Tracy Schmidt, Natural Childbirth Educator
Eden Schmidt, Postpartum Doula
Like mother, like daughter.
Every Birth Matters introduces Birth & Babies Matter, our partner in this miraculous season of your life called birth. While Every Birth Matters leads you through birth, Birth & Babies Matter gently ushers you into a peaceful postpartum. A celebrated postpartum doula, Eden is certainly her mother’s protege. Students of Birthing Foundations™ will recognize her as the teacher of Sessions 6 and 7.
What is a doula?
from Eden Schmidt
As a postpartum doula I have a wide variety of skills I can offer, which I tailor to each family that I support. My role is to mother the mother, but more often than not it extends far past that! I work to anticipate the family's needs, catering to each individual rather than simply performing the same series of tasks for each family.
I become part of the family's team and we work together to create objectives and meet those goals. My favorite way to describe my vocation is to explain what I am not. I am not a chef, a housekeeper, a lactation consultant, a sleep expert, a therapist or a newborn care specialist, but rather I touch on everything. I cook for almost all of my families. I pick up and straighten so your space feels neat and orderly. I help explain the nuances of breast and bottle feeding. I help you learn how to care for and understand the developmental needs of your newborn. I listen as you process your experience and give feedback when appropriate. I am the introduction to every part of postpartum, and I care for each of those needs to the fullest of my capacity, which sometimes is enough, and when it is not I help guide you to the correct professional that can provide more specialized support. Often mothers feel themselves just making it through the day during their postpartum, however I believe that postpartum can be so much more than that. My goal as a doula is to work with families to meet their needs and allow them to thrive rather than survive in the postpartum period.
Often mothers feel themselves just making it through the day during their postpartum period, and I believe that postpartum can be so much more than that. My goal as a doula is to work with families to meet their needs and allow them to thrive rather than survive in the postpartum period.
If you’re here, you know my mother as Tracy Schmidt, childbirth educator! I grew up sitting on her lap through birth classes, enjoying birth videos more than cartoons, tagging along on postpartum visits during the summers or years I was homeschooled, giving me an invaluable amount of experience that was simply ingrained in my being since childhood. I attended my first home birth when I was 10 and knew that this was the field for me. When I chose to pursue education I decided on a Bachelor's degree in Child and Adolescent Development and minor in Nutrition which has aided me well in working with families to understand their infant’s development. Nutrition is one of the cornerstones of pregnancy and postpartum and I work closely with each family to help mom meet her nutritional needs while also maintaining any dietary restrictions they may have.
After college I was trained both as a birth and postpartum doula, and began working with other doulas in my community to understand the nuances of the job and where I fit into the birthworld. I decided to take some time away and went to Madagascar to work in a Birth Center, working as a birth doula as well as teaching my doula course to the local midwives, writing a curriculum on culturally appropriate baby care, modifying their food programs to help moms have the best nutrition base possible, and writing a course for partners to learn how to best assist a birthing mother. My time there was invaluable in how I learned to care for moms without being told what to do, which is something that I strive for even now with each family that I work with. Each of these things have given me something which I now use daily in my work, helping me learn to be creative, problem solve, and create an empathetic environment where my clients can flow through whatever range of emotion they may need to and then move forward into confidently and comfortably welcoming their new member into their midst.
My clients can flow through whatever range of emotion they may need to and then move forward into confidently and comfortably welcoming their new member into their midst.
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As a postpartum doula I have a wide variety of things that I offer, which I tailor to each individual family that I work with. My role is to mother the mother, but more often than not it extends far past that! My favorite way to describe it is to explain what I am not. I am not a chef, a housekeeper, a lactation consultant, a sleep expert, a therapist, a newborn care specialist, but rather I touch on everything. I cook for almost all of my families, I pick up and straighten so your space feels neat and orderly, I help explain the nuances of breast and bottle feeding, I help you understand how to care for understand the developmental needs of your newborn, I listen as you process and give feedback when appropriate. I am the introduction to every part of postpartum, and I care for each of those needs to the fullest of my capacity, which sometimes is enough, and when it is not I help guide you to the correct professional that can provide more specialized support.
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Every family it is different. For some families it is most helpful when I start right when baby is born, and for others they prefer I come when a partner is going back to work or a visiting family member leaves. Anytime within the first 12 weeks postpartum is appropriate.
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Please fill out the contact form below and we will schedule a time to connect and see if I may be a good fit for your family and if I have availability at that time.
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For daytime visits I do a minimum of four hours at a time, typically 9-1 or 1:30-5:30 depending on your preference and my availability. Most families choose to start with 2 to 3 days per week.
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I charge $50 per hour with a four hour minimum. If you are looking for consulting I charge $85 per hour for on the phone consulting
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Clients are welcome to extend their contracts subject to availability at that time.
Coming Soon:
Postpartum 101 with Eden
We are thrilled to announce that after many requests, Birth & Babies Matter is producing a much-anticipated video series! Postpartum 101 with Eden will address all the most common questions you may have (or didn’t know you had) so you are well prepared to simply enjoy the precious weeks and months after your baby’s birth.
Find comprehensive guides outlining:
things new parents are frequently expected to know but aren’t often taught
finding providers in alignment with your goals
preparing to welcome a baby without too much clutter
supporting the developmental needs of your growing infant
helping your community understand the nuances of care for you in your period of postpartum rest
tips on conscious parenting
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