Devotion Midwifery

The placenta and the membranes that surround it are your baby’s first physical home. Did you get a chance to see, touch, and explore this amazing organ that is completely made up of your baby’s DNA that YOU grew?

In the practice of slow midwifery, there is no rushing through stages and phases just to get onto the next one. Even in the event that families don’t want to see or talk about their placenta, midwife Leila will always give it a little whisper of gratitude. “Thank you for sticking with us, growing this baby, and staying so strong through it all” … before dropping it into a cooler for encapsulation, the ground beneath a tree, or a biohazard bag for disposal.

Placenta tour at a home birth. Babe still attached and breastfeeding in the morning light.

I truly believe that the first hands to touch your baby should be your own. As your midwife, that can look a few different ways
✨Gently helping you bring your hand to your baby’s crown, allowing you to control your expansion and then bring your baby into your arms
✨Working along side your partner to invite them into their power and reminding them that “she will birth your baby right into your hands, you don’t need to do any pulling or tugging… she will bring the baby to you” when there’s that beautiful pause between head and shoulders
✨Staying close enough to step in when there’s an emergency, but far enough away that instinct takes over and the three of you melt into the intuitive beings you are… without intervention

Can you feel the peace and adrenaline all in one moment here? This baby was already starting its restitution and make big grimaces, letting us know they were ok despite what can look like a darker hue to their face. This little one let out a howl writhin seconds of birth, followed by mother and father✨

I was recently asked in a consult if I “allow” skin to skin, delayed cord clamping, physiological placenta delivery, and waiting to see if they need pitocin before giving them the shot (all previous things they DIDNT get with their last birth)…

I literally let out an audible laugh 😞. I have been so far removed from medical/hospital birth for enough years to forget that what I offer, while the safest and most physiological, isn’t routine for almost 98% of America... the conveyor belt of birth interventions is still very much rolling.

But I digress… what do those things look like in my care?

👶Your baby NEVER has to leave your chest (I’ll even do the exam, resuscitation, and any medications on you!)
✂️I normally cut the cord around 2-3 hours during the newborn exam, but not until after we get the cute pic (swipe).
🩸My first approach to hemorrhage is PREVENTION followed by physiological design such as skin to skin, no distracting the birther in third stage, the breast crawl and baby rooting at the breast etc. Then herbs or homeopathy, and finally medications. Ideally I don’t want you to feel like trash postpartum and blood loss has a lot to do with that, but jumping right to pit and placenta (active managment of third stage) is not proven to decrease hemmorage for all folks, and may even increase it!
🥮Birthing your placenta can be and IS just as important as birthing your baby. Many of the 2nd or 3rd time moms that come to me have the most trauma around this experience. “They just yanked it out… and thats when I started hemorrhaging”, “he didn’t even tell me he was going elbow deep, cause he pulled too hard the cord snapped”… these are real events. Physiological third stage and expectant managment means allowing your placenta to detach on its own, descend, and with maternal effort, birthed.

I could go on and on about the intricacies of midwifery care but really, it’s something to experience 🧡

Devotion Midwifery
Traditional Midwifery & Modern Tools with Low Intervention & High Attention

🫶🏼Midwife Leila

https://devotionmidwifery.com/

✨Welcome new souls ✨

3 babies in 24 hours was a wonderful wave of energy

Devotion Midwifery is serving the Greater New Orleans area and Northshore, bringing intimate, slow, concierge midwifery and home birth.

Midwifery is far reaching. Beyond the birther and the babe and deep into the hearts of generations to come, nestled into the community at large.

I have a book of drawings from siblings and am honored to add this one to the complication called…

MidMother: An anthology of devotion from children of home birth

Devotion Midwifery is a small, intimate, private, home birth midwifery practice serving greater New Orleans & Northshore Louisiana

Accepting
✨2025 “Due dates”
✨Late to care transfers (OB care not meeting expectations? Bait and switch got you guessing?)
✨Low risk, healthy, philosophically, spiritually, and value aligned women and birthing folks
✨VBACs (birthing in Mississippi only- message me to learn more)

Offering
✨Sliding scale fees, payment plans, verification of benefits through insurance, etc. Because money should never be the reason you can’t have your home birth
✨ALL VISITS IN HOME
✨Custom blended teas, curated reading, birth support tools, and more
✨Years of experience and advanced clinical skill

Use the link in bio to learn more or visit

https://devotionmidwifery.com

Caption this! (Winner gets my hand blended NORA tea)

There are very few times when I purposefully capture the attention of the birther, especially postpartum.

