Birthkeeper

A Birthkeeper is a caregiver that offers a 100% soul- level, conscious investment, to a birthing family with no allegiances to any system, to any licensing, or to any colleagues

Dear Family

I am a Birthkeeper

I am a professional childbirth consultant, family advocate, and holistic doula, with an education in holistic midwifery from The Matrona.

I have an AquaDoula Birth Tub for rental and I’m willing to attend birth.

I provide birth classes to help families feel at ease about birthing at home or in in the hospital.

I teach families how to actualize their potential to be self-directed and instinctual, and facilitate management of their birth outside and inside the medical model of care.

I offer massage and classes to learn massage (for the baby, mom and dad) at the office or in your home.

I offer prenatal checkups at the office or in your home.

I have a deep reservoir of knowledge and training in regards to the biological function and feeding of the newborn: preventing reflux, colic, and digestive overload, which alleviates a hard, fussy, and sleepless first six+ months.

I teach families how to expand and balance the blood during pregnancy to properly support the mother and the baby.

I help prepare before and after the birth for a happy and healthy postpartum with meal prepping, light house work, helping other children adjust, and helping the mother recover with bodywork and healing foods.

I help families learn about the foods and proper supplementation that reverse reproductive infertility, nourish and promote a calm and happy baby, and support the family as a whole.

I teach and empower fathers to be the midman who receive their baby at birth, how to maintain the family’s legal rights, become the supportive doula dad, and fully understand and embody the organic role of the father.

I am skilled in the Quantum Holistic Model of care, which is intended to elevate the consciousness of birth.

I am here to witness the creation of family and to protect its commencement, by providing security during birth, so the parents (no matter where we are) are able to maintain an undisturbed birth together, which aids in an unfolding of a beautiful and transforming creation of family ceremony and golden hour after the baby is born.

I nurture and affirm the instinctual responses of the family. 

I witness self- directed care and hold space for a family’s commencement without interfering in their instinctual responses.

I am deeply connected and I will give you my depth and a meaningful relationship at soul- level.

My investment is in the creation of family.

I have no hidden agendas.

Each person is treated uniquely.

I use common sense and use technology wisely.

And, I understand birth happens in an altered state of consciousness. 

I am a Birthkeeper offering the wisdom of our ancestry back to humanity, so the creation of family may be instinctual, self-directed, and sacred. 

Please, if you or anyone you know is thinking about creating a family: share me, call me, email me, or text me and let’s make it happen!

Zazie Leigh, Birthkeeper, Professional Childbirth Consultant & Family Advocate.

IG @undisturbed_birthkeeper

Email me at Rebalgal@protonmail.com

Or Schedule HERE!

Schedule an in-person consult or zoom meeting with me and learn all about:

How I can be there for you and your family

Undisturbed Birth 101

Homebirth 101

Hospital birth 101

Doula Dad, and the organic role of the Father
– Receiving the light
– Ending obstetrical violence, and shaping the system

Spontaneous Birth and Double Dilation

Altered States of Consciousness

Holistic Stages of Birth

How to prevent and reverse Colic and reflux. Biological feeding and cycles of the new born

Anatomy of the pelvic floor, and addressing concerns of the pelvic floor. Prevention of prolapsed uterus, bladder, and the rectum

Nutritional Consulting for breastmilk and building healthy bodies

Legal rights

Blood testing and screening

Medications

and so much more!

Please continue scrolling to find a longer list of credentials.

The Toa of The Midwife
And so the midwife preforms her work by doing nothing
She teaches without saying a word
Things arise and she lets them come
Things leave and she lets them go
Creating, not possessing
Working and laying no claim
And then, when her work is done, she releases it
She lets it go, and so it lasts forever

Below is a more comprehensive outline of my education as a holistic midwife.

