Thank You Mama is a seriously beautiful earth-mama-goddess sanctuary in my old stomping grounds of Old North East in St Pete. They have great retail but also offer some services that are so complimentary to what we do here at Barefoot Birth. Their storefront was a great breath of fresh air and just what families in the bay area needed when they opened 4 years ago!

This is a birth story from a doula client of mine turned midwifery client of Charlie's. A big part of my role as a doula prenatally is giving families information and then holding the space for them to make decisions about their care. I can't tell anyone how to give birth, I can only support the way they want to do it. I want all families to feel good about the support they've chosen. I am so happy that this mama didn't give up looking for the care she wanted during this important time. I'm so grateful she decided to share her VBAC after Special Scar (VBASS) story here with all of you. -Mary Catherine

My VBAC baby is 12 weeks old and I finally have my birth story together to share! Here is my HBAC after special scar story...

It's no secret that we're big supporters of Breastfeeding at Barefoot Birth. In fact, as of this World Breastfeeding Week, all of our members (save for the amazing Wes) are Certified Lactation Counselors (CLC). To say that our own experiences with breastfeeding, both as mothers and as service and care providers, have been life-shaping is an understatement.

We LOVE a good party y'all. So much of why we work well together is because we actually have fun together, so it's only natural that when there's a special family event happening in the community we'll be there to join in. We had such a great time this Spring and early Summer at some really wonderful festivals, and expos, and we thought we'd share with you why we think you should check them out next year!

We are so happy to welcome Amy Reinke as she joins the Barefoot Birth Family. Amy has been an asset to both Lakeland Midwifery Care and Barefoot Birth and we're so glad she's sticking around. Her joy for this work is pretty evident to those who've had the chance to meet her, and we hope you'll all have the opportunity soon! Amy is accepting doula clients, assisting at homebirths, and helping with placenta encapsulation.

For many years Florida Medicaid has covered the services of licensed midwives and free standing birth centers- private insurance is also mandated to cover the services of licensed midwives. Recently though, Medicaid have moved to a privatized model of HMOs which is leaving providers and clients alike in a state of aggravation and misunderstanding. To explain how this all works, we thought we should create this simple PSA and break it down piece by piece to dispel some of the myths. 

We are so thrilled to share this (extended) family member who also just so happens to be our neighbor! What a pleasure to have new healing spaces in our Seminole Heights neighborhood to serve families in the same way we do! I LOVE the practice model of community acupuncture and appreciate how much it increases access to care for ALL families. Sounds familiar, huh? 

Mama wanted some good images of her new baby and her adorable big sister. 

Barefoot Birth has been honored to provide families in the Tampa Bay area with Placenta Encapsulation for the past 5 years--longer than any other provider in the area! We're so glad to know that not only are happily families spreading the word to their friends about the healing benefits of our placenta encapsulation services, but that your other midwives and care providers are recommending us as well.

I was honored to meet Dr. V during a birth center transfer when I was a senior student midwife. A simple transfer for exhaustion in a long labor of a first time mother. I was so impressed with how pleasant Dr. V was as sometimes receiving physicians of transfer clients can be cold, callous, and often downright degrading.

"I always joke that every community needs and deserves a Laura Gilkey. Over the years that sentiment has become less of a joke and more of a shouting request for all of the Laura Gilkeys of the world to come forth and organize! Laura is an outstanding, outspoken, beautifully tactful, roof shaker, change maker, and community builder. Maternally Yours just seemed to be the perfect progression to take all of that passion to a wider audience and now a national level."

It was such an honor to capture Candy's day of birth with Jax. 

Candy's sister hired me to photograph her birth in Dec of 2012 and she gifted my photographic services to her sister for her birth. Such an honor. It felt like I was with family. 

Next up in our interactive resource list series is a group that helped me as a mama feel confident in my breastfeeding relationship. I grew so much as a new mother attending these weekly meetings. I even took my job as snack-bag-bringer very seriously for the few months that I kept that hat on. 

We waited a long time to be able to put something like this together and share what we do and why we do it. Our great friend Pete from Indie Atlantic managed to capture our story pretty succinctly and we are so pleased to share it with you all!  

I am pretty sure I don't have to say it- but the Barefoot Family absolutely adores our local chapter of the International Cesarean Awareness Network. Our very own Melissa Goodnow is a local ICAN Leader and our previous doula apprentice Amy Allison is a co-leader for this fabulous organization. We asked Tampa Chapter founder Melissa Taylor to take a few moments to explain to us what exactly ICAN has to offer local families

This story comes from one incredible mama. In fact, reading her recount and seeing the photos her photographer captured made me ugly cry quite a bit. Knowing her journey to homebirth, and knowing what her family has been through over the years made her triumph that much sweeter. 

Something that drives me completely batty though is when I hear families claim that they are having a birth center birth because they are "just not ready for a home birth." I want to take a moment to set the record straight for everyone. IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA- A BIRTH CENTER BIRTH IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME AS A HOMEBIRTH. 

While I love to provide herbal support for my mamas, sometimes I do not have the time to make products I know clients will benefit from. This is where Cindy's store really comes in handy! High quality, made with love, quickly shipped, and best of all- super effective! 

This beautiful mama is due June 1st. She and dad wanted to do her maternity session on the beach. They picked one of my favorite beaches to shoot at. Reddington Beach is a great location. I love the pier and it is rarely busy. 

It was such an honor to walk with this family as they planned their VBAC. Brooke is a fitness coach who has made amazing positive health changes with her family and for her pregnancy, and helps others do the same. Always inspired and so faithful, I never doubted their commitment to giving this birth a chance to be everything they wanted it to be. Brooke's labor came on fast and furious, but her sweet sunny-side-up positioned girl decided to keep us on our toes as labor slowed and sped throughout that day. Reading this again reminds me of how much strength and calm was present, and how all things are possible when we give families the support and space to believe in themselves.