Let’s have fun! What could I possibly need or want to say, show her, or talk about in this moment? Comment below your thoughts 🤓

Start with the end in mind.

This has been ringing in by head for a few days now, and it was what I needed to hear to finish all the paperwork and hoop jumping.

As an official NARM preceptor and applications pending with all major midwifery schools, I am excited to walk my talk and MAKE MORE MIDWIVES!

Offering a midwifery apprenticeship beginning 2025 for students who plan to practice in Louisiana, please use the link in bio to email or contact me with your resume/letter of intent for consideration.

🧡Love,
Midwife Leila

👀 cute little midwife in training and big sister charted this whole exam AND lent helping hands throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum ✨
📸

Every moment at your birth and the thousands that follow all matter.

As a midwife, I see it as my job to be a fierce protector of those moments.

Do you remember the moment you birthed your placenta?

📸

On this episode of “did you know midwives…” because I seem to remind folks of our ability on a daily 🙄

We are able to complete all desired newborn screenings right at home 🏠

-Newborn metabolic screening
-Critical Congenital Heart Disease
-Hearing screening (most midwives refer out though due to the cost of equipment)

Having access to these important screenings allows mothers and birthing folks to stay in bed for postpartum healing, maintain skin to skin longer, and reduce redundancy in traveling to providers while learning information about their child that may not show itself physically yet but could allow for care plans to find their place.

While we know the heel poke is hard to watch, it’s so much better with babe on the breast and in the comfort of your own home. We send it off and report any abnormal results- we may even send copies to your pediatrician.

As with all midwifery care, informed consent and shared decision making is a pillar of our practice and because we also believe in autonomy, these screenings are reccomended and optional.

Did you know this? Did your midwife complete these screenings for you?

NEXT, tell us what you think our next episode should be on! 🫠
Midwife:
📸

An Ode to the unused birth pool

“I knew I wouldn’t get my water birth” kneeling on the floor, words aching my soul. We tried so hard and always do but birth we can’t control. Sometimes it’s speed and others it’s pressures. We may need to move for emergency measures. Water just right, liner and hose, a lot is done … some just for photos!

Birth pool in a box, with your classic blue… I feel bad for the heaviness expectation has laid in you. The palpable desire to make it to your waters, they didn’t rise fast enough for these aching daughters.

Earthside and the pearly white left sitting packed away. The midwife didn’t make that birth, just those who made the child, almost if it was meant that way.

Labassine, purple like royalty that sat at the edge of the bed. We used you for hours, hours still, the babe was on land instead.

Midwives and mamas, we sing this tune, to share with others, expectations to prune. But always packed and prepped we are, your waterbirth is written in the stars.
📸

Supreme Devotion (IYKYK)

Birth is 💯 a spiritual event, and your midwives love to party with spirit!

Happy birthday mama and little one ✨

Moments of Midwifery (secret testimony edition) :
I LOVE OVERNIGHT BIRTHS!

I LOVE tucking a new family into bed around sunrise and then slinking off, closing the front door behind me.

When I pull up to my own home, all the morning energy is buzzing about and I drop every piece of baggage (physical and otherwise) at the door, shower, sip a little red wine and tuck my self under the sheets (eye mask and pink noise primed and ready by my loving husband ) for a long morning slumber.

I’m not sure the name, sensory pleasure? But that feeling of falling asleep as the world wakes is like nothing else. I dream of women becoming mothers, all the moments they will experience, and the honor I had of watching them be born.

I’m literally hungry for it.

This is such a great read and resource!

Ultimate Guide to Home Birth Insurance Reimbursement — Mind Body Baby | Support & Education Deciding on an out-of-hospital birth is one thing, footing the bill 100% is another!

Midwifery with Community Partners!
Did you know we have 2 Birth Centers right here?!