This is the “Categorizes Of Knowledge” from The Matrona, you can find what is cited below at https://thematrona.com/our-philosophy/

Professional Standards, Knowledge and Skills:

  • How to nurture and care take yourself and/or another. This includes active listening skills, the ability to suspend judgment, the ability to respond appropriately in the area of details and in the big picture, the ability to interpret information correctly and a sense of compassion and genuine caring. The ability to nurture implies the ability to feed the spirit and soul, the mind, heart and body of another or yourself.
  • Strive to move everything through the ancient, time-honored tradition of women’s health and the innate intelligence of the body following the matrix of the Wise Woman Tradition, as articulated by  Susun Weed. The WWT encompasses 7 steps that are holistic, practical and clinical when appropriate.
1. Do Nothing
2. Gather Information
3. Work with the energy
4. Nourish and Tone
5. Stimulate & Sedate
6. Use Biomeds or other ‘medicines’ of this stature at a heroic level
7. Break & Enter
  • Have a thorough understanding of the Wise Woman Tradition and the ability to use the theories and skills to approach any concern – physical, emotional, mental or spiritual and to see the WWT as a dynamic web of healing potential.
  • A working knowledge of the quantum paradigm, the holistic paradigm and the differences between the humanistic and mechanistic paradigms; the ability to practice in the quantum and holistic paradigms.
  • A comfortable relationship with the altered state and with the realms of expanded consciousness.
  • A basic relationship with the skills and tools of intuition and the ability to incorporate these skills into everyday life and practice.
  • An understanding of how to offer time, energy and attention.
  • The ability to understand the principles of woundology and the far-reaching consequences of re-creating wounded patterns in our lives and in the birthing continuum.
  • An understanding of why and how to create soul-level connections with others.
  • An understanding of the difference between ideas and ideologies and the means to articulate this difference.
  • Recognition of the Caregivers Spiral and how to integrate with the care giving community, in collaborative behavior without loosing professional autonomy.
  • The ability to differentiate between laws and the Standard of Care within communities, and to adequately explain the parameters of informed choice/consent and the right to set self-determination.
  • The ability to inform parents of the legal, political and cultural guidelines regarding childbirth in the communities you both live within.
  • A working knowledge of homeopathy and the ability to offer beginning-level prescribing for emergencies – not just childbirth-related situations; an understanding of the theory and importance of miasms and their treatment; the importance of constitutional and fundamental treatment of the pregnant mother; the ability to use appropriate beginner-level homeopathy in all walks of life.
  • A working knowledge of herbs, especially the specific herbs for the childbearing cycle; an understanding of the various classifications of herbs – nutritive, toning, specific, potentially toxic; an understanding of how to make and use teas and tinctures for beginning-level treatment of everyday ailments.
  • The ability to understand and use medical vocabulary eloquently and appropriately, as it applies to anatomy and physiology and specifically the areas of childbearing and well woman care.

Anatomy and Physiology for Midwives:

  • An understanding of the language of anatomy – anatomical positions and directional terms, body cavities and body quadrants.
  • An understanding of the meaning and concepts of homeostasis and homeodynamics.
  • A knowledge of all the organs of the body, what system they belong to and where they are located.
  • A basic knowledge of the endocrine system and the glands of the body – where they are located, what hormones they secrete, and what each hormone is responsible for.
  • A basic understanding of the cardiovascular system including the path of blood flow through the heart, basic knowledge of veins and arteries, the components of blood, diagnostic blood tests for the childbearing cycle and the physiology of circulation including blood pressure.
  • A basic understanding of the function of the lymphatic system and the
    major lymphatic organs in the body.
  • A basic and simple understanding of the immune system including the basic premise of the immune response and the components of the non-specific immune system.
  • A basic understanding of the respiratory system including the anatomy of the respiratory tract; the mechanics of breathing and the principles of oxygen and carbon dioxide transfer.
  • A basic understanding of the functions of the digestive system including functional anatomy and the physiology of digestion and absorption.
  • An understanding of physical nutrition including the process of metabolism and the essential nutrients – carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water.
  • A basic understanding of the fluid balance of the body, the electrolyte balance in the body and the pH balance in the body. An understanding of acidosis – how to prevent, recognize and correct this concern in mother and/or baby.
  • A basic understanding of the urinary system including functional anatomy and the physiology of urine formation and filtration.
  • A working knowledge of the female reproductive system including the female anatomy, both internal and external – ovaries, uterus, ducts and yoni; recognition of external genitalia. A working knowledge of female physiology including the ovarian cycle and the menstrual cycle. A working understanding of the basic female hormones – especially estrogen and progesterone, as well as FSH and LH, and their effect on the female cycles.
  • A working knowledge of vaginal ecology and STI’s including syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes, Chlamydia and Candida – cause, recognition, prevention and treatment.
  • A basic knowledge of the physical changes that occur at puberty, with fertility, and in menopause.
  • The study of well-woman care.
  • A working knowledge of pregnancy and human development from the anatomy and physiology point of view including fertilization, basic embryonic development, and basic fetal development. This information to be continued in detail in the pregnancy, birth postpartum sections.
  • A basic understanding of the male reproductive system including functional anatomy and male physiology.
  • An understanding of how physiology informs the functioning of the childbearing continuum.

