Magnolia Birth Doula Services

11/29/2025

This snowy morning I was blessed to witness this little guy come into the world!
His mama worked so hard for him. First time mom inductions are no joke. She arrived at the hospital on Wednesday afternoon! But she powered through with such calmness & positivity! This family received 27 hours of support from me. I was so honored to have been there to witness them welcome their rainbow baby!

11/29/2025

Pitocin is not the same as the hormone your body makes, oxytocin. Pitocin is synthetic. It doesn’t cross the blood brain barrier like oxytocin, which creates your body’s natural pain relief, beta endorphins.
Anyone who tells you it works the same is wrong. Pitocin can create unnatural contractions that are stronger & closer than spontaneous ones. Those can stress your baby out more. It can create more painful contractions that increases the need for medication pain relief.
Pitocin does not equal oxytocin.

11/27/2025

We are living in an induction epidemic. We induce just because of perceived risk, the thought that something could happen that’s not currently happening. Many times I see fear & coercion used. And providers will state that they would just feel more comfortable if you get induced. What I’ve heard actually said to families:
🤰There’s no benefit of a baby staying in there after 37 weeks
🤰Risk of stillbirth goes up by 50% (but never sharing 50% higher than what? Hint, the numbers small)
🤰The longer you go the more you risk baby having meconium & then needing a NICU stay
🤰You just want to take your baby home with you.
🤰I worry about all my patients who go over 40 weeks.

And then we induce for convenience. These are actual reasons given by providers to my clients:
🤰because the provider is on call that day
🤰 the provider leaves for vacation & wants to be there for the delivery
🤰no one wants to come in on a holiday & deliver

And the absolute cringiest, exact quote:
🤰It’s fun for me. It’s like a puzzle in which I get to try to figure out what exactly will work to get you into labor.

Induction risks you & your baby’s long term health. It’s not a game. It’s not for someone else’s convenience. Or to make your provider feel comfortable because they have hang ups about the danger of still remaining pregnant after a certain point. It should be saved for true medical emergencies. Your baby chooses their birthday for a reason. The fact that we birth in a system that doesn’t value women & children’s health enough to wait for spontaneous labor should make everyone question the validity & safety of our current maternity system. We deserve better.

11/27/2025

Twins! I was absolutely blessed to witness not just 1 but 2 babies enter this world tonight!
I did not expect to meet them quite this early but still they were born at very healthy sizes! This mama did quite the hard work to grow such hearty babies!
And the most amazing part of all of this, this was her SECOND set of twins! Both sets conceived naturally!
Women’s bodies are truly amazing!

11/25/2025

🟣 BLOG POST
The way women are treated in early labour reflects a maternity system designed around institutional needs rather than women’s needs.
https://www.rachelreed.website/blog/early-labour

11/25/2025

I warn clients that it’s very easy in pregnancy to know you don’t want intervention. But that everything can sound appealing in labor. You’re struggling & someone offers a way to make the process go faster or be less painful? It’s a sad reality of our current maternity care.

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I attended planned hospital births for 12 years and here’s one thing I learned.

No matter how much she prepared and talked about what she wanted for birth and her right to decline anything, even when deeply convicted about her choices, even when she KNEW it wasn’t in her or her baby’s interest, even when reminded of her options...
she’d often still end up saying yes.

Some things were honored and ground was stood, of course, and I know our preparation and my support there made a very substantial difference for those mothers. But almost always, the mother was talked into or immediately said yes to SOMETHING she didn’t actually want.

Sometimes “small” - a gown, an IV lock, peeing in a cup, stepping on a scale, a “little” monitoring. Often big - a vaginal check, breaking her water, making her lie down to push, antibiotics, clamping the cord early, a cesarean.

She doesn’t actually want it but in the moment she says yes anyway. There are hundreds reading this who know exactly what I’m talking about because it was you. You said yes but you would rather have said no or better yet, not been asked at all.

For some it’s people pleasing, a deeply entrenched need to appear to be a “good” girl and not cause trouble or have people upset with you. For many, it’s because your brain is literally different in labor. It’s highly suggestible and can’t access its assertive, critical thinking side. For a lot, it’s because they just need the incessant pressure (coercion, threatening) from staff to stop. (It’s kind of like someone shaking you awake at 2 a.m to ask you your choice for dinner over and over. Half asleep, you can barely comprehend what they’re saying and will say whatever shuts them up fastest.)

Whatever the reason, it’s not how birth is meant to be. It’s not how women should be treated. It’s not what God wants. It’s often the root of trauma.

If you choose to birth within the system (in or out of hospital), know this dynamic. Plan for this dynamic. And if you can’t be at peace with fully submitting or with compromises you will be forced/coerced/pressured to make, perhaps it’s time to choose completely differently.

🤍

11/25/2025

This is vital info. Postpartum hemorrhage is a very serious & real risk of induction. It’s on the rise. We know this. And yet inductions are still offered for non medical reasons constantly. We are literally birthing in a system that encourages us to be put in harm’s way. Before you consent you need to know all of the facts.

11/24/2025

Inductions are always high right before a holiday. Not because magically they become more medically necessary then. But because providers want to be able to keep their holiday plans.
It’s not always worded like “get induced so I can watch football & eat turkey & pie” (although I have legitimately heard that). But can be:
🍗We don’t want you to go past x amount of weeks, risk of stillbirth increases then.
🥧Your baby is looking a bit big.
🏈 You & baby look healthy now why wait for risks to pop up.
🍂 Your fluid looks a bit low.
🦃You want to ensure I am the one delivering so you can get what’s on your birth plan. (Even though I bet induction wasn’t part of your birth plan).

Letting your baby choose their birthday is healthiest in low risk, healthy pregnancies that are presenting with no issues. Induction is risky & can affect both you & baby’s health long term. These risks include:
🍗 Fetal heart tone issues because baby is stressed by Pitocin contractions.
🥧 Maternal exhaustion.
🏈 Increased risk of cesarean.
🍂 Poorly positioned baby that leads to prolonged labor.
🦃 Increased risk of postpartum hemorrhage.
🍁Increased risk of baby needing a NICU stay.

Induction is a big deal & should only be saved for the most serious of medical issues. Not for the convenience of someone’s schedule. Your baby deserves the healthiest start to life. And you deserve a safe birth experience.

11/22/2025

About 5 hours after I left the birth early this morning I got a call that another client’s water broke. Contractions started soon after & baby came just 4.5 hours from water breaking, not even an hour after I arrived! These two birthday buddies were actually due 3 weeks apart! Proving that this work is completely sporadic & unpredictable.
This birth was extra special because it was a repeat client. I was there when she had her second baby in an amazing completely unmedicated VBAC hospital birth. This time, her 2VBAC baby was born at home! This mama was so calm & focused. It was such an honor to witness something so amazing💕

11/22/2025

This little guy arrived a few weeks earlier than I expected!
His mama was dealt almost all of the hard things birth could toss her way. But she handled them with pure strength & determination. She made huge sacrifices to get her baby here safely.
This family received 27 hours of support for their first time baby induction. I’m so proud of them!

11/22/2025

Families who are expecting New Years babies, I still have space for you!
2026 is going to be a great year! March & April are booked but the other months still have availability.
If you know you are ready to take the jump & look into securing a doula soon, please reach out to set up your complimentary consultation. I’d love to chat with you.

11/17/2025

I’m literally so excited to make this announcement! I know times are tough. Everything is expensive. But support is still needed. I want to make care more accessible for expecting families. I’ve partnered with so clients can add my services to their registry!
You can get my direct link in IG stories, my profile, & FB comments. This is huge news!!! Get the support you need instead of stuff you don’t!