A note from Tamrha:

As of August 2022, I am no longer accepting hospital birthing clients, no matter what practice they are using. While I understand that some people require hospital based services due to health issues or pregnancy complications, most do not. Yet this is where many birth anyway, thinking this is their only option for childbirth that is safe and acceptable.

Some hire midwifery services, either in birth centers or at home. For those engaging these avenues of care, I will provide a consultation for doula support.

“Why the boundary? Don’t doulas support all options for birth?”

Yes, typically most doulas do support all options, and the majority of doula support occurs in the hospital environment. For me, I can no longer be a witness to the rampant non-evidence based care and resulting trauma that most hospital providers and hospital protocols create, and in my 15 years of experience, I've come to realize that unfortunately as a doula there is not much I can do to help clients in these practices avoid the harms of the technocratic maternity system. Too often, their plans, preferences and desires for the births of their babies are overridden by care provider fears, biases and excess management. The resulting secondary trauma is too much and I feel clients who still want to birth within the system deserve a doula who can work in that environment.

That is no longer me. I’ve outgrown this role and am in transition. Pun intended. ;)

You'll be able to locate available doulas at doulamatch.net

As I wrap up supporting hospital birth, I’m stepping into a different form of skilled, non-medical, traditional support as a Family Centered Birth Companion. There will be more info on this option as I get closer to offering it. That said, should you want to discuss other options before seeing any announcement, let me know. I’m here.

I do wish and hope you have a beautiful birth.

Educate yourselves. Stand up for yourselves. Stand up for your babies.

Take back birth.

- Tamrha