birth* story witnessing

*Birth includes: live birth, stillbirth, termination/abortion, + miscarriage.

Traditionally, a birth story was told while members of the community sat at the feet of that person around a fire. The village of our ancestors created and held ceremony to help close the experience and acknowledge the new person who was born alongside the baby. Today, we have lost the understanding of how a birth story is a privilege to take in.

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Pregnancy, birth, loss, and termination are unique thresholds of life that we most often experience in the care of others. However, when it is is over, we are left to put the pieces of it together alone. You may even notice somatic responses as you reflect on your experience. Tension, rage, grief, sadness, empowerment, pride. The range is endless.

The way you feel about your pregnancy and birth experience can morph as the days, weeks, months, and years go by. How we relate to our stories of these transformative moments often inform the foundation of how we parent tiny ones or how we re-parent ourselves and experience subsequent pregnancies or bodily experiences.

Being witnessed is your right. Having someone to hold the pieces of your story as you explore them & your own understanding of them is paramount to how you will walk in the world moving forward. Birth story witnessing is an opportunity to heal ancestral or generational trauma, take back your power, or be reminded of your innate ways of knowing.

This support is also for the helpers (doulas, partners, etc) who also have their own experiences as the keepers of the space.

This time is spent one on one, online or via phone, and take about 75-90 minutes. I will hold a container for you as you walk me through your experience, pause to reflect on what your body is saying to you in those moments to offer somatic direction, and pause for the moments in your story that have a need for acknowledgement.

*Please note that I am not a licensed therapist. If I sense that deeper support is needed, I will always refer you and connect you with resources for established professional care.