Details for our 2024 Community Doula Training!

There is a large piece of land in rural Florida where you will find the frame house where my grandmother, Mema, was born 75 years ago. In this home today reside my cousin and his family. Adjacent to this relic lives his father and Mema’s brother, my great uncle Buddy. If you look out of Uncle Buddy’s front window and across the yard you will find my Mema’s current home, and directly across from her front window is the house I spent my early childhood in. All separated by a dirt road and framed by giant oak trees. Surrounding the homes are acres and acres of farm land, rows and rows of strawberries, blueberries, cantelopes, or peppers depending on the season. No shoes are ever necessary, your rite of passage to a tractor seat arrives at the ripe age of 7, and there are ain’t nothin’ a biscuit can’t fix. This land has been cared for by my blood line for nearly a century now. This land is where I was planted, where my roots spread deep, and where I learned how to grow.

The gut is often called “the second brain” because of its significant influence on the other systems in our bodies. What you eat – and what you don’t eat – can have a tremendous impact on easing the painful symptoms caused by endometriosis.

If you struggle with life-altering endometriosis, know that you don’t have to go it alone. Try treating your endometriosis symptoms by incorporating these supplements and herbs into your daily routine. 

If you are struggling with endometriosis, you should know that you don’t have to go it alone. For those seeking alternative solutions to treat endometriosis naturally, our holistic midwives offer individualized care to treat endometriosis without surgery. If our approach sounds right for you, keep reading to learn our tips for treating endometriosis naturally. 

Natural childbirth is a term commonly used to describe an unmedicated birth, or a birthing experience without the use of an epidural or other medications for pain relief. With thoughtful research and preparation, you can join the hundreds of Barefoot Birth families in having a safe, positive, and dare we say joyous birthing experience.

Routine exercise is one of the best ways to prepare for childbirth, be it unmedicated or not. Like any other physically challenging experience, your labor will be easier and faster if you condition your body ahead of time. Here are five daily exercises that work to build endurance, lengthen the pelvic floor, stretch the perineum, and strengthen your core and thighs.

Thinking about making a natural birth plan, but not sure where to start? Having a plan ahead of time can help you feel prepared, confident, and ease any worries before your labor.

No matter your birth plan, there are many benefits to prenatal massage therapy during your pregnancy. See our top 11 benefits of prenatal massage.

Since 2008 Barefoot Birth has been providing holistically focused midwifery care to families seeking a community birth in the comfort of their own home.

Wow.
What. A. Year. It has been around these parts! Covid has changed so many lives and our practice has definitely seen the ups and downs of childbearing during a pandemic! We have seen unprecedented increases in complications which we can only ascertain was due in part to such increased levels of stress for the families we care for. Job losses, changes in childcare situations, lack of access to care related to Covid precautions, general worldwide pandemic doom and gloom. It hasn’t always been kittens and rainbows for our families just trying to enjoy the path to parenthood.

With our announcement of our newest midwife and women’s health nurse practitioner we are so pleased to roll out Tampa’s first women’s health specific integrative health clinic. Have you been searching for years for truly holistic gynecological care? Dealing with hormonal issues but don’t want a pack of birth control thrown at you? Wishing there was a better way to bring your body back into balance? We’ve got you covered!

In 2008 I started Barefoot Birth with a loose idea of what a great midwifery practice and 501c3 would look like for families. I figured our community would dictate the details over the years and yall have definitely delivered! We created The Community Roots Collective as a space for families to grow. Care from preconception through the first 5 years. What everyone has asked for time and time again is a holistic approach to gynecological care. Legally this was a grey area for us as Licensed Midwives so we are thrilled to be able to welcome a Certified Nurse Midwife to our team to continue to share how personalized, focused healthcare can change lives and our communities.

Our Barefoot Birth doulas work together very similarly to our midwifery model of care but instead of three midwives and a student, you receive support from two doulas, Brandi Morales and Vanessa Kekuewa.

What is a Doula? If you’re pregnant and on the internet you may have come across the word “Doula”, questioning what they are, and what they do, but also, “do I need one?!”

A doula is a person who provides emotional, informational, and physical support during your pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Ok, but what does that mean?

“Then 2020 happened, and brought with it a global pandemic, civil unrest, workplace shutdowns and loss of income. I also found myself dealing with significant stress factors in my personal life. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I had recently moved my ailing parents into my very small and now very crowded house. It was certainly not the most ideal time to see a blue "plus sign" on a home pregnancy test. All those long forgotten fears came flooding back. Still, I was happy. After all, there was going to be a new baby to love! A seed of hope.”

“There is no coincidence that many of the birth stories from Barefoot Birth clients note how healing their home births were and I am no exception. In late 2019 we found out we were pregnant with our third and began planning our third home birth.”

Folks have all sorts of great questions for us and we want to answer them!

Medicaid coverage has been an ongoing saga in the medical world for decades now. We have written previously about it many times and discussed barriers to care for folks as well as barriers for providers in accepting it as payment. The privatization of Medicaid put the nail in the coffin for a lot of providers. Not only has reimbursement decreased, the private model has made it a dog and pony show to get paid.

“A home birth was my dream. Even before my husband and I got married I knew I wanted an alternative to hospital birth. I have very negative associations with hospital births as I have known too many people who were pressured into interventions or had traumatic experiences. I knew I wanted something different for myself and my future babies. A sweet friend of mine received midwifery care from Charlie and had amazing home birth experiences. So it was a no brainer that Charlie was our first call in early October 2019, just weeks before we conceived. Charlie was a breath of fresh air to my hormonally imbalanced and slightly discouraged spirit. She set us up with some practical steps to take right away to support my hormonal rebalance and I took action (a sweet part of our journey that we reminisced about together after Jameson’s arrival).”