Hey Y'all! We thought you might want to share the word about the Barefoot Bus! 

We will be sharing these around town and would love it if you could too! You can download and share our flyer below- check it out! 

It is with great joy and excitement that we announce that Barefoot Birth is (FINALLY!!!) providing concierge home birth services and personalized prenatal care!  We are looking forward to preserving REAL home birth midwifery right here Tampa Bay!

So many amazing families braved the heat to rally together to raise awareness about birth options today, and Barefoot Birth was proud to attend! We got to chat with mamas and papas while their kiddos colored our Barefoot Birth themed coloring book pages! 

As many of you know, Barefoot Birth began as a small little wish of myself and my best friend Megan. This past summer, I had the huge honor of attending Megan's first homebirth and welcoming her son earthside. Every birth is so special, but to walk with your best friend on one of their most vulnerable and important days is simply magical. 

These are two best friends who I had the honor of caring for simultaneously during their second pregnancies. Katie and Dana were due just days apart from one another. They became inseparable after meeting when they were teenagers. They put their story like this:

This story comes to us from a beautiful client who is the mama to 3 precious girls. This was her 2nd homebirth. I love how calm she was even while cursing like a sailor to bring her baby earthside. I just adore this family and love that they have shared their story with the world! Enjoy! 

"On Nov 8, 2012 I was 41 weeks pregnant with my 3rd daughter Serenity River. I had a real urge to get some shopping done that evening, so after dinner I ran to Wal-Mart while Chris was home with the big girls. On my way to the store I started having back pain for the first time. So when I got back home, I ended up doing a "Bitch post" for the first time, complaining about my back hurting and was just DONE. I was ready for Serenity to come out and meet the world!  It was after we got the girls to bed that I realized this back pain was coming and going, which meant I was in early labor!! I called Gina and Charlie, my midwife and student midwife, to let them know what was going on. This is when Gina told me she was still not feeling well from being in the hospital sick for 5 days and that she couldn't come to my birth, she would have to send her back up Jill with Charlie.  I was really upset that she wasn't going to make it, but felt very comfortable with Charlie; I knew she was going to take great care of us.

"This story comes to us from a previous client who, despite several obstacles, had an amazing birth. This story highlights in detail what it is a doula ACTUALLY does. Stereotypes and preconceptions aside, this is how we as doulas help support families to feel confident in themselves. We are not there to do it for them, we CAN'T do it for them....we are there to make sure they are informed, loved, and feel heard every step of the way without our own agenda. Even when things don't go as planned, a doula helps you to find your path and feel confident in the decisions you're making."  

At the time, she was dubbed “Baby Poptart,” and no one but God and my very precocious 3 year old knew she was a girl. We were, of course, already in love with her, but worried a bit too. Not about her health, no, everything seemed on track and we had no reason to expect anything was off - and I’ll save you skipping to the end - nothing was, she was perfectly healthy. No, we were worried because we ended up in the middle of a situation in which we had far less control than we should have we had. Let me start at the beginning, 3 years prior.

A new study on birth centers has just been released yesterday in the Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health, and of course it has a special place in my heart not just because of my midwifery aspirations but because we chose to welcome our son in a free-standing birth center.

This birth story comes to us from our dear friend Susan. Susan is an ICAN leader and radical unschooling mother of 2. We are excited to share her story with you as it shows how having the right support, appropriate preparation, and belief in yourself can help you achieve the birth you and your baby deserve. 

"Kai was a planned but surprise pregnancy just like our first son. We had been trying for over a year and had basically given up on having more children. We decide to be happy with our 3 person family. I also decided that if I was going to be a mommy to one, I could also handle a new career and went back to school to become an architect. I had finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up and that was to work on sustainable community development  About 6 weeks into the semester, I found out I was pregnant with our second baby. I was so excited that all of our new plans were now going to have to be re-planned once again.