Earthside Birth Services LLC

11/05/2022

Come check it out and find the perfect fit for you ❤️

Are you considering a doula? Want one but haven’t found the right person? 🕵️‍♀️

🍀Well lucky for you!🍀

☀️Meet the Doula will be held November 7th, 6:30-7:30pm☀️

Join us at one of our fun events to explore the amazing options for pregnancy, birth and new parent support🤰🏽

Each 🌈Meet the Doulas🌈 event includes an overview of what doulas do, the benefits of doula services, and how to find the right doula for you 🫵🏼

💖 Homegrown Families Doulas represent a wonderful variety of personalities, ages, backgrounds, and skills in both birth and postpartum doulas 💖

Studies show working with a birth and postpartum doula can lead to
📌shorter labor lengths
👇🏾decreased use of forceps or vacuum
🤝increased confidence in partner
🧑🏿‍⚕️reduction in cesarean rates
🤱🏽higher breastfeeding success rates
🚼more opportunity to spend time bonding with baby
➡️easier transition into parenthood

Can’t make it to this one? Next one is December 5th!

Check out the link bio to RSVP!

📸:

Image description: a black person with curly hair holding and breast feeding their baby, sitting on a chair

06/07/2022

Hey friends! I’m taking over Homegrown’s Instagram today! If you’ve ever had my guidance through pregnancy, birth, or postpartum I would love and really appreciate it if you’d go engage with this and let folks know about my support. ❤️❤️

👏💓 It’s a Tuesday Takeover 💓👏
Y’all look at this cutie 🥰
Laura Bowers she/her

One of our incredible
✨Community Care Doulas ✨

Laura is a full spectrum doula (birth postpartum, loss, abortion) and breastfeeding peer counselor who has been involved in birthwork and parenting support for the last 5 years.

She has spent the majority of her doula years working with pregnant and parenting teens in foster care and feels strongly about the absolute truth that all beings deserve reverence, celebration, and autonomy and that the intentional and continuous support of a Doula is a radical tool that can help shift the narrative of fear surrounding birth and the postpartum.

Laura shines with supporting families with self advocacy through complicated high-risk births, complex medical trauma, parents with anxiety and pregnancy after loss. She knows that birth can be hard but also glorious for everyone. It is her mission to support birthing people to have their best possible experience as they take their first steps into parenthood.

05/23/2022

❤️❤️❤️

👋 In case you missed it….
Homegrown Families launched our Collective Community Care model in April💥

Community Care ensures that ALL families AND doulas receive the education and support that they need and deserve, regardless of financial (in)security.

✨️ Collective Community Care ensures that every community has the resources to take care of each other. Because institutions will not take care of us
✨️ Collective Community Care means supporting both families and our doulas. 
✨️ Collective Community Care creates a diverse, sustainable birth and postpartum doula workforce while simultaneously increasing access to doula services across under-resourced and historically marginalized communities who experience the worst health inequities.

Thank you Lara • Full Spectrum Doula] 🪴 for the on point 💥 graphic and and check out/follow them for wisdom words

“Doula work, and all care work, is community care. Community care is different from self-care in that it does not put the onus on the individual to always be able to care for themself without any external support.”

Want to learn more about our Collective Community Care model and what that means for your family or you as a doula? 🤔

🔗 in bio to schedule a free phone call!

Graphic: Lara • Full Spectrum Doula]
Image ID [A graphic shows five lines of wavy text on a white background with the words Doula care is community care]

03/18/2022

Beautifully said! ❤️ Nursing is like learning a language only you and your baby speak and reaching fluency together takes time and patience and lots of support. I’m a certified breastfeeding counselor as well and I’m here if you ever find yourself needing some support!

What does your lactation journey look like??

While nursing is natural, it certainly isn’t easy. Chestfeeding/breastfeeding can be an art of late nights 💤, milk-drunk babies, and sore ni***es. And the best part? Everyone has an opinion! 🙃

Here’s the real deal: the best advice we can give to a lactating parent is 🌿cultivate your community🌿.

Network with nursing parents, lean on community resources, and ask LOTS of questions.

Homegrown is proud (‼️) to be one of many resources that parents rely on in their nursing journey, but we also know who else to rep! For our Asheville families: check out the tagged accounts below to grow your community knowledge in chestfeeding!

