned knowledge ≠ applied knowledge…is something I say often. You can take all the classes, read all the books, and watch all the youtube videos, but translating that into real life isn’t straightforward.

This applies for many aspects of newborn care; breast and bottle feeding, diapering, baby wearing, bathing, soothing, etc.

It translates so much easier when you have a translator by your side, ie a postpartum doula!

I can show you how, using your actual baby, then watch you do it, and give pointers and guidance in real time. This builds your confidence as a new parent, and reduces unnecessary stress and confusion! Why muddle through it if you don’t have to?

Things like; ways to hold your baby, safely passing off your baby to other people, putting your baby in their car seat and the proper fit, using a baby carrier safely and comfortably, ways to burp your baby, how to swaddle, soothing techniques, reading your baby’s cues, nursing positions, getting a good latch, bathing your baby, putting your baby down without waking them up, etc!

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Anchorage, AK

Website

http://Www.empoweredbirthalaska.com/, https://linktr.ee/empoweredbirthalaska

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