Magnolia Birth Doula Services

02/20/2026

Yesterday’s odd morning storm brought on labor for one mama! It was a little one I didn’t expect to meet quite so soon. Her mama did great work to bring her here, unmedicated, just before midnight. It was a repeat client, so it was extra special to work with this family again, for their second birth center birth. It was truly a treat & a blessing to be there💕

02/19/2026

Yesterday was a special day. Two little ones shared this birthday. Just born an hour apart. This one was in quite a hurry & came in a very unexpected way! This baby kept everyone on their toes. I am so proud of my clients for being so flexible despite such unpredictableness.

02/19/2026

It’s been 5.5 weeks since I’ve been at a birth. Since doing doula work full time I don’t think I’ve ever had such a big break with being fully booked each month!
But somehow I got a very refreshing break. And then was welcomed back into the swing of it by having to juggle two births at once yesterday😂
The first baby was my client’s first. She did such a great job navigating the complexity of an induction. She received 19 hours of support before I had to step away to tend to another birth. Thankfully was able to step in & help this mama achieve a safe vaginal birth. I am so blessed to have such a supportive group of women to work with. These mamas were due almost two weeks apart, having solid backup is imperative in birth work because it is so unpredictable! I’m so proud of this family & so blessed to have been apart of their story💕

02/18/2026

Modern medicine has hijacked birth. It’s focused on risk mitigation & total management. But birth belongs to women.

“We are entering an era of change and remembrance. As trust in systemic healthcare fades and a deep desire grows to return to what makes us most human, birth has become a sacred threshold of reclamation.

Salutogenic Birth is a paradigm of birth that honors the innate capacity of the mother, the process of birth itself, and the resources available to her and her partner to build the skills and confidence to bring life into the world. In this model, it is not about location—home, birth center, or hospital—nor the expertise of a medical provider, midwife, or doula—it is about recognizing that the ability to create and give birth to life innately and purposefully exists within the hands of the family.” – Mackenzie McNamara, DC, CACCP

This article invites us into a salutogenic model of birth—one that centers trust in the body, relational support, and the innate intelligence of mother and baby rather than outcomes, locations, or interventions. Through a powerful birth story, it shows how biomechanics, presence, and gentle, well-timed support can restore coherence and allow birth to unfold as a sacred, physiological process.

Keep reading “The First Adjustment” by Mackenzie McNamara, DC in the latest issue: https://pathwaystofamilywellness.org/chiropractic/the-first-adjustment.html

02/16/2026

If you are expecting YOU NEED THIS INFO.

I can say with certainty that most who deliver in a hospital are reassured induction is only used in medical emergencies while they are still earlier in pregnancy. But almost all are shocked by having it suggested later in pregnancy. That earlier reassurance, your seemingly healthy pregnancy, neither make you immune to being recommended induction. So you need to be equipped with this info!

Meanwhile, large, real-life studies of healthy low-risk mothers and babies 37-41 weeks ..." IOL [induction of labour] was associated with an increased risk of cesarean birth, instrumental birth, and admission to the SCN/NICU [special care nursery/neonatal intensive care unit] in many situations without an improvement in perinatal mortality rates."
Further comments... "Whether performed to reduce the risks of perinatal mortality and morbidity or due to maternal request, findings from the ARRIVE trial have given clinicians and women some confidence that offering IOL at 39 weeks will not increase the likelihood of a cesarean birth [27]. Our data demonstrates that this may not be true in all settings." https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/birt.70003

02/14/2026

It took a lot to convince women that birth filled with coercion, compliance, restricted movement, sterility, lack of respect & privacy is normal. And that birth filled with connection, intuitive movement, & peace is the extreme option.
You deserve the “extreme” option.

02/14/2026

When I was young & having babies I had no idea what a doula was. But I knew support was needed. I’m so thankful my mom told me I should become a doula. 10 years, 430 births later, I’m still so in love with this calling❤️

02/14/2026

I am so in love with birth. In love with supporting women in welcoming their babies into this world. So in love with setting families up with healthy beginnings.
Today, Valentine’s Day, I pray that you get all of these things I love so much about birth💕🥰🎀❤️

02/13/2026

This is a very serious issue. I feel for so many families right now.
The end of pregnancy should be a time of relaxation. Instead so many are made to feel like they up against a time clock. That they need to get things going before induction becomes a reality.
So few providers provide reassurance & a stress free relationship. In which they understand the benefits of waiting for spontaneous birth. So many see induction as inevitable, that birth is meant to be managed instead of something to patiently wait for.
If you are in the St. Louis area & are wanting to find a supportive provider, please reach out to me. You don’t need to be a client to receive this info. It’s my mission to help families have a healthy & safe birth experience.
You deserve to have a provider who values physiological birth & supports what you know to be healthiest for you & your baby. One who respects you as an adult. One who practices individual care, not from a place of fear & trauma. And that starts by connecting families with providers who aren’t chronic inducers.

02/13/2026

In a world where we throw inductions around like candy, where we feel the need to constantly control when & how our babies are born, I want you to know that it is very much ok to be pregnant well past 37 weeks.
In my statistics, I show most clients, who waited for spontaneous labor to begin, had their babies well past 40 weeks, into the 41st week.
There’s a lot of noise out there. A lot of voices screaming that the placenta deteriorates after a certain point & you’re more at danger for stillbirth. That the longer you wait the more potential there is for things to get unhealthy. That your baby may get too big. That there’s no benefit to remain pregnant past 37 weeks. That your age is a danger to your baby.
But what they don’t say is that babies deserve to thrive not just survive. That so much brain development happens in the last days & weeks of pregnancy. That labor tends to begin when baby’s lungs are done developing. That babies may not eat well if they are born too early. That you as the mom are at increased risk of postpartum hemorrhage if you get induced. And are more likely to use a lot of intervention because of an induction.
There are benefits in waiting. There are benefits in keeping your birth low to no intervention. There are benefits in a gentle birth that starts on its own. THERE ARE BENEFITS TO STILL BEING PREGNANT!