Jill Magoffin -Doula-, Simi Valley, CA (2025)

12/15/2025

Birth work is lonely in a way that’s hard to explain.

We work in rooms full of people, yet we do this work alone.
Different calls. Different families. Different stories.
So much of it lives quietly inside us.

We hold space with our hands.
With our bodies. With eye contact, breath, touch, steady presence.
We offer hugs that ground, hands that don’t let go, silence that says I’m here without words.

We hold happiness just as much as pain.
Joy so big it cracks you open. Love so raw it humbles you.
And then we walk away, carrying all of it with us.

That’s why being with other birth workers matters so much.
Because they understand the language of touch.
They know what it means to hold joy and grief in the same shift.
They don’t need the backstory.

I’m so grateful for this community.
And especially for my friend Eldred—so lovely, so present, and a truly great doula. The kind who holds space with her whole heart.

This work asks a lot of us.
And sometimes the thing that keeps us going is being held, too. 💛

12/14/2025

Last night on the drive home after a really beautiful VBAC, I left myself a voice memo.

And listen… it was rambling.
And I was using baaaad language. .
And I definitely sounded like someone who had just witnessed something powerful and then got stuck on the 405 freeway with her thoughts. 😅

The birth itself?
✨Amazing.
✨Awesome staff.
✨Everyone showed up with care and professionalism.

But here’s what I was ranting about…

Informed consent matters. Deeply.
People deserve to understand risks, benefits, and alternatives.
That conversation should happen before labor — thoughtfully, clearly, with numbers.

What doesn’t feel supportive is when one specific risk gets repeated so many times during labor that it starts to feel less like information and more like pressure.

For context:
➡️ The risk of uterine rupture for a planned VBAC in an appropriate candidate is about 0.5%
That’s 5 out of 1,000 people.
Or 1 in 200.

That’s an absolute risk.

Absolute risk = “What are my actual chances?”
Relative risk = “This is higher than something else,” which sounds scarier without context.

And here’s the thing — when someone has:
✔️ already discussed this prenatally
✔️ already signed written consent
✔️ already demonstrated understanding

…it’s worth asking: how many times does something need to be said before it stops being informative and starts feeling coercive?

I’m not anti-conversation.
I’m anti fear-by-repetition.

There is a time and place for informed consent — and there is also a time to trust that a laboring person has already made an informed decision.

Anyway.
That was the voice memo.
A little unhinged. A little passionate. A lot of heart.

Birth deserves respectful, balanced risk conversations — not broken-record counseling in the middle of contractions.

Okay. Rant over.
Thanks for coming to my drive-home TED Talk. 🚗💭Beep beep.

12/04/2025

PART 2.
I keep thinking about the people I shared this journey with — the women and birth workers who stood beside me in Ecuador, whose presence felt like both home and awakening. I’ve never been surrounded by such beauty — not just the kind you see, but the kind you feel. The kind that moves you. The kind that shifts something inside you that you didn’t know needed shifting. 🤍

Every single person on this trip held a story, a culture, a way of loving and supporting birth that cracked me open in the softest, most needed way. I was blessed — genuinely blessed — to learn from them, to listen, to witness how birth looks when it is honored as ceremony, as instinct, as trust.

And I’ll be honest…
I’m convinced we are doing birth wrong here in the States.

Not bad, not without care, not without the brilliance of emergency medicine when it’s needed — because thank God for that safety net. But something sacred is missing. Something human. Something slow, rooted, intuitive, and ancient. Something that can’t be found on a monitor or chart.

I don’t want to keep doing birth the same way just because it’s the way we do it.

I want to be better.
A better doula.
A better listener.
A better witness to the power of birth and the people giving it.

I want to share what I saw and felt — the softness, the strength, the ceremony, the community. I want to weave this into my work, into every family I support, into every person who trusts me to stand in their space.

And I will.
I plan on it with my whole heart.