-La Leche League (LLL) of Buncombe County
-WIC Breastfeeding Peer Support (828) 250-5325
-Mission Health Breastfeeding Center (828) 213-1103

Live in Western North Carolina? 📣 Chime in down below and help us learn more about your needs and our community resources!

📸

[ID]: Pictured is a parent chest/breastfeeding their toddler. The chest feeding parent is looking down at their child while the toddler looks straight into the camera.

02/24/2022

❤️❤️

Birth Photographer & Doula] Doula work... When people who have any concept of what a doula even is, this is probably what they imagine. Hip squeezes, a birth pool, maybe candles and other woo woo stuff. (Don't get me wrong, I LOVE all the woo woo stuff!)
But what people rarely realize is that as a doula I do so many other things for my clients. Today I read a client's birth story a year after she had her twin girls and it was really wonderful hearing her perspective. Then I talked for a while with a client of mine who like so many of us is a bit Type A and is having some insomnia and mommy-guilt and needed someone to talk to about it. Then I got on the phone with another client who possibly has some pelvic floor dysfunction but is planning her HBA2C and we discussed what she might do about it. Then I checked in with a client with HG who is between two worlds (OB and homebirth care) who currently needs iron infusions to set up an early home visit in case she goes into labor early (more common with women who have HG pregnancies). Made some recommendations for another client about birthing classes, read the current studies on COVID and pregnancy and scheduled a couple consultations.

When you hire me as your doula, I am not just for hip squeezes and birth plans (though I'm good at both). I am for 1000 other things that you may not have even known you needed as you get ready to meet your baby.

I have wiped butts, held emesis bags while my clients vomit, held hands and space for clients when they received bad news, hugged them when they received good, cried with them, and even caught a few babies when those babies had other plans than the rest of us. I have reassured husbands while their wives were taken back for cesareans and walked them through what was going on. I have felt the last tiny heartbeat of a 20 week baby with my finger while she was being held in her mother's hand then called to get the nurse to check. I have breathed and swayed with and sighed and laughed with then squeezed and massaged and done it on repeat. I've cradled mamas as they got their epidural and I've fanned a couple dads for whom labor was to much.

I am a doula.
📸 Birth Photographer & Doula]

02/07/2022

I had a beautiful year in 2021 standing alongside so many powerful, graceful, centered births full of love and tenderness and support and I stayed very unplugged from social media as I basked in the beauty of the families who had given me the privilege of supporting them through their pregnancies and into their postpartum journeys. But here I am again, ready to reenter the world of social connections via the internet! A recap of the births from this past year is coming but for now, I’d love to share some beautiful words of gratitude shared with me from a client turned friend ❤️

“It's difficult to fully express what an enormous force of support, love, wisdom, hands-on help and empowering guidance Laura was for our family during the first three months of our daughter's life earthside. Suffice it to say, the gift of her presence during this time was invaluable to us and truly helped set us up to be the confident, happy and healthy new parents that we are now.

Laura was with us from the moment our baby came into the world via unplanned C-section, helping us feel reassured and as empowered as we could while we navigated a difficult birth that was vastly different than the one we had envisioned. Her gentle but confident presence helped ease our fears in such a scary and overwhelming situation, and her advocacy helped us feel seen, heard and our needs / desires as honored as possible in interfacing with hospital staff. It truly made all the difference to have her by our side during our birth.

Laura was at our house the moment we came home as exhausted and terrified new parents from a 6-day hospital / NICU stay and somehow she managed to help us learn to care not only for our tiny human, but for ourselves as well. She helped me nurture myself to recover from my C-section, helped my husband care for both of us and get rest, helped our daughter and me climb the huge mountain of learning how to happily and successfully breastfeed after an initial separation from one another while she was in the NICU, and met all of my new-mom neurosis (around everything from breastfeeding to my baby's health and development,) without judgment and with humor, evidenced-based knowledge and infinite patience. Additionally, Laura helped me process some of the trauma / disappointment around my birth story and to find some deep healing in the way that our daughter came into the world. She helped me realize my innate strength in this process and to find the unexpected beauty in the painful moments.

It was so easy and warm having Laura in our home for the whole Fourth Trimester and the three of us (and our pets!) developed a deep and caring relationship that is now a friendship we hope will continue for years to come. She is flexible, fun, calm and loving. Laura is more than just a baby-whisperer and a wealth of knowledge about pregnancy, birth and postpartum; she's a facilitator of self-care, an encourager of self-trust, a model for clear and loving communication, creativity and humor.