Devotion Midwifery believes in collaboration over competition, safe and supported providers, teamwork over single specialty, and growing a healthy community one mother at a time. We know that there is a midwife for everyone and hope to continue to train more midwives to have a midwife everywhere in Louisiana!

I am so excited to be partnering with two incredible midwifery groups in Louisiana for prenatal care, home birth, and birth center midwifery. This way all of our community midwives are supported, rested, and safe providers.
…
✨The Grace Midwifery Collective

The Grace Midwifery Collective is a team of midwives, lactation providers, pelvic floor therapists, childbirth educators, and wellness providers.
I have joined the team as a Midwife, sharing call for home birth and is in the office every other Tuesday for prenatal and postpartum care.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (985) 265-4032
Website: https://www.gracemidwiferycollective.com (link in bio)
…
✨Saige Birth & Wellness
New Orleans & Southshore
A beautiful historic space right on Magazine street that boasts of community wellness, Saige offers home birth and birth center midwifery options.
I have joined as a part time/ backup midwife and seeing clients for prenatal and postpartum care every other Friday.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (504)-459-2426
Website: https://www.saigebirthcenter.com (link in bio)

More midwives, more options, and more awareness is what it’s all about- and I love seeing it happen in my home!

I was asked a great question today by a partner in a follow up text after the consult : “Is there any situation she can think of that would require an emergency cesarean… or if that’s a made up excuse for a doctor to get off easy”

My answer: Absolutely!

Here are a few times a cesarean could occur that are definitely considered emergency:

⁃Cord prolapse (0.2% incidence rate): we spoke about this briefly at the consultation but if the cord came through the cervix first therefore compressed by the baby’s head this may be an emergency cesarean. In this event, you would get into an open knee chest inverted position. I would place my hand on the baby’s head to alleviate pressure off the cord and we would travel like that all the way to the OR.

⁃Placental Abruption: This is where the placenta starts to come off of the uterus prior to birth. There are varying degrees of emergency, but this is an instance where a cesarean would be considered reasonable and if severe absolutely recommended.

⁃Uterine Rupture: This mainly occurs in TOLACs (trial of labor after cesarean) p where the uterus tears. In this event, a cesarean is recommended

⁃ Fetal Hypoxia/distress/non-reassuring heart tones: This is the most common reason for an emergent cesarean. We listen to the baby the only way we can, the heart rate, and when we begin to hear them telling us they aren’t doing well (late deceleration, lack of variability) This is a sign the baby is possibly in distress and needs to be born. In this instance, cesarean is recommended.

For all of these have what I call pink flags, red flags, and white flags. Meaning, most of the time, I can see it coming and sometimes we prevent at home, while other times we travel by private vehicle BEFORE they become emergent, and others we are calling an ambulance and going FAST.

We are not waiting until the emergency is present in Midwifery. We are the safe protector of normal birth. knowing normal so well… it’s easy to spot a complication early.

Some of these complications arise from interventions themselves. Midwifery led care see less of the above for two reasons: We care for the low risk and we are not intervening!

Recommendations for cesarean when not an emergency definitely exist. The WHO recommends countries not exceed 10% - 15% cesarean rate while the US stands at over 30% and Louisiana is over 37% last reported on 2021. In some areas… over 60%!

Generality Statement number 1 million: Most of this increase is one of 2 reasons: An act to avoid the emergency moment no one loves OR is a combination of provider preference, money, lack of skill, or hospital policy barring them from attempting a vaginal birth under said circumstances. (Example breech: We have much evidence that vaginal breech birth is a safe option but many providers were never trained and therefore will not offer it, only recommending a cesarean)

I have experienced all of the above listed complications and some end with a with cesarean, some end with a smooth birth at home, and some end with a collaboration for a hospital vaginal birth.


Whew! I know it’s always a lot. Take your time and let me know what resources you need and how I can go deeper.

🧡Midwife Leila

No midwife stares at the mother…where midwives hold their gaze is within, downward, or to their mentor.