Ecuador didn’t just change me — it called me forward.
And I’m answering. 🌎✨

12/04/2025

Part 1
Ecuador changed me.
Not in the cliché I went on a trip and found myself way…
but in the quiet, real, soul-shifting way that stays with you long after you’re home. 🌿

I traveled with Wombs of the World, a group that brings birth workers from across the globe together to witness birth and womanhood through cultures and traditions far beyond our own. I saw support expressed in new languages, comfort given through hands instead of words, and community woven into birth like something ancient and sacred.

My suitcase was bigger than my heart — quite literally — because it was overweight on the way home 🙃
But my heart? Still stretching. Still expanding. Still trying to make space for everything I felt and everything I learned.

I met people I’ll carry with me forever.
People who became family in days.
People I can’t wait to stand beside again. 🤍

I hope you enjoy these photos — they’re only a glimpse into something I’m still trying to put words around.

11/29/2025

Tonight is my last night staying at our midwife’s home here in Ecuador, and wow… this trip cracked me wide open in the best way. The land, the energy, the people — they live with a level of love and community that we don’t see enough of back home. They may not have much materially, but they are rich in all the ways that matter.

I came here with parts of myself I didn’t even realize were missing, and somehow this place brought them back. My ability to ground, my trust in birth, my intuition… all of it. And the ceremonies? Yeah… I’ll talk about those another time because I’m still recovering emotionally.🌿

I’m going to miss the baby pigs I visited every morning (I named one Bubba), the kids I played with, and the people who felt like family within days. And I somehow gained a new bestie on this trip who I absolutely freaking love — another unexpected gift from this magical place.

I’m so grateful to Charlotte for creating something this powerful. The work she’s doing is important, necessary, and truly life-changing. If you ever feel called to take a trip like this — GO. Let yourself be changed.

And if you’re able, please consider supporting this beautiful work:

🌍 Wombs of the World
https://www.wombsoftheworld.com/

🌱 WOTW Foundation
https://www.wotwfoundation.org/

Any donation helps support midwives, families, and community-centered birth work around the world.

I’m going home a different person — more grounded, more open, and more myself. Ecuador… thank you. 🤍✨

11/05/2025

📣 PSA: Stop Telling New Parents to ‘Let the Baby Cry It Out’

You can try to argue with me (please don’t) — but no newborn ever “cried it out” because they were being dramatic. Babies cry because they need something. Period.

Hungry?
Gassy?
Overstimulated?
Too hot?
Too cold?
Need comfort because the entire world just got way louder than the womb?

Crying = communication, not manipulation. Newborn brains aren’t wired for “self-soothing” — that comes later (if at all). The science is clear: responsive care helps babies calm faster and cry less over time.

So if someone tells you to “just let the baby cry,” smile, nod, and if they try to argue, tell them:
“Jill’s gonna correct that ass-vise real quick.” 😉🤣🤣👋🏼

You’re not spoiling them — you’re teaching them the world is safe. 💛

11/05/2025

💃 Movement Matters — Even with an Epidural!

See this? This is what “active birth” looks like — even in bed.
You can absolutely move with an epidural (with a little help!).

Movement keeps labor progressing, helps baby find the best position, and makes you way more comfortable.

And that’s where your doula comes in — we know the positions, we bring the peanut ball, and we work with your medical team to keep things safe, supported, and smooth.

Because birth doesn’t stop when the meds kick in — and neither do we. 💁‍♀️✨

10/29/2025

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say:

“My doctor told me my pelvis might be too small to birth my baby.”

Let me be real with you — that’s almost always bu****it.
True cephalopelvic disproportion (when a baby literally can’t fit through the pelvis) is incredibly rare — about 1 in 250 births (less than 1–3%).

Here’s the truth:
Your pelvis isn’t a fixed, rigid bowl. It’s designed to move, flex, and open during labor. Hormones like relaxin literally help your ligaments stretch to make space for your baby.

And even if you end up having a C-section, there’s no reliable way for anyone to look inside and say, “Ah yes, your pelvis is too small.” Pelvis size and shape are complex — and even when they’re measured (through imaging or otherwise), those numbers don’t predict who can or can’t birth vaginally. Labor is dynamic, not mathematical.

So when someone says “your pelvis is too small,” what they usually mean is:

“Something about this labor isn’t lining up right now.”

