RevDoula

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RevDoula

revdoula is Stephanie Spitzer-Hanks. She teaches childbirth classes & provides postpartum doula support & holistic sleep coaching.

Stephanie is reverend and a doula. She provides skilled and experienced doula care, breastfeeding support, and childbirth education. Occasionally she blogs about birtheology at www.revdoula.com.

03/10/2025

Working on my chapter leader training for ICAN --did you know that ICAN was founded in Syracuse?!? And here's another super fun fact: founding mother Esther Zorn and I go to the same church! I know a very, very small number of people here in my new town, so what are the odds that one of the people I *do* know is the person who came up with this whole idea in the first place?

She told me her birth stories and how they inspired her to found the Cesarean Prevention Movement. She also told me that while she supports the name change from CPM to ICAN, she also feels disappointed that they had to give up the original name, which was because some people considered the word "Movement" as "too radical." I love her. 🤩

28/09/2025

A little life update for those of you wondering how I am getting on in Central New York:

I'm very excited to be finding my people here in CNY! This morning I preached at Homer Congregational UCC, where I will be preaching most Sundays going forward while they search for their next settled pastor. On my off Sundays I will attend Plymouth Congregational Church, UCC in downtown Syracuse, where I have volunteered to manage our social media.

I also am training as a leader for the Syracuse chapter of ICAN, as well as continuing to support expecting parents through The Birth Hour's Know Your Options Childbirth Course.

And my daughter reminds me, "Don't forget your mothering!" She is right, of course. I am intentionally leaving room to support my children and Mr. Revdoula, who are all settling very well into their respective schools.

Happy autumn 🍂, everyone!

22/07/2025

Life has been so hectic over the last month(s) that I never got around to making an official announcement here: I moved! As of 2 weeks ago, my family lives in Syracuse, which is in central New York. For the Texans out there, it is smack dab in the middle of the state, about 5 hours from New York City, only a couple of hours from Niagara Falls, near the tip of Lake Ontario. Apparently I'm going to be in for a lot of snow, or so everyone keeps telling me.

We moved for my husband to pursue a(nother) PhD, this time at Syracuse University. It is a 5 year program, so we will be here at least that long. After that, who knows? I'm also not sure exactly what I will be getting up to, aside from continuing to teach my online students in The Birth Hour's Know Your Options childbirth course.

I might try to teach in person childbirth classes, I might try to do some postpartum doula work, I might do some fill-in preaching at some of the UCC churches around here. I might just throw caution to the wind and go back for a(nother) Master's degree, so I can become a therapist who specializes in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. It's something I've been wanting to do. Maybe now is the time?

For now I am just focusing on unpacking boxes, finding my way around, and supporting my little family through a pretty huge transition. I'll keep you posted!

28/06/2025

Closing out Pride month by participating in Waco's 3rd annual Pride Service! All are welcome, of any or no faith. Sunday, June 29th, 5pm at Central Presbyterian. 🏳️‍🌈

10/06/2025

Going through some boxes of my husband's family photos and found this gem from his earliest days. My poor MIL looks super uncomfortable in this position, but hey there wasn't much guidance for people breastfeeding in 1981 so I guess she was doing her best to figure it out!

01/06/2025

Twenty years, what?

I can't believe it has been that long since I was ordained. What will the next twenty years look like, I wonder?

03/05/2025

So bittersweet to come to the end of my time with this postpartum client! I am so very proud of the work we did together, and I was extremely touched that this mama put together a basket of goodies for me that included not only some rad socks but also a donation to in my name! 🥰

"I am donating in honor of my postpartum doula, Stephanie, because every mom should have a doula like her. Thank you Stephanie for helping me grow into the mother I am today."

28/04/2025

My friend and clergy colleague Rabbi Sabine snapped this pic of me at the March for Democracy in Waco. That's her cute pup checking out my sign!

This is the exact same slogan my family put on a sign when we protested Trump putting kids in cages. That seems like a lifetime ago. And yet, here we are again, protesting the policies of Trump and the sycophants who surround him.

I'm here for tips on childbirth and life with a newborn, but I'm here for this, too. The rev in revdoula stands for reverend, in case you didn't know. And I'm the kind of reverend who will show up to a march in defense of our democracy when I believe it is under threat.

And I'll do it with a smile on my face, because justice and joy can and do go together!

16/04/2025

Let's go! Here at the Capitol with my friends from Community Doulas of Waco to advocate for moms and babies with March of Dimes. We will be talking with legislators about 3 issues:

1) Medicaid coverage for doula services
2) Universal paid family medical leave
3) Increased postpartum mental health screening

14/04/2025

Next icon for our plan: options for hydration. Your choices are: being hooked up to IV fluids or drinking enough fluids to keep yourself hydrated.

A couple of good reasons to choose the IV:
1) You are puking and can't keep fluids down, or you just haven't kept up with your water intake and are dehydrated. Being dehydrated makes coping with contractions much, much more difficult! But keeping up with the massive amount of fluids needed in labor is also surprisingly difficult.
2) You want to get an epidural ASAP. Most hospitals require a full bag of fluids to be given before they will even call the anesthesiologist. Why? A drop in blood pressure is a fairly common side effect of epidurals, but being very well hydrated can mitigate this.

A couple of good reasons to choose to self-hydrate:
1) Being hooked up to an IV can be annoying when you need to move a lot to cope with contractions.
2) Being overly-hydrated can lead to some problems with nursing your baby after the birth:
a) your baby can also become overly-hydrated, and all that water weight can inflate the weight documented at birth. Then your baby will urinate a lot in those first days, making it seem like their weight is dropping too low too fast, which will lead to supplementation with formula or (hopefully) donor milk, which can complicate the process of establishing your own milk production.
b) your body can have trouble absorbing all that fluid, which can lead to swelling in your hands and feet and also your b***s. Edema around your ni***es can make it difficult for your baby to latch and nurse effectively in those early days.

I love to teach childbirth classes because knowing you have options and understanding what they are is the first step to being part of the decision making process around your body and your birth! Come learn with me: revdoula.com/childbirth-education

12/04/2025

Celebrating Black maternal health justice and joy with these two legends Emilie Cunningham and Tonja Carpenter!

08/04/2025

I pulled this outfit out of the drawer for my doula baby this morning, and I have not stopped cracking up! And I'm not even sure why--maybe y'all can help me with that? It's like it's giving hunting lodge vibes, but that's a weird look for a person who can't even hold on to a rattle, much less a shotgun. But then again why did my mind go to killing the birds? Why not more of a conservationist, Audubon, watercolor direction? The whole thing makes me wonder who comes up with "masculine" baby outfit print ideas? And what is their thought process?

Anyways, the things your doula thinks about.

Also: this baby is graduating from my care soon and his parents are looking for a part-time nanny. If that's you or someone you know, let me know and I'll get you connected.

Address

28 S Main St

13077-1317

Website

http://www.revdoula.com/

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