What to Expect

Labor Support

Birth is not a medical emergency. It’s a physiological process your body already knows how to do — and one that goes better, in almost every measurable way, when you feel safe, heard, and held. That’s what Fierce & Tender Birth Support is here for.

  • We’ll meet three times before your due date — in person or virtually, wherever works for you. These aren’t intake appointments. They’re real conversations: about what you’re hoping for, what you’re afraid of, what you’ve heard and what you’re not sure what to believe. We’ll talk through the evidence on common interventions so you can walk into your birth knowing your options, not just your preferences.

    If you want, I’ll help you put your birth preferences into writing — something you can bring to your birth place that actually communicates what matters to you. If you have a partner or support person, I’ll work with them too. They deserve to feel prepared and useful in the room, not just present.

  • Call me when you think you’re in labor — even if you’re not sure yet, even if you don’t need me at your door immediately. That early call is part of the work. I can help you read what your body is telling you, answer questions, and we’ll decide together: do you need me now, or do we wait a little longer? I’ll come to you at home, or meet you at your birth place — whatever makes most sense for where you are.

  • Once I arrive, I stay. That’s the word that matters: continuous. The research on continuous labor support is clear — it reduces interventions, shortens labor, and improves how people feel about their birth experience. I’m there for all of it.

    Physical support: position changes, counterpressure, movement, breathing techniques, hands-on comfort through every phase of labor. Emotional support: grounding you when things get overwhelming, helping you stay connected to your own strength, holding space for whatever comes up. Informational support: helping you understand what’s happening, translating medical language into plain terms, and making sure you feel equipped to ask the questions that matter.

    I hold the fierce-and-tender balance the whole time. Helping you find your voice when you need to use it. Holding your hand when you need a hand. Supporting you if you change your mind, because you are always allowed to change your mind.

  • I stay through the first hours after your baby is born — through the settling-in, through the first feeding if you’re nursing or chest-feeding, until you’re comfortable and cared for. In the first week, I’ll follow up to check in on how your whole family is doing.

Let's Work together

What’s Included

  • Three prenatal meetings (virtual or in person) to build our relationship and prepare for your birth
  • Birth preference support — help drafting and communicating what you want in the birth room
  • On-call availability starting four weeks before your due date through two weeks after
  • Continuous labor support from the time you call me through the first hours postpartum
  • Support holding and expressing your birth preferences throughout
  • A postpartum follow-up call or visit in your first week
  • Backup coverage — in the rare event I’m unavailable, I maintain relationships with qualified backup doulas who share my values; you’ll have the chance to meet them

My Approach

Your body as teacher, with no limits 
Understanding the physiology of labor is one of the most powerful tools I can offer — not to steer you toward any particular kind of birth, but to help you make sense of what your body is doing as it happens. Knowledge gives you options. What you do with it is entirely up to you.

Evidence-informed care 
I stay current on birth research so I can walk you through your actual options — not just the defaults. Real information, clearly explained, without pressure or assumption baked in.

Your informed consent is non-negotiable
In a hospital setting, informed consent is a legal and ethical right that too often gets bypassed in the pace of clinical care. I'm here to make sure you understand what's being proposed, that your questions get real answers, and that nothing happens to your body without your full agreement.

Non-judgmental, always
Epidural or unmedicated. Hospital, birth center, or home. Cesarean or vaginal. Whatever path reflects your values and your needs, I'm here to support it fully and without conditions.

Seen and respected, fully
You deserve to be treated as a whole person in that room — not reduced to a chart, a set of assumptions, or someone else's idea of who you are. I advocate for how you're addressed and treated by everyone present, and I'll work alongside you to make sure your care reflects who you actually are, not who the system presumes you to be.

Navigating systems together 
Birthing institutions are designed with one kind of body in mind — and that shows up in real ways during labor and birth. I know how to move through those spaces and advocate for you without escalating, so you don't have to educate your care team while you're in labor.

Fiercely in your corner — all the way through
My presence doesn't end when the baby arrives. I stay through the early postpartum hours, support first feeding if you want it, and follow up within the first week. The birth matters. So does what comes after.

Fees

Fierce & Tender Birth Support operates on a sliding scale, because quality birth support should be accessible regardless of income. I am currently working towards certification, which allows for a lower cost structure for clients over the course of 2026, with fees increasing to $1000-1800 in the future.

More details about fees are discussed on our free consultation call — please don’t let cost be the thing that stops you from reaching out.