Birdsong Doulas

? The Power of Doula Mentorship: Building Bridges Across Disciplines ? This week, I’m feeling especially grateful for the ANCHOR FOR DOULAS mentorship community I’ve been nurturing on Patreon through my company Birdsong Doulas. As doulas, we often work in deeply personal and transformative spaces—whether it’s supporting birth, postpartum recovery, loss, gender transitions, or end-of-life care. But what truly makes our work sustainable and impactful is community. In ANCHOR, we’ve created a space for interdisciplinary doulas—postpartum doulas, birth doulas, gender doulas, abortion doulas, death doulas, and more—to come together, share their wisdom, and learn from one another. Because the truth is, no matter how much we specialize, we’re all tethered by the same goal: to show up for our clients with care, dignity, and unwavering support. ?? The beauty of gathering doulas from different disciplines is that it pushes us to expand our perspectives, develop new skills, and strengthen the collective work of care and justice. It’s a reminder that we’re not in this alone, and that the ripple effect of collaboration is powerful. ?? If you’re an advanced doula looking for a mentorship space where you can grow, connect, and be seen, I’d love to have you join ANCHOR. And if you’re a newer doula just getting started, no worries! Birdsong Doulas has a tier called ROOTS designed especially for you, with resources and support to help you grow into your practice. ?? Let’s continue building a community that uplifts and sustains us. ?? #DoulasOnLinkedin #DoulaMentorship #BirthJustice #PostpartumJustice #PostpartumSupport #CollectiveCare #AnchorYourPractice -- ?? Hi, I’m Erica! As the founder of Birdsong Doulas and CXO of Togather, I bridge the worlds of maternal health and collective care. With a focus on postpartum justice and doula mentorship, I support families navigating the transformative journey of parenthood while advocating for systemic change to create equitable care for parents and healthcare providers alike. Let’s connect to reimagine maternal health together!

Why I call myself a postpartum-centric, full-spectrum doula My journey as a doula began in postpartum care. It’s where I planted my roots and learned firsthand that postpartum isn’t just a chapter—it’s a continuum. Even as my work expanded to birth, miscarriage, abortion, loss, and death, I keep returning to postpartum because everything has a postpartum—an “after” that extends and transforms forever. At Birdsong Doulas, we begin with the end in mind. This philosophy reflects a profound truth: centering the “later” as we approach the “now” allows us to make choices that align deeply with each person’s long-term well-being. When we approach birth, loss, or any threshold moment by considering how it will shape someone’s life in a year, five years, or beyond, we start to see a fuller picture. We honor the whole person—not just in peak moments but in the days and years that follow. The inevitable “after” deserves our attention, care, and respect. It holds memories, joys, and healing, but it also holds wounds that can echo forward if left unattended. Being postpartum-centric means I am here for all of it—the arrivals, the goodbyes, and every slow, beautiful, and complex “after” that unfolds in between. What threshold moments in the “now” could be adjusted to better honor the “after”? I’ll go first… Consider how often care providers encourage people with epidurals to push as hard as possible, without fully weighing how more intense tearing might impact healing and caregiving in the postpartum period. When we take the postpartum into account, we can make choices in birth that better support the body’s recovery, making that “after” a bit gentler. What’s a threshold moment you think could be more mindful of the postpartum? Drop a comment or DM me to share your thoughts. ?? #DoulasOnLinkedin #PostpartumCentricFullSpectrumDoula #PostpartumDoula -- ?? Hi, I’m Erica! As the founder of Birdsong Doulas and CXO of Togather, I bridge the worlds of maternal health and collective care. With a focus on postpartum justice and doula mentorship, I support families navigating the transformative journey of parenthood while advocating for systemic change to create equitable care for parents and healthcare providers alike. Let’s connect to reimagine maternal health together!

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be at HLTH 2024, co-facilitating a workshop on racial bias in medicine with Tesiah Coleman, the inspiring founder of Togather. As the CXO (for us that means Community Experience Organizer - eliminating the words chief and officer which don't align with our values - but that's for a whole other post sometime...) at Togather, I’ve been helping build this platform focused on collective care and health justice. This workshop is the first in a 4-part series we’ve developed, titled Equity in Practice, which will offer healthcare professionals tangible steps to integrate equity into their daily practice. The series addresses racial bias, operationalizing justice and liberatory frameworks in all walks of healthcare, transforming communication, and sustaining provider well-being. If you’re attending HLTH 2024, I’d love to connect and explore how we can collaborate to make this vital shift in healthcare together.

?? Feature Friday! Every Friday we will be highlighting different members of the Togather community, starting with our founders ?? Today we are featuring: Erica Livingston Erica is a postpartum centric full spectrum doula passionate about driving change at the intersection of public health and social justice. In addition to being an early Founding Member of Togather, Erica serves as Togather's Community Experience Organizer, developing and implementing strategies to create a positive and inclusive experience for our community members, as well as engaging with our community to ensure their needs are met and their voices are valued. ? What do you contribute to the Togather community? As the first doula on the Founding Member team, I bring hands-on experience and a focus on birth justice, integrating client-centered approaches into our health equity initiatives. ? What do you receive from the Togather community? A community full of healthcare professionals that I love, access to so many valuable resources, professional growth opportunities, and the support of a community dedicated to collective well-being and a more equitable healthcare system. Know a Doula making a difference? Tag them below! -- Interested in joining our Founding Members as one of the First 100?Togather?members? Click the link in the comments to find out how to apply! #healthequity #healthcareonlinkedin #FeatureFriday #collectivecare #collectiveaction #community #doula #birthjustice