DOULA | BIRTH EDUCATION | pERInatal massage | AUSTIN, TX

Birthwork

UPDATE (2024): As much as I have loved working in birth support as a doula, I am discontinuing my support services for the time being. The logistics are difficult to juggle in this season of my life, but there are wonderful people like k’mae or Jules Alma, who offer birth support outside of the hospital setting.

Montsera graphic for Flow Birth & Body

MY APPROACH TO BIRTH

I provide culturally-sensitive support and advocate for all birthing people across all birthing experiences and preferences. In birth, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to do anything. This is a judgment-free zone. How you choose to birth your baby(s) is an intimate, individual choice, and my job is to stand by you, support you, and provide space for you to make decisions out of love, not out of fear. My job is to preserve what is truly sacred about birth.

MY APPROACH TO POSTPARTUM

When I was first introduced to the concept of a "Postpartum Doula," my understanding of the role was that they were an extra set of hands, hired to support a birthing person or parents in the first few months following birth in their transition to parenthood. The role was and remains relatively open-ended, and it toes the line of other roles -- ones that carry significant historical and cultural weight. Postpartum Doulas are knowledgable about newborn care, family transition, healing, postpartum mood disorders, and other common issues that arise during the postpartum period. Conversely, a housekeeper, night nurse, or nanny may be a better fit if you're simply looking for help cleaning, more sleep, or someone to watch your newborn for you.

As far as my postpartum services are concerned, I bring my knowledge and experience as a massage therapist and strength coach into my work. I also bring the wisdom of my ancestors into my work to encourage rest and healing through the immediate postpartum period. I prefer to focus on evidence-based and culturally-sensitive healing, transition, emotional processing, guidance on newborn care and feeding, and reconnection to your body.

Plant graphic for Flow Birth & Body, Austin TX

offerings

I am pleased to offer various service packages, as well as individual services, to suit a range of needs. Please note that, due to bandwidth, not all à la carte services are available at this time.

I offer payment plans and sliding scales as needed, as I firmly believe that no one should birth alone and all birthing people deserve to be fully supported throughout this journey.

Please contact me directly for availability around your due month prior to scheduling a consultation.

  • Birth Doula Investment is $1,000

    Includes:

    · Complimentary consultation

    · Three, 3-hour prenatal home visits (includes BIRTHFIT Consultation, health history/intake, basic childbirth education, assistance with birth preferences, comfort measures for pregnancy and labor)

    · Access to all online resources

    · Continuous support throughout your birth (at home, birthing center, or hospital)

    · 24/7 on-call support starting at 38 weeks

    · Unlimited phone/email support for entire pregnancy and through 6-weeks postpartum

  • Birth & Postpartum Doula Investment is $1,350

    Includes:

    · Same support as Birth Doula Package

    · One additional prenatal home visit to discuss and prepare postpartum plan

    · Present 1-2 hours after birth to assist with comfort and breastfeeding/chestfeeding

    · Two, 2-hour postpartum home visits offering support, guidance, and wellness/hands-on healing

  • Virtual Birth Doula Investment is $750

    Includes:

    · Complimentary consultation

    · Three 3-hour prenatal virtual meetings (includes BIRTHFIT Consultation, health history/intake, basic childbirth education, assistance with birth preferences, comfort measures for pregnancy and labor)

    · Access to all online resources

    · Virtual support throughout your birth (via FaceTime as needed)

    · 24/7 on-call virtual support starting at 38 weeks

    · Unlimited phone/email support for entire pregnancy and through 6-weeks postpartumItem description

  • Postpartum Wellness Support is $350

    Includes:

    · Complimentary consultation

    · Two, 2-hour home visits within the first six weeks postpartum

    · Visits may include some or any of the following, as needed:

    -Healing practices such as massage therapy, vaginal steaming, belly wrapping

    -General guidance on nourishing foods to promote healing in the postpartum period

    -Reintroduction of gentle movement and breath

    -General guidance and support on returning to sport/activity, as cleared by your care provider

  • Check out my Movement page for more info!

  • Check out my Body page for more info!

  • Coming soon! Join my email list for updates!

  • “This woman does it all. She is a certified CrossFit coach, BIRTHFIT Coach, massage therapist, doula, daughter, wife, stepmother, and mother. Teaching is second nature to her, whether she is teaching you diaphragmatic breathing to stabilize and recover your abdominals, or showing you how to correctly power clean a barbell. She prides herself on knowing the body and helping women become stronger. As a BIRTHFIT Coach, she has personally taken me through my entire first year postpartum in aiding me to take a slow-is-fast approach in all I do. She gives me the space and attention a new mama needs. In her doula work, she is constantly bringing evidence-based information to her clients and building her connections within the birth community; she wants to equip herself, and her clients, with resources. She breeds empowerment and advocates for all. I would easily ask her to be my doula in the future.”

    -J.R, doula client

  • “As two, data-driven individuals, it is important to us to make decisions based on facts and evidence rather than blindly follow the recommendations of others. In each of our meetings with Heidi, she has been prepared to answer our questions and provide us with options to choices. Rather than tell us what to do, she has made it a point to make recommendations based on her learnings and evidence gathered by others, then provide us with those resources allowing us to make the right choice for ourselves. That being said, it is also of great comfort to us both that during the laboring and postpartum process we will be able to defer to her expertise with confidence knowing that she has done the work and we can trust her judgment and suggestions. Thus far, our journey through pregnancy and preparation for birth has been a thoughtfully organized experience thanks to Heidi. She has prepared us with a schedule of discussions both with and without her to decide what is right for us and our baby. She has made herself available to answer our random questions and provide us with resources to do our own learning. To say that Heidi is an ideal candidate for an evidence-based birthing instructor program feels like an understatement. She is a thoughtful, passionate woman, driven by the pursuit of knowledge and advocacy for healthy pregnancy and birthing practices for all women.”

    -J.T & J.G, doula clients

  • “Heidi’s dedication to her work is unmatched. She wears several hats in the gym as a coach, massage therapist, prenatal/postpartum fitness instructor, and an athlete herself, and a few more outside of the gym as a doula (which truly, she does in the gym as well), a mother, and a friend. We’ve been impressed time and time again not only with her desire to grow in all ways, but her ability to take charge and follow through. Deemed “The Crying Doula,” for all the happy tears she sheds, Heidi also provides a level of personal commitment to her clients that makes them feel truly supported and cared for. She works to guide her prenatal/postpartum clients through movement and childbirth education, but also educates them as to why it’s important that they take particular steps in their journey, helps them to explore the options they have and discover what truly speaks to them, and teaches them how to make decisions and advocate for themselves in any setting. Her ability to deliver information in an unbiased and understandable way is not easy to find in a coach/therapist/birthworker/etc.. but it is a quality we truly appreciate in Heidi as a part of our team.”

    -G.G & T.G, doula clients