Happy birthday Boys 💙💙💙 and the strongest woman I’ve ever met

Traditional Midwifery & Modern Tools

I went back and forth on my motto, tag line, etc for many years, but this one kept coming back to me. It felt like a good truth spoken over me and all that I touch.
…
Simply, what this means to me is that we respect birth in all that it gives and takes, honoring the physiological and non-allopathic first. And we are also open to learning as much as we can to broaden choice and in turn, freedom.
…
After palpating her uterus and baby, it was clear to my hands that this baby was breech. A little bobble at the top and a smooth sway at the bottom. A dear friend and breech mentor taught me that to truly confirm, use a fetoscope for heart tones. Unlike the Doppler, it will only clearly pick up the heart beat when you are directly over the baby’s back or heart, and therefore there’s no “missing” a breech. Ofcourse this always has proven to be true as it was here. We could have left it there, but this little baby then made some huge moves moments later and then I could no longer pick it up with the fetoscope… and the bobble and sway felt different. My student who had never palpated a belly before and was surprised at how easy she could bobble the head at the top before, now no longer could… it almost swayed. So we pulled out another tool.

Partially for fun and curiosity, partially for confirmation, my handheld ultrasound has had a meaningful impact on my practice of midwifery. To confirm early loss, twins, breech babes, or just to connect… these moments mattered in the long trajectory of care.

Still breech and hanging out frank, we laughed together at this baby’s movements on the screen, discussed the release of stress since she was only 26 weeks, and invited spinning babies as a daily ritual.

The use of ALL modern tools will not happen in EVERY pregnancy, it’s actually quite rare.. and I don’t HAVE to use them. Midwifery led care has the lowest rates of intervention, labor augmentation, epidurals, cesarean, and dissatisfaction of birth. We don’t use tools to threaten or scare you. We use them to expand you and be simply a guide.

I like this balance, and it feels yummy in my bones.
-notanultrasoundtech

What our daughters learn
Becomes the future’s normal
Train them in midwifery
- A Haiku from our park prenatals

On this episode of “Yes, Midwives do that too”…

This device has been called by many names: Continuous Fetal Monitor, Non Stress Test Machine, TOCO, Strip, Patient Fetal Monitor, Electronic Fetal Monitor…

In the space of community birth and traditional midwifery it can be used in all of those capacities… at home, in your bed, read by a trained professional. While we know that the evidence on continuous fetal monitoring in labor has NOT shown to decrease poor outcomes but does increase cesarean sections, there can be a time and a place before labor begins to use it to be a PART of assessment for fetal welllbeing.

There is no test, no machine, and no procedure that guarantees anything in life. What a terrifyingly magical journey birth is. As a midwife I choose to respect birth, always use traditional midwifery as the first line offering, and carry modern tools for when the birther and I mutually agree they are appropriate.

I think I’ll start a routine of sharing snippets of testimonials each Sunday eve. I’m new in Louisiana and so the google reviews are non existent but it’s important to know the words of people who came before you as I served them in this journey 🧡

Midwifery care is more than checking boxes towards medical care… it’s a guiding container in birthing yourself!

If you have a testimony you are still waiting to share, please consider leaving a video or text testimonial at the link in bio or https://testimonial.to/birth-with-devotion

Love
Leila

🌧️ It’s a rainy day here in my part of Louisiana so I’ve spent the day blending herbs between my Stretch n’ Folds (IYKYK) 🫶🏼

Have you ever heard of N.O.R.A? This is a common blend during pregnancy and can be made into a tincture, infusion (tea), or syrup!

The acronym stands for

🌱 Nettles:Urtica Dioica
Active Ingredients: Histamine, Tannin, Saponins, AcetylcholineFormic Acid, Sterols, Chlorophyll, Glucoquinine,
Active: Serotonin, Iron, & Vitamin A, C, D and K.
Nettles can:
• Reduce discharge
• Support milk production
• Prevent bladder infections
• Strengthen kidneys and adrenals
• Reduce the misery of pollen allergies or hay fever
• Diminish muscle pain in all areas of the body
• Strengthen blood vessels and tone uterine muscles

🌾Oat Straw:Avena Sativa
Active Ingredients: 50% starch, proteins, alkaloids, saponins, flavones, sterols, Vitamin B, silica, & calcium,
magnesium, silicon, potassium, & iron.
Oat Straw can:
• Support the nervous system, reducing stress
• Help with exhaustion
• Help with depression
• Soothe irritated tissues
• Help you sleep
• Tone the uterus
• Strengthen the thyroid
• Lower blood pressure
• Help reduce varicose veins and hemorrhoids
• Soothe the digestive tract
• Lower blood sugar

