Be transformed instead of traumatized by birth

 The first time I witnessed a baby being born was in a small rural clinic in Kenya. I was 13 years old, spending the day with my dad while he provided medical services when a local woman walked in looking tired and very pregnant.

Beads of sweat on her forehead were the only visible signs of her discomfort, and soon she delivered a healthy baby into her own hands.

Thirteen years later in the USA, preparing for the birth of my own first...

We have been working to help families transition in the postpartum period for sometime now and with over 2000 hours of postpartum work have learned a thing or two. Whether you are a new parent about to embark on the journey into parenthood or planning to visit a new baby, here are a few things to keep in mind.

10 things that we have learned as postpartum doulas

1. New parents want to be heard, and your birth story is valid and important. The glorious stories, the traumatic births, and the ones...

From the Theater Stage to the Birth Stage

22 years ago, while performing 6 shows a week as a cast member in one of the longest running shows in the history of Chicago theatre, I had no idea that just over 2 decades later, I would have supported close to 1,000 women as they gave birth!

Really…how does a girl with a BFA in musical theatre, end up owning her own business as a Licensed Massage Therapist, birth doula and lactation educator?!

My clients over the years have asked this...

Interview with Maggie G - Chicago Motherhood Photographer

Q1: What inspired you to dive into birth photography, and how has your journey unfolded?

Maggie: The inspiration came from the belief that birth is a powerful, transformative journey worth documenting. My journey into birth photography started with a desire to capture the raw, unfiltered beauty of these moments. From those early days to now, each birth has been a unique story, a chapter in the larger narrative of life. Of course, my...

Den of Zen for Labor

 Labor and birth are full of mystery. They are intense, beautiful, raw, and everything in between. To help ease a laboring mother into her birthing space is to create a Den of Zen, which helps her feel calmer.

When a woman in labor feels safe in her birthing space, she is much more able to let go and move through her labor with more efficiency.

Let’s go through how the birth companion can help create this Den of Zen.

Lighting

Turn off all the lights. Set up...

Using the gift of “touch” in my practice and life. First and foremost, I am a mama to three incredible boys, a wife, a sister and a friend. I have been lucky enough to find my gifts early on and share them with others.

I am the owner/creator and sole practitioner at the Heart of Touch Massage & Birth Support. Early on in my life, I realized that I was NOT cut out for the corporate world. I became a LMT 23 years ago & birth doula 14 years ago. BEST life choices ever!
Helping...

 I am really honored by the invitation to share my journey to midwifery and becoming a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM).

I am dedicating this story to my Mom, Dina, who taught through example that growing and birthing babies is sacred, intuitive, and hard work. It is something we “just do.”

She never spoke about birth with fear and she always made it clear that her births belonged to her. She would (and did) fight to be left alone to move, labor and birth her way. My...

Have you heard the phrase, “Be careful not to plan for the wedding and forget about the marriage”?  Well, we often treat postpartum recovery much the same way. 

So many women pour all their attention into the birth process, but the 4^th trimester (or first 40 days after delivery) is sometimes an afterthought. 

Planning ahead is essential to a healthy postpartum recovery.

Maybe in years past you could have gotten away with just taking it day-by-day and figuring it...