Your Birth Story

11/21/2025

11/19/2025

Welcome Baby Girl 🍼🩷

I was blessed to assist another Mother bring a beautiful baby girl into this world. Such a story of determination this birth was. Happy Birthday baby girl! 🎉

11/12/2025

Welcome Baby Boy! 💙

This week I was very honored to help a wonderful new mom welcome her baby boy into the world.

She was so tough throughout the entire process and was an absolute joy to work with. She had a smile on her face from start to finish.

Congrats mama on the new baby! 🍼

10/27/2025

Have you heard of the Doula Effect?

Researchers found that overall, people who have continuous support during childbirth
experience a:

• 25% decrease in the risk of Cesarean; the largest effect was seen with a doula (39%
decrease) *
• 8% increase in the likelihood of a spontaneous vaginal birth; the largest effect was seen
with a doula (15% increase) *
• 10% decrease in the use of any medications for pain relief; the type of person providing
continuous support did not make a difference
• Shorter labor by 41 minutes on average; there is no data on if the type of person
providing continuous support makes a difference
• 38% decrease in the baby’s risk of a low five-minute Apgar score; there is no data on if the
type of person providing continuous support makes a difference
• 31% decrease in the risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience; mothers’ risk of
being dissatisfied with the birth experience was reduced with continuous support provided
by a doula or someone in their social network (family or friend), but not hospital staff

For two of these outcomes (designated with asterisks*), the best results occurred when a
birthing person had continuous labor support from a doula– someone who was NOT a staff
member at the hospital and who was NOT part of their social network.

Information above was found on article "Evidence on: Doulas "(evidencebasedbirth.com)

More information on doula-based evidence can be found on this site as well as, American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and American Journal for Obstetrics and gynecology.

Every Woman Deserves a Doula!

10/25/2025

93% of parents who had a lactation consultation before their baby was born said it contributed to their success in breastfeeding. (The Lactation Network,2023 Breastfeeding Sentiment Snapshot)

Majority of families wait to learn about breastfeeding after babies are already here. Learning about breastfeeding, positioning, common difficulties, the changes in your breasts, milk supply, etc. can set you up for a successful breastfeeding journey.

What’s the best way to prepare?

-Read a book: I recommend The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by La Leche League International

-Ask or hire a Birth or Postpartum

-Schedule an appointment with a Lactation Consultant

-Do all three!

If you choose to do all three you should have a good start to breastfeeding. You will have the knowledge from the book, a birth doula usually stays after birth to help initiate the first breastfeed and give pointers, doulas are also usually available by text or call after to help with support. If you continue to have difficulties and may have suspicions of tongue tie or insufficient sucking reflex, then you already have a relationship with the lactation consultant.

Set yourself and baby up for a successful breastfeeding journey!

10/23/2025

Postpartum depression effects 1 in 8 women. That is roughly 480,000 women a year.

You are not alone!

There are several factors that can play into why some women develop postpartum depression:

Hormone Changes-There is a huge change in estrogen and progesterone after delivering a baby

Genetics-Did your mom or sister have postpartum depression? You are at higher risk if they did

History of other mood disorders-Anxiety, depression, bi-polar, etc.

Lack of support-Husband went right back to work after the baby, Mom lives far away, Single parent

Outside Stress-Death in the family, work, financial strain

Relationship Strain-Not connected with your partner, fighting, lack of intimacy

Trouble with baby/breastfeeding-Baby is in NICU, baby isn’t gaining weight, Jaundice, tongue ties

Unprepared/Unwanted Pregnancy-Did not plan to have a baby, unprepared to bring baby home

And much more!

Things you should know:

Baby blues are common for about the first week after delivery. If it continues past two weeks, it may be postpartum depression. There is NOTHING to be embarrassed about! If you have postpartum depression or think you may have postpartum depression; talk to someone! Call you OBGYN, your Primary care, a therapist, your partner, family or friend, a doula, a pastor, someone within your faith, or call one of the numbers listed. Please do not wait to see if it gets better, there are factors like hormones that are out of your control.

Partners! Please be aware of the signs, encourage seeking help early.

Signs of Postpartum Depression:
• Depressed mood/severe mood swings
• Excessive or recurring Crying
• Difficulty bonding with baby
• Withdrawing from family and friends
• Loss of appetite or eating much more than usual
• Inability to sleep, called insomnia, or sleeping too much
• Overwhelming tiredness or loss of energy
• Less interest and pleasure in activities you used to enjoy
• Intense irritability and anger
• Fear that you're not a good mother
• Hopelessness
• Feelings of worthlessness, shame, guilt or inadequacy
• Reduced ability to think clearly, concentrate or make decisions
• Restlessness
• Severe anxiety and panic attacks
• Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby
• Recurring thoughts of death or su***de

Please seek help early.

Some information used was pulled from the mayo clinic’s article on postpartum depression. If you would like to do more research on postpartum depression and further into postpartum psychosis, I encourage you to read their article.

10/20/2025

FOLIC ACID VS FOLTATE
Do you know the Difference?

Folic Acid: A synthetic version of folate(L-5-Methylfolate)

Folate: Also known by the name L-5-Methylfolate(5-MTHF), the naturally occurring and bio-available vitamin.

Why does it matter?
Great question! Folic acid is recommended in pregnancy to reduce the risk of neural tube defects in your fetus/infant. Folic acid is in the majority of multivitamins and prenatal vitamins in the USA. The FDA does not currently regulate our supplements. This allows companies to say they have folate in their products when in actuality, it is Folate as Folic acid (P.s. if your vitamin doesn’t say specifically that is L-5-Methylfolate(5-MTHF) it is nearly guaranteed that it is folic acid).

Why is natural folate better?
Folate as 5-MTHF is bioavailable. This means your body doesn’t have to do anything to it to break it down and process it. Folic acid is not ready to be absorbed; it is many steps away from being fully activated. It has to first be converted to dihydrofolate, then to tetrahydrofolate, and then—finally—to 5-MTHF (Folate). During this process not all Folic acid is fully converted to 5-MTHF.

Why is Folic Acid ‘bad’?
Well, its not always ‘bad’. It just doesn’t work for everybody. Do you have the MTHFR gene variant? Well, you probably don’t know. The only way to know is if you have a blood test to check if you carry the gene (This is estimated to be OVER half of the population). The MTHFR enzyme is the last pivotal player needed to turn tetrahydrofolate into 5-MTHF. If too much of the partially converted folic acid builds up in your system, it can eventually cause cardiovascular problems.

What can I do?
Research your vitamins! Things to look for are:

-Folate as L-5-Methylfolate; Not Folic Acid. (Remember if it doesn’t say its methylfolate it is probably folic acid)
-Is it third party tested? (FDA doesn’t regulate vitamins so they can claim whatever they want if not third party tested to verify)

Some of this information comes from an article on Mindbodygreen for more info on this topic and article you can visit mindbodygreen.com

10/09/2025

The Website is LIVE!!!! Check it out! Let me know what you think.

10/05/2025

After a 2-Year maternity leave we are FINALLY opening Your Birth Story! We are now opening up our schedule for doula services. Please share with friends and family! I can't wait to see what the future holds for all of us!