🌿Red Raspberry Leaf: Rubus idaeus
Active Ingredients: volatile oils, pectin, citric acid, malic acid, tannin, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, & zinc, Vitamin A, B, C & E.
Has the highest known herbal source of manganese.
Red Raspberry Leaf can:
• Tone the uterus
• Prevent excessive bleeding
• Tone mucous membranes throughout the body
• Soothe the kidneys and urinary tract
• Increase milk production
• Make uterine contractions more effective

🪴 Alfalfa: Medicago sativa
Active Ingredients: Vitamin K, iron, chlorophyll, Vitamin A, B-6, E, D, & K, beta-carotene, biotin, folic acid,
pantothenic acid, fatty acids, saponins, high in copper.
Alfalfa can:
• Purify the blood
• Balance blood sugar
• Soothe the digestive tract
• Balance intestinal flora

I love to add lemon balm or spearmint with cloves for the extra warmth and taste 🧡

Credit to , , and .avivaromm for my herbal education 🫶🏼

I’m feeling a little nostalgic over missing out on repeat clients.

Women who have birthed 1, 2, 3, or even 4 babies with me are having their next babies and it has me feeling a sort of way. 😢

I know that will come here in my home again home, but in the meantime I revel in these photos of belly mapping artwork done by siblings I ushered into the world. Remember these visits yall?

Mamas, you know who you are. I miss you.

Great first day at meeting new families and holding space for mothers in waiting.

When you leave a long day and don’t feel drained but instead filled up, you know you have a good thing 🧡

Can you spot my many beverages? Take your guess at what’s inside 🤣

It’s been a real struggle over here learning the new limitations to being a midwife in Louisiana. These limitations were not set by my skill, education, choice, or family’s desire… they are set by a 30 year old law that acts as a barrier to good midwifery care because of fear of the unknown.

Much of this page will be for advocacy for a change in Louisiana Midwifery Law to use the full grand scope that the community midwife carries, attract clients with like minded values and philolophies about birth, and train more midwives!

As far as the many folks reaching out looking for a midwife for their VBAC, twins, advanced maternal age, or any other normal variation that is against licensed Louisiana midwives regulations. Devotion Midwifery has options… not perfect options, and some of them are still in the works, but we promise to always offer safe, legal, choices that are always based on all sides of the evidence, history, and intuition.

This beautiful family traveled out of state to an airbnb to have their VBA2C. As we said, options are in the works.

Catch her birth story on the link in bio!

Our Earky Bird special ends March 15! Still got time to slide into one of our remaining spots and save $150! Link in comments to save your seat!

I am often asked about book recommendations for childbirth and while I like to tailor them to each individual, these are my tried and true.

Before we talk about stats and evidence and making a birth plan we have to start in a deeper place.

Your origin story around birth, knowing euphoric birth is possible and knowing how to choose it, reprogramming and reconnecting to your body and spirit.

✨Portal
✨Heart Centered Pregnancy Journal (included in Devotion Midwifery )
✨Supernatural Childbirth (for Christian families)
✨Oxytocin Factor

Contact me for a full list of book recommendations or learn about my lending library 📖

Link in bio or visit https://devotionmidwifery.com/

The word you’re looking for here is… ✨Oxytocin ✨
and midwives know all about it!

Devotion Midwifery offers concierge prenatal, birth, & postpartum care in New Orleans and Northshore Louisiana.

Leila is a Licensed Certified Professional Midwife who is trained to support low risk women seeking natural birth.

Traditional midwifery & modern tools with high attention & low intervention

"When you destroy midwives, you also destroy a body of knowledge that is shared by women, that can’t be put together by a bunch of surgeons or a bunch of male obstetricians, because physiologically, birth doesn’t happen the same way around surgeons, medically trained doctors, as it does around sympathetic women." - Ina May Gaskin

I love getting to see midwifery students often.. there is something so beautiful about women putting birth back in our hands. Allowing us to have the power to trust the physiological process. I always want to just say, thank you 🫶🏼

MamasMidwife.com
Birth With Devotion

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