Steel City Homebirth

12/06/2021

Hey y'all. I just wanted to let everyone know that I have decided to hang up my midwife hat for good. At least for the foreseeable future. It was a hard decision to come to, influenced by my experiences with local midwives, including my own birth experience. My identity has been wrapped up in my desire to be a midwife, but being repeatedly burned by them, added to the cl*******ck that was practicing in a pandemic... frankly, I'm not sure I'll ever be healed enough to return to it.

I'm currently working at AHN's Center for Inclusion Health as a doula for immigrants and refugees. I love what I'm doing, the folks I do it with, and above all the folks I do it for. (Hearts to Michaela Pershe and Lily Johnson for encouraging me to apply.)

I can't imagine my work will ever take me far from perinatal health and reproductive justice. Defending the rights of all people to choose if, when, how, where, and with whom they birth will always be my heart's work.

Thanks to those of you who've supported my practice in big and little ways.

09/09/2021

09/04/2021

*pregnant people

"Pregnant women infected with COVID-19 are 22 times more likely to die than pregnant women not infected with COVID-19," SIU Medicine Dean and Provost shared in a special column in the State Journal-Register earlier this week. "In other words, COVID-19 infection increases maternal mortality by 2100 percent. For their infants, severe illness and death are tripled."

The bottom line: Pregnant women should receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/healthcare/2021/08/29/siu-school-medicine-obligations/5618505001/

08/01/2021

07/27/2021

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but attachment parenting in a detached society is exhausting.
No. It’s not your baby.
There is nothing wrong with them if they want to be held all the time.
No. It’s not you.
You’re not doing it wrong.
Your feelings of exhaustion and depletion and being touched out are normal- considering the weight you’re carrying. Those feelings, and the deep ache underneath them - are a reminder that you were never meant to do this alone.
Babies want to be held. And we want to hold them close. Exclusive/extended breastfeeding, cosleeping, babywearing- all of these are intuitive, ancestral practices that have kept our species alive throughout history. Attachment parenting is just parenting!!
But never before have we parented in such isolation. There were always other hands stirring the soup pot, other aunties, and sisters, and uncles and grandmas, and cousins, and neighbors helping with the daily tasks and child rearing. Other arms carrying the weight of raising humanity. Together.
And now, it’s just you. Alone in the kitchen, trying to stir the soup and bounce the baby and play with the toddler and keep an eye on the big kid and answer the phone and sweep up the mess and tackle the laundry and .....
No matter how magical your baby wrap is — it can’t take the place of a whole village.
So no, you’re not doing it wrong. You’re just trying to stay connected in a world set on tearing you apart.
But don’t give up mama. I know you’re tired and touched out, but you’re giving your baby exactly what she needs. And maybe one day, when she’s raising her own babies,there will be a village around her, helping her hold it all together.

Beautiful words and Pic by on Instagram

06/21/2021

Space is running out for 2021. Book your midwife today. www.SteelCityHomebirth.com

06/15/2021

This space is to highlight the many amazing Black-Owned Babywearing Brands worldwide.

Updated 4/23/21*2 more brands added! With Cultural Appropriation on the rise in the Natural Parenting World, it is so important that we honor and celebrate those people groups whose cultures and traditions were the pioneers and creators of many of the practices and products that we use today. Unfort...

05/09/2021

Thank you for all you do for the next generation.

05/06/2021

Just in time for Mama's Day, in line with our commitment to social and economic justice, I'm pleased to announce our new Sliding Scale for homebirth midwifery services. It is my hope that this, along with our financing options, will make my services accessible to even more Pittsburgh families. Take a look and share it with a friend! https://www.steelcityhomebirth.com/sliding-scale

04/20/2021

Steel City Homebirth supports our Black community in self-care, in protest, in rage, in however you need to process the verdict today. This space is yours and we are holding it for you. ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻

04/12/2021

We love Love Notes from our clients!