Laura empowered us to become the confident, relaxed and vibrant parents of a thriving, happy baby, just like we have always wanted. We will always recommend her exquisite support to anyone who wants the same. She changed our lives for the better and we cannot imagine not having had her with us on this journey. We are forever grateful.”
~ Jane Kramer, Asheville, NC

06/22/2021

❤️❤️ Our love and support is with everyone, your local doulas are here for you ❤️❤️

Hey western North Carolina 👋

We know many of you are hurting right now with the news of the closure of our beloved WNC birthcenter. has been working tirelessly to put together a comprehensive transfer of care resource for you in this unsettling time.

Rest assured, it’s almost finished and we will publish it this week. We are still awaiting some updates from some key care practices in town.

In the meantime, we’ve got your back! For those of you who want extra support during this transition, we are hosting a meet the Doula this Thursday, June 24 from 6:30 to 7:30 PM.

🔗 in bio io to register

Although we are heartbroken for the loss of our Birth Center, we stand strong in our community and as always we are here for you.

📷

04/01/2021

No-one even said a word, during contractions all was quiet
A cloak of trust enwrapped the place,
Allowing full concentration, this was my space,
Relaxing, breathing, my birth attendants sheathing me from believing each surge was bigger than myself.
I was doing everything I needed to, heeding the wisdom of our ancestral mothers; those mothers who got us here
•
Excerpt from The Being Midwife by Kati Edwards
•
•
This picture is 12 hours into hard labor after a month of prodromal labor. I didn’t know at this point that shortly, my 4.5 hours of pushing would begin, I would be denied all methods of pain meds and my midwife would start saying things like “hypoxic brain injury” and “I’m sorry the sheriff is out looking for the anesthesiologist, we think he may have wrecked on the way here” or that it all would end with an emergency cesarean. When I look back on the experience, I can acknowledge the trauma it brought me and I am still processing it all, however, I was as peaceful as I am in this picture through the whole experience and I owe that to an incredible birth team that respected the overarching desire I had for a calm birth. An empowering doula providing intense comfort measures for hours on end, a partner trained in hypnobirthing who met me in every moment, an adopted mother to tend to all of my physical needs and blanket me in love, and all of it in a silent reverence I will never forget.
There is divine power in the comfort and support the people who occupy your birthing space can bring.
So many people share experiences of traumatic birth, and while some had the gentle supportive care of a parent, partner, and doula, many do not. I believe that doula care is for every birthing person and in the throes of childbirth, we all deserve that care.
Surround yourself with tender intentional birth keepers who can guide you through the childbirth experience and who will hold space for your wishes. You deserve it.

03/23/2021

So let’s look at some scientifically supported benefits of the continuous care a doula provides. These numbers come from a handful of studies spanning multiple countries and had a sample size of 15k+. That lets us know that it’s findings are applicable to the entire population. When we see decrease in pain meds, that’s because the comfort measures and tools of doula care decrease reported pain. When we see decrease use of Pitocin, that’s because birth is progressing and you’re less likely to need a “push” from medicine. I personally believe that the most important benefit though, is the significant increase in reports of the birth experience with positive regard. Birth is transformative and the memories of your care and keeping from the experience can shape your view of life, so a birth with joy and support and empowerment is crucial. Regardless of the birth experience you desire, there are always significant benefits of hiring a doula! Thanks to Druid City Doula for this great graphic!

03/22/2021

It’s World Doula Week! I’ll be taking the opportunity this week to highlight what exactly a doula does and how you can expect to be supported. Thank you to the families who have let me support and care for you in pregnancy and birth previously, and a welcoming hello to any potential future families!

03/18/2021

“Let choice whisper in your ear and love murmur in your heart. Be ready. Here comes life."

—Maya Angelou

Let’s talk about a very important pillar of doula care, information. A doula offers insight and information about the most up to date and evidence based care options. We do not provide medical advice, rather the information of pros, cons, and alternative options for you to have all of the information you need to feel like you’re able to actively participate in your care plan with your provider. Part of informed consent is actually being fully informed on your options during pregnancy and childbirth. You take that information and make a decision, and then whatever decision you come to, I support you. This is your birth experience and you deserve to feel empowered, informed, and confident in your choices and I’m here to help you achieve that!!

Evidence Based Birth is an incredible resource for all of the information you could need and these pocket guides are a super handy way to have it all in one place!