Despite being a rather tumultuous year on the national scale, 2016 has been a great year here at Empowered Birthing, in fact the busiest year yet. I had the privilege of serving 19 families in 2016. There were 5 birth center births, 12 hospital births, 9 unmedicated births, 2 VBACs, and I had the privilege of witnessing two cesarean births (thank you St. David’s Medical Center for supporting doulas in the operating room!). But more important than numbers are all the beautiful families that I had the privilege to serve. At each birth, I watched fierce, strong mamas who worked so hard to bring their babies earthside, and loving partners who believed in them and supported them each step of the way. Every birth presents its own challenges, and each time I see these women look deep within themselves and find their strength to meet their own unique challenges. It is such a joy to behold!

I have also continued to grow in my knowledge and in the services I am able to offer my clients. In January I embarked on my journey to recertify as a doula. Instead of recertifying with my original organization, I have decided to join with DTI (Doula Trainings International). This amazing organization provides a wonderfully supportive community (we doulas need a lot of support from each other in order to keep ourselves replenished) and they provide of model of total inclusivity of all birthing families (whatever size, shape, or color they come in) that prepares us to meet the needs of all our clients and their unique situations. Moreover, they encourage us to be agents of change in the contemporary birth scene. All birthing parents deserve a respectful, compassionate, and evidence-based care! So it has been a pleasure to be part of this organization and be so fully in line with their philosophy. I attended a DTI training last January and became a DTI certified birth and postpartum doula in October. With the addition of my postpartum credentials, I have been able to offer more post-partum care to my clients. I have also begun my training as a Certified Breastfeeding Counselor in order to more fully support my clients in their breastfeeding journey. And as a sneak peek into this new year, I am hoping to increase the diversity of my offerings to include breastfeeding support, childbirth education, and photography. I am excited to share these new offerings with you in the coming months. I have also been elected to serve as the Secretary of CTDA (Central Texas Doula Association) and so look forward to serving the larger doula community in that capacity.

As always, I thank you so much for all your love and support. I had the privilege of serving three families who had been referred to me by lovely past clients. Please keep telling your pregnant friends and acquaintances. (And, I’m hoping to add a new referral bonus, so stay tuned!) I have also received some wonderful testimonials that I am pleased to share. Here are a few of these inspiring words that help me to keep providing better, more individualized support:

“During the birth, more than one time she helped me understand what was going on, to ask questions, and make sure that what they were doing was to my benefit, not to their convenience."

“Despite not having my ideal birth, I left the hospital with my healthy baby feeling empowered in a way, because I was able to advocate for myself despite feeling moments of vulnerability. I was able to handle the initial grief of an unwanted c-section because Jamie was by my side with empathy, allowing me to go home ready for the excitement of being a new mommy.”

“I was much more comfortable with ways to make my wife be calm and more comfortable through labor. Having a doula gave me more options than I knew existed to help my wife.”

“I think the prenatal visits are possibly the most important and most valuable part of the services Jamie offers. The amount of hours she dedicated to me and my partner before the birth was unbelievable. We were so lucky to have her support leading up to the birth.”

I always appreciate getting your feedback, including suggestions for improvement, so that I can better serve my future clients. And I love getting updates from you to see how you’re doing and how your little ones are growing. Please friend me on Facebook if you like; it’s a great way to stay in touch, and be sure to follow my page at https://www.facebook.com/Empoweredbirthingaustin/.

It is such a honor to do the work that I do: to be invited into your birth space, to witness the miracle of new life, and to encourage and support you in your journey as new parents. Thank you for your support of me so that I can continue to serve more families.

Have a blessed New Year!

Have a blessed New Year!

Happy New Year! As I step out into this new year, I am thankful for all that 2014 brought to me It has been an exciting year as I have just completed my first year as a birth doula and launched my business, Empowered Birthing Professional Doula Service. As always, it is an honor to be allowed to be part of each family's birth team and present in the sacred moments of new life. I have enjoyed getting to know each family that I have worked with, and I have learned immensely from each birth that I have attended. To each and every family, I thank you.

The highlights of last year have been many. It has been my pleasure to serve thirteen families as they welcomed their newest additions into their hearts and arms. I have served in three birth centers and five hospitals in the Austin area, and have been able to witness a variety kinds of births, natural, medically managed, cesarean, and VBAC. In July, I submitted my credentials and applied for my certification with DONA, and in October I received word that I am a certified birth doula. During the summer I also received training through Stillbirthday in order to become a birth and bereavement doula. This was an intense training that has prepared me to serve in births during all trimesters and all outcomes. I have just submitted my final projects and should receive my certification shortly. I have also begun working on my credentials as a certified EC coach with Go Diaper Free. I hope to begin offering classes and private consultations for families wishing to practice Elimination Communication (aka infant potty training) with their babies. If you or anyone you know is interested in this service, please send them my way. I have also started a cloth diaper and baby carrier rental library that will be available for clients to try out different items before they make their own purchases. It has been a year full of learning and I am excited about the new services that I will be able to offer families.

I look forward to serving many new families in the coming year. I hope to build on these successes and branch out even more in the coming year. Come check out what's happening here at Empowered Birthing! And bring on 2015!