What Is A Birth Keeper?

I get a lot of questions about what a birth keeper is. "Obviously, it has something to do with birth, but what’s with the keeper part? How can you 'keep' birth? Are you a doula? A midwife??" I love when I get the opportunity to explain, so pull up a seat and let’s chat.

Firstly, let me say that labels always feel limiting to me. I don’t like putting anyone into a box—whether it’s related to religion, job titles, or political stances. Once we categorize someone, we assume we know their entire perspective. I don’t know about you—I’m far too complex to fit neatly into one label. So, please understand that when I use the term "birth keeper," I’m sharing what it means to me. These are general statements about midwives and doulas, but they aren’t hard and fast rules or rigid definitions.

So, let’s start with what I’m not. I’m NOT a midwife. Midwives are medically trained to support women and babies through pregnancy and birth. While I’ve taken some incredible trainings and learned valuable skills, I know only a tiny piece—maybe 20%—of what a midwife knows in terms of medical knowledge. (That’s not a scientific statistic, so don’t hold me to it! 😆) I appreciate midwives and their medical expertise, and there’s absolutely a place for them—but I am not, nor do I plan to become, a midwife.

I love that I have enough wisdom to fully support families emotionally, spiritually, and physically, but not so much medical knowledge that I feel compelled to intervene in birth. Many who start as doulas or birth keepers eventually pursue midwifery, but at this point in my life, I don’t see that as part of my journey. I fear that if I fully understood all the medical intricacies of birth—the endless possibilities of things that could go wrong and the ways we're supposed to "fix it"—it might be harder for me to simply trust birth and allow it to unfold as it’s meant to. There is also such a need in the birth world for birth keepers who can offer full support to those choosing to birth without medical oversight.

While I sometimes use the term doula to help people understand my role, I’m not truly a doula either. Let me explain. Most doulas support all types of births, from home births to planned cesareans. I only attend home births and free births. Doulas also typically provide 1-2 prenatal visits, support families at their birth, and sometimes offer one postpartum visit. My role extends beyond that—I provide much more pregnancy preparation, mindset support, and logistical guidance beyond making birth plans and navigating birth choices.

Common Myths & Misconceptions

There are a lot of misconceptions about what a birth keeper is. One of the biggest concerns people have about “birth keeping” is: "Isn’t that dangerous?" or "Aren’t you afraid you’ll get sued?" The answer is no. A birth keeper does not replace medical care-ever, in any way. I don’t provide medical assessments, check fetal heart tones, or give medical advice. The free birth families that hire me have already considered the risks and educated themselves on what medical things they may need. They are aware that this is not my role and THATS why they want to hire me. They are taking on the full responsibility of the medical side of their birth and yes, it’s included in my contract.

Instead, my role is to help families trust and navigate their birth experience in a way that aligns with their values and intuition. Some families choose to birth without medical care, and I support their choices. My role is to be the wise “sister” in the corner of the room—not to intervene or take control.

Birth Keepers in History & Other Cultures

Women have been supporting each other in birth for centuries!! In many traditional cultures, birth was a community experience, with experienced women holding space, singing, and offering wisdom while the laboring mother did what she instinctively knew to do. The women supporting a birthing mom weren’t carrying around certificates to prove they were wise. They had just witnessed and experienced birth themselves and so they knew what mamas needed during their birth time. It wasn’t until modern times that birth became medicalized, moving into hospitals and being treated as a condition to manage rather than a natural event. Birth keepers are reclaiming this wisdom, bringing birth back to a space of trust, intuition, and sovereignty.

Why Is Trust in Birth So Radical Today?

We live in a time where birth has been medicalized to the point that fear is so engrained into our subconscious from the get go. After all, if they can’t get us to fear it, then how could they convince us to pay them so damn much for their “expertise”? Even starting in childhood, women (and the whole world really) are conditioned to fear birth—bombarded with warnings, risk factors, and worst-case scenarios. Instead of being taught to listen to and trust her body, she is “trained” to rely on external authority—monitors, ultrasounds, hospital protocols, doctors, even midwives—to tell her what’s happening inside her own womb.

Consider how many birth horror stories pregnant women hear from TV, friends, family, and even complete strangers. It’s almost as if people feel obligated to share their traumatic experiences. This constant messaging tells women that birth is something to be afraid of, something that must be managed and controlled to be safe. But birth is not an emergency waiting to happen. It is a deeply physiological, instinctual process, and fear is one of the biggest disruptors of that process.

When a laboring mama is fearful, her body responds accordingly—adrenaline rises, contractions stall, and tension increases….wait…that sounds like the majority of hospital births. Wonder why?? 🤔 It is not because birth is inherently dangerous, but because birth requires safety, trust, hands-off, and surrender and that’s almost impossible to find in a hospital setting or even with some home birth midwives. (We will talk about that another time)

But back to the point—when women feel completely safe, undisturbed, and free from external pressure, their bodies open in ways that are hard for most to comprehend. They enter a feral space where intuition takes over, and birth unfolds as nature created it to. This is why the environment matters. This is why who is present at a birth matters. And this is why birth keepers exist—to create and protect that space of deep trust and surrender.

If you’ve only ever heard of birth as a medical event, this might sound radical. But in reality, medical birth is the radical and crazy thing. Undisturbed birth is what has sustained us for generations. When we return to trusting birth, we return to trusting ourselves.

What It Means to Keep Birth

So if I’m not a midwife and not a conventional doula, then what am I? What does it mean to "keep" birth? For me, keeping birth means guarding and preserving birth as it was always meant to be—simple, natural, physiological, and undisturbed. Mammals give birth regularly without intervention, and when we are allowed to do the same, we are far more likely to have a successful, trauma-free birth. That kind of birth experience leads to empowerment, growth, and a newfound strength in women. And honestly, a world where women feel empowered and strong? That’s a world I want to be a part of!

I see my role as guiding everyone—mothers, fathers, medical providers, and even close family and friends—back to trusting the birth process and the mother’s incredibly capable body. This trust starts in pregnancy and continues all the way through birth.

At the heart of it, being a birth keeper isn’t about controlling birth, managing birth, or even assisting birth. It’s about holding space for birth in its most raw, natural, and powerful form. It’s about reminding women that they are not just passive participants in birth—they are the creators of life, and they hold the wisdom to birth their babies in their own way.

So, if you’ve ever felt drawn to birth in a way that defies mainstream expectations—if you’ve ever craved deep, unwavering support for your birth experience without unnecessary intervention—you just might be looking for a birth keeper. And if that’s you, then I’d love to walk this journey with you.