What is your Childbirth
Profession?
I am a Certified Birth Doula, Postpartum care products provider,
and Placenta Encapsulator
Describe your profession and why
someone would want to choose your profession for support in pregnancy and/or
childbirth.
A Birth Doula provides emotional, physical, and informational
support during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. I advocate for and
provide support to expecting couples in preparation for childbirth. The birth
of a child is something that can only happen once. My job it to help make that
experience as fulfilling and wonderful as possible. Along with acting as a
doula, I also provide placenta encapsulation services and I make and sell
Postpartum Sitz Bath herb teas (Organic Peri-tea) and postpartum healing spray
(Peri-Spray). These products all help to improve the healing process after
childbirth. Placenta encapsulation
provides an easy way for women to consume their placentas after childbirth. The
consumption of one’s placenta, placentophagy, is a wonderful way for women to
prevent postpartum depression, increase milk supply , replenish Iron and other
nutrients, and provide mothers with
extra energy and improved sleep.
Why did you get started in your
profession?
In 2008 I became pregnant with my first child. During my pregnancy,
I began to research my options knowing I wanted a natural, intervention-free
childbirth. In the process, I started to feel very connected and passionate
about women’s options during childbirth. In that process, I realized I felt
called to become a midwife in the future. The timing wasn’t right, but it is a
dream of mine. After a c-section due to having a breech baby, I began conducting
more research and getting more involved in the birthing community. I had a
successful VBAC in 2011 and my passion grew more. I started reaching out to
other birth professionals. I met a midwife and she suggested I get my feet wet
as a doula. The skills would be valuable to me no matter what area of birth I
would get into. I jumped right in and love it!
The postpartum care products
started when I realized the friends around me were dealing with the normal
discomforts after childbirth and looking for natural options to combat
swelling, pain, prevent infection and to speed healing. I made a few sets of
Peri-Tea and Organic Peri-Spray and gave them to friends. They started asking for more to give to their
expecting friends, so I started selling them on Etsy.
Recently, I started encapsulating
placentas. I believe in the benefits of them and knew a few people who did it.
After learning the process, I decided to start offering it myself.
In detail, what is your personal
childbirth philosophy?
I believe that birth is a natural process, that should
be left to unfold on its own. Women labor best when they are in a loving
supportive environment where they feel safe and trust their bodies. There is no
one-size-fits all labor or birth, so it should not be treated as such.
If you could tell all pregnant
women in the world something, what would it be?
Trust your body, your baby, and
birth. Oh, and hire a doula!
How long have you been in your
profession? Are you certified? If yes, by who?
I attended my first birth in 2011,
but have only officially been involved as a doula for about a year. I recently received certification from
Childbirth International.
Do you have a business name? How
can people contact you for pregnancy and childbirth support?
My
business name is Sister Birth. It grew from the idea that a sister is the best
type of birth supporter you can have. They are tough when they need to be, soft
and sweet at the right times and they can anticipate what you need as well as
provide comfort and unwavering support. People can reach out to me at sisterbirth@yahoo.com or on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/sisterbirthdoulaservices.
My Etsy shop address is http://etsy.com/shop/birth2baby
Where do you practice?
Eastern
South Dakota
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