Phoenix Nest: Holistic Birthkeeper & Postpartum Doula

I’m SO excited to collaborate and work with Michelle Sánchez-Nolen as her back up doula, as well as having her as mine! She is a kind and gentle soul full of love for birthing people and the desire to support them in the birth of their dreams. When we met to discuss me being her back up, I felt like I’d known her for lifetimes!

If you or a loved one are looking for an incredible doula, check out the Sacred Birth Collective (sacredbirthcollective.com) or Phoenix Nest: Holistic Birthkeeper & Postpartum Doula.

She is also an incredibly gifted website designer and even designated a special place for me on the webpage for her birth collective. What an honor!
https://sacredbirthcollective.com/tess-spiezo

Supporting conscious and empowered birth through holistic care Tess Spiezio (she/her) is a mama of four, certified Doula, owner of Phoenix Nest Birthkeeper, a certified leader in women’s spiritual mentorship, and an expert in holding sacred space for birthing people.

I Won’t Hold Your Baby

…unless you ask me to, in which case, I will snuggle and cuddle your baby as much as you want me to.

I never ask my clients if I can hold their baby. In fact, I rarely ever touch my client’s baby if I can help it. Sounds sort of like the opposite of what you might picture of a doula, right? We must all be birth crazy, baby obsessed women who just want to cover babies in kisses and love and get an emotional high from attending births?

Not this doula.

I LOVE attending births. Call me crazy, but getting those middle of the night calls is one of my favorite parts of this job. I get to listen to someone at their most vulnerable times - the excitement, the hesitation, the nervousness of the unknown. Being able to provide some comfort, reassurance and continuity of care to the people I work with is so important to me (and them!)

Rushing off in the night, quietly getting myself ready, getting in the car and heading off to their home or hospital makes me feel like I’m on a secret birth mission that nobody around me knows about. When I arrive I fall as seamlessly as I can into the rhythm of the birth and start supporting my clients in whatever way they need most.

When the baby arrives I step aside and leave room for the new parents to discover their baby. I try and grab some photos (I’m not a birth photographer though, so keep your expectations in check!) and then I only step in if my client needs me for some reason.

Why does that matter? Why won’t I ask to hold your baby? Simply because: they are yours, not mine. I want you to be able to hold your baby as close as you want, for as long as you want without anyone interrupting that time. There will be enough people coming along in the next few hours and weeks who need to take that baby out of your arms for whatever reason, and tons of friends and family who will offer help by “holding the baby”.

Instead, I want to hold you, whether that’s in my arms, in my heart or my thoughts. By supporting and “holding” you, I don’t need to hold your baby. But if you ask me to, I would LOVE to.

Written by | Bump and Glow- Montreal Doula Services
Artwork by Spirit Y Sol

Birthkeeper or doula?

What’s the difference?

Well, truthfully, there shouldn’t be one. But over time a small distinction has formed.

https://herbaltrainings.com/2019/09/03/birthkeeper-or-doula-whats-the-difference/?amp=1

Birthkeeper or Doula; What's the Difference? - HERBAL Education & Training What is the difference between a Doula and a Birthkeeper? Really, there should be no difference but it seems society has made it a huge difference. By definition, a Doula is a woman, typically without formal obstetric training, who is employed to provide guidance and support to a pregnant woman duri...

Yes!

Being checked for dilation before labor is actually very unnecessary and often can cause undue stress for mama. Early dilation does not predict labor.

Here’s your daily PSA!

Dilation does not predict when you will go into labor!

Your cervix is not a crystal ball; you could be 1cm and go into labor that day or 5cm and go into labor in a few weeks.

Effacement *may* be more of a predictor of labor onset, but not necessarily either!

So, if you are getting cervical checks during pregnancy and your provider states you haven’t made change between your appointments, and states that you should get an induction bc you’re never going to go into labor. Nod your head and say “cool, I’m not in labor, so I don’t expect to make any cervical change. Also, dilation does not predict labor onset.”

Moral of this story? Your dilation during pregnancy does not predict when you’ll go into labor.

A force to be reckoned with.

Pure power.

Goddess embodied.

A sacred vessel of life.

Informed consent is crucial.

A professional simply *telling* you what they are going to do is NOT informed consent.

Having a support person or doula is the best way to make sure that you have all of the necessary information to make the right choice *for you.*

Because you DO have a choice. This is your birth, and no one else’s. This is your body, and your baby.

“🤎🤍🅸🅽🅵🅾🆁🅼🅴🅳 🅲🅾🅽🆂🅴🅽🆃🤍🤎

Being educated and knowledgeable is absolutely vital ; informed consent and informed refusal are both so important in a birth setting.