And that’s often something we can work through.
You can support your body and baby’s positioning with things like:
✨ Working with a doula who understands physiology and positioning
✨ Seeing a pelvic floor therapist for alignment and balance
✨ Practicing movement-based tools like Spinning Babies® or Body Ready Method®

But here’s the part I really want to emphasize —
Even with all those tools, sometimes a baby’s position just won’t change.
And that’s OK too. It doesn’t mean your body failed.
It doesn’t mean your pelvis is too small.
And it definitely doesn’t mean you can’t have a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) in the future.

Your body is still perfectly made for the babies you carry.
You deserve information, options, and respect — not fear. 💛

— Jill Magoffin, Doula

10/21/2025

Big news !!
I’ve started something really special with two amazing women — Rachel Myers and Colette Wagholikar — and I’m so excited to finally share it with you.
Introducing Anchor & Bloom Doulas ⚓️🌸
We’re building a doula agency rooted in care, connection, and strong foundations — not just for families, but for other doulas too. I’ll still be taking my own clients, but this next chapter is about expanding support for both birth workers and the families we serve. Helping people feel anchored and supported as they grow — that’s the heart of it all.
We’re still in the early stages, but the intention behind it is deep — and we’re just getting started 💛
Follow us at — but be patient with the Instagram page… there’s like one post. 😅 My specialty is supporting births, not starting businesses — but I’m figuring it out, one loving step at a time.

10/18/2025

Last night’s birth reminded me again why I love this work so deeply. 💫⁣
⁣
As a doula, my heart is always with the birthing parents—but when family is in the room too, the love becomes something else entirely.
⁣
Her sister flew in last minute from New York just to be there—and she made it. Barely, but perfectly on time. ✈️💨 The bond between those two… I don’t even have words. You could feel their connection. The kind of sisterhood that’s full of love, support, sarcasm, and inside jokes that only they understand. Just true best friends in every way.⁣
⁣
And let me tell you—dad was incredible. Present. Supportive. So grounded in his love for his partner. The three of them together? Full of so much love it filled the whole room.⁣
⁣
When their baby girl made her entrance into the world, the look on her aunt’s face is something I’ll never forget. Pure awe. Tears. A deep kind of love that runs through blood and soul.⁣
⁣
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: I am so blessed to do this work. To witness birth, to witness love, to witness families being made and transformed right in front of me.⁣
⁣
Welcome to the world, sweet Violet. You are so loved already. 💕
Congratulations to this beautiful, hilarious, love-filled family. What a night. 🥹✨⁣
⁣

10/14/2025

we laugh between contractions around here.
birth is intense. it’s raw. it’s messy.
it’s also real. and you’re allowed to be fully yourself in it.
if that means swearing like a sailor, crying mid-sentence, and laughing right after —
you’re my kind of people.
i can fake calm if the room needs it — sure.
but that’s not my default.
i’m here to keep it grounded, real, and actually helpful.
and look — i don’t bu****it my clients.
but if some gentle doula ass kissing is what gets you the support, meds, time, or space you need in the moment?
i can handle that. i speak fluent “hospital.”
i help you get what you need without you having to fight for it.
also: laughter is a legit birth tool.
endorphins, oxytocin, relaxed muscles — it works.
your body labors better when it feels safe.
and sometimes, safety sounds like someone cracking a dumb joke at 3am to keep the room soft.
birth doesn’t have to be quiet, or serious, or sacred in a certain way.
you get to show up exactly as you are — and i’ll meet you there.
every time.

09/30/2025

Not posting these to brag — I post reviews because no matter how I market myself, nothing says more than hearing it from someone who’s actually worked with me. I love what I do, and I put everything into it. That’s what shows up in the results. Appreciate every single person who takes the time to share their experience. 🙏

Jill Magoffin -Doula-

12/15/2025

12/14/2025

12/04/2025

12/04/2025

11/29/2025

11/05/2025

11/05/2025

10/29/2025

10/21/2025

10/18/2025

10/14/2025

09/30/2025

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Practice

Shortcuts

Share

Category