Informed consent is NOT telling you what is going to happen, it is INFORMING you on the benefits and risks of your choices and letting you make an informed decision.

There are topics that need to be discussed and researched before you give birth, that way you are aware of everything that is going on and educated on the choices that may be presented to you.

"Well how do I do that?"
🤎Hire a doula
🤎Take a birth education class

You have choices; you have options. “✨

You have so many options! Your doula can help you learn what those are and empower you to tell your medical professional what you’d prefer.

Often listed benefits of water birth:

❤️Your perineum is less likely to tear, because the warm water softens the skin, allowing it to stretch

❤️It is a natural form of pain relief

❤️It may decrease the length of labor, by putting one into full relaxation mode (it can also increase length of labor due to over relaxation)

❤️Less rates of meconium in water birth babies as opposed to land birth babies

❤️Significantly decreases the rate of cesarean

But.. does anyone talk about why birth outcomes are better in the water? Truly?

Especially in provider-led settings, being in a tub provides less unnecessary access to your body.

There is less monitoring occurring. Monitors can be extremely problematic for those planning a natural birth.

It is much more difficult to force a cervical check, position change, break a woman’s water, cut her perineum or any other invasive intervention, whilst a woman is in the water.

The tub, while small and fairly shallow, provides a barrier that one can use to feel more secure, and more isolated.

Also even in hospitals that “don’t allow” water BIRTHS and will only “allow you” to labor in the water, it is super easy to get away with a whoopsie water birth. It’s simple - just don’t call the nurse/doctor in or don’t tell them when baby is crowning, if you can help it 🤷🏼‍♀️🤗

I just left my third Doula/Client meeting and am absolutely loving every second of this new “job.” Can you call it a job when it is a dream come true and a passion coming to life? Every second of talking about birth and learning about these incredible women has been amazing. I am beyond blessed that they are entrusting me to be a part of sacred birthing experiences. It is a responsibility I do not take lightly and that I am truly grateful for. I can’t wait to continue to walk with them through their journeys and to meet their sweet babies in a few months! Living my best life and loving every minute!

We are incredibly excited to introduce our community to our Black Midwives!!!! Mark your calendars!

Tuesday, June 30th @ 3:30pm

Registration link in comments.

If a VBAC is what you want, the odds are in you’re favor!

If your provider is not comfortable performing a VBAC, find one that is.

https://www.vbac.com/a-doula-can-reduce-your-odds-for-a-cesarean/ #.XubkrdpOmdM
"Numerous clinical studies have found that with a doula who provides continuous support during labor, women have shorter labors, fewer complications , and fewer cesareans. Women are also less likely to need pitocin (a labor-inducing drug), drugs for pain relief including an epidural, and forceps or vacuum extraction. They are also more likely to be satisfied with their birth experience. Research shows that all women should be allowed and encouraged to have continuous support during labour."

Having a birth doula should not be a luxury for the rich. It should be included in the necessities needed for birth.

Did you know we have a VBAC certified doula in CenLa? Check out Fearless Birth to learn more about how essential a doula can be during a VBAC.

Information from the VBAC Link
https://www.thevbaclink.com

Love this so much.

Of course a healthy baby and a healthy mom are important, but each woman’s birth experience holds SO much power. Power to lift you up and empower you or power to cause long lasting trauma.

It’s about so much more and we have to acknowledge that birth trauma is a very real thing that affects countless women who have been mistreated in their birthing experiences.

Food for thought.

It’s International Home Birth Day!

A lot of people have messaged me asking if I attend hospital births, and the answer is a resounding YES! Doulas support births of all kinds: hospital, birth center & home births. The most important thing is that the mother’s wishes are honored and that SHE feels comfortable in her birth environment, wherever that may be. It is her choice and it is part of a Doula’s job to advocate for that choice!

That being said! Today happens to be International Home Birth Day! So I’d love to take a moment to chat about home births!

There is a lot of fear surrounding home births. Did you know that statistics show that a home birth is actually typically safer than a hospital birth? There will always be exceptions, just like there will always be exceptions in a hospital birth or a birth center birth, but under normal circumstances and in a healthy pregnancy, a home birth is completely safe! Midwives take an abundance of precautions to ensure a safe and healthy delivery. An emergency plan is always drawn up in the unlikely event that there is something out of the ordinary. The links below are excellent resources showing the results of a study on home births. One notable difference is that a home birth has only a 5.2% chance of leading to a cesarean whereas a hospital birth has a 31% chance. I don’t share this to scare anyone about hospital births. There is a time and a place for medical interventions and I absolutely would never discount that. I share this simply to show that the fear surrounding home births in and of themselves is rather unnecessary.

https://mana.org/blog/home-birth-safety-outcomes

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jmwh.12172

When I first started having babies, I wouldn’t have in a million years considered a home birth. I bought into the fear surrounding them and thought anyone who would try that must be crazy! How could a baby be born safely at home without medical intervention! Over the years and with more education on the topic, I was so enamored with the idea of a home birth. We finally took the leap and our fourth baby was born at home. It was an amazing and empowering experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything. Our other children were able to attend the birth and watch their sister be born. It was incredible to tell them that she was a girl because both of our oldest daughters had been wanting a girl so badly the entire pregnancy. I’ll never forget how excited they were. It was also incredible to be able to catch her myself as she was born and to bring her up out of the water. My body and mind took over and I somehow knew exactly what to do even though I had never done it.

A few hours after her birth, we found that she was having trouble keeping her oxygen levels up. The levels weren’t horrible but questionable, so to play it safe, we headed to the Emergency Room. She was taken care of, got her levels back up after a couple of days, and we headed back home.

Is that typical? Well, no. Was it caused by the home birth? Absolutely not. The birth had zero to do with it and the final diagnosis was Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn. Essentially, sometimes babies take a bit longer than usual to learn how to use their lungs and take in oxygen on their own. And while Willow wasn’t extremely early, she did come almost two weeks early and it’s possible her little lungs just weren’t quite there.

So why do I share that, if it had nothing to do with the birth? Our story is a perfect example of how you can experience a safe home birth and notice that maybe things aren’t quite as they should be, and you can still head into the hospital for help if need be. A midwife is trained to know what to look for and they have all the necessary equipment to make sure that mom and baby are safe, and if there is an emergency, they are very knowledgeable on when to call and will waste no time making sure that you get the help that you need.

If you are experiencing a healthy pregnancy and have no risk factors, there is no reason why a home birth couldn’t be an option. If your anxiety surrounding one is such that it would not be a good experience for you, that’s ok too! I encourage education and evidence based research on the topic of home birth because it is something that a lot of people just don’t know a lot about. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have and make your home birth dreams come true!

“I don’t share these things to put myself on a pedestal. I share them to let YOU know you have options. To let YOU know that you are just as capable as I am. To share with you the strength of a woman. Not just me...but, all women. We were all made for this. The lifestyles and the systems in which we were born into are what make us think otherwise. I’m here to tell you the cycle can be broken. We just have to believe in women♥️”

-Words beautifully spoken by a dear friend that share so much truth and light. It is not about showing off, it is about inspiring a change that needs to happen in how we as a country view birth.

Happy International Home Birth Day to all of the home birth mamas, midwives, and birthworkers out there!

There’s a lot of unnecessary fear surrounding birth. You are STRONG and you are capable. You’ve got this.

Great post to check out for mamas considering a VBAC in the Indianapolis area!

The strength of a woman giving birth is almost unimaginable. This is so true of every woman, and every birth. The emotional and physical load that a mother bears as she prepares, births, and recovers is truly an amazing thing. She becomes stronger and more capable than she ever imagined. Things that never seemed possible or were hard to fathom are now a reality. Nothing is more beautiful than a woman transforming into a mother through the power of birth.

***NEW CLIENT OPENINGS!***

Are you expecting? I am opening up the calendar for September 2020 due dates and beyond! I can’t wait to help you and your family prepare for the birth of your new baby.

I’m offering my services for FREE to my first three clients. After that, I will work with you and your family to ensure that you’re able to hire the birth team you’ve always dreamed of. Every woman deserves the support of a doula and I want to make that happen for you.

Please feel free to send me a message with any questions. I hope to hear from you soon! ❤️

It's now easier to send Phoenix Nest: Holistic Birthkeeper & Postpartum Doula a message.

Hi there! I’m Tess - Owner of Phoenix Nest Doula Services. I could not be more excited to be starting this adventure that has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. Since my first child was born, birth has been my greatest passion. I strive to help mothers find empowerment and confidence in their birthing experiences and to encourage them as they partake in this wonderful journey of motherhood.

Why “Phoenix Nest”? It took me a long time to think of a name that I felt embodied the birthing experience as a whole. The Phoenix is an amazing metaphor for birth. In pregnancy and birth, a mother is her most vulnerable self, yet also incredibly strong and self aware. In the process, we die unto ourselves, or, the “selves” we used to be, and are born again as mothers, with an immense capacity for love and stronger than ever.

It is my goal to help every birthing client to see themselves as I see them: strong, powerful, incredible, sacred beings. I cannot wait to go on this journey with you and watch as you are born again!