Pregnancy and Prenatal:

  • The signs and symptoms of pregnancy.
  • How to identify and counsel for any pre-existing conditions that may influence pregnancy.
  • Understanding normal uterine and fetal development in each trimester of pregnancy.
  • Relevant prenatal testing – what tests are available, what they are for and when they are advised. This includes blood work and urine analysis – hematocrit/hemoglobin testing, a CBC, blood type and Rh testing, Rubella titer, antibody titers for Rh negative moms, STI testing, AIDS testing, genetic screenings and tests, the GCT/OGTT, ultrasound testing, amniocentesis, urinalysis, Group-Beta Step testing and a BPP for the assessment of fetal well being.
  • How to take a client history and begin prenatal record keeping.
  • How to determine the EDB, with and without the wheel.
  • How to understand and assess the implications of teratogenic exposures during the childbearing continuum.
  • How to conduct an initial prenatal visit including mental, emotional and physical assessment.  How to continue to thoroughly provide prenatal visits, including accurate note and charting techniques/options.
  • How to obtain a clean catch of urine.
  • How to check urine with a dipstick and how to interpret results for twelve different findings.
  • How to perform a yoni exam including exam of the external genitalia, the cervix, perineum and yoni.
  • How to perform pelvimetry.
  • Offer women wisdom around the endocrine system, and its direct relation to breast health.
  • How to abdominally palpate the uterus, how to evaluate the size and position of the fetus, how to measure fundal height.
  • How to recognize a posterior, breech, multiple pregnancy and other variations of position.
  • How to assess the volume of amniotic fluid and recognize and care for a mom with poly and/or oligohydramnios.
  • How to auscultate FHTs with a fetoscope and a doppler.
  • How to interpret FHT patterns and act accordingly to any variations of normal.
  • How to take blood pressure, temperature and pulses and to assess respirations.
  • How to assess for edema, clonus and CVAT and to understand the relevance of these assessments.
  • How to assess the well being of the growing fetus through fetal activity testing, including how to perform in-home version of an NST.
  • How to recognize and care for an IUGR baby.
  • How to recognize and deal with preterm labor, ectopic pregnancy, placenta previa and an abrupted placenta.
  • How to differentiate the cause of prenatal bleeding and how to offer subsequent care.
  • How to recognize an impending miscarriage and how to care for the mom who is miscarrying.
  • How to recognize and treat discomforts of pregnancy – using the Wise Woman Tradition. Including the use of herbs, homeopathy, acupressure and other natural modalities.
  • How to recognize and treat a UTI, pre-eclampsia, anemia, an STI, hypertension and PIH, a molar pregnancy, an ectopic pregnancy, premature rupture of membranes and prolonged rupture of membranes.
  • How to recognize, prevent and change a posterior presentation to a more favorable anterior presentation.
  • A basic understanding of the version process for breech baby.An understanding of gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia and how to respond and treat in the Quantum paradigm.
  • How to check blood type and Rh with an Eldon blood card.
  • How to recognize and treat stress in the pregnant family.
  • How to create a rite of passage for the pregnant family through childbirth education, a Blessingway and/or other special events for the pregnant family or mother.
  • How to help prepare other children or family members for the birth and the new baby.
  • How to inspire women to empower themselves and their families.
Holistic Labor and Birth
Facilitation vs. Management
  • The principles of Birth as an Altered State and the mothers need for privacy, warmth, dark, silence and safety, and nourishment both physically and psychologically.
  • The understanding of Undisturbed Birth and the ramifications of returning birth to the family.
  • A thorough understanding of the Holistic Stages of Labor with the clinical model.
  • An understanding of how the cardinal movements of labor correspond to the Holistic Stages of Labor.
  • The mechanism of labor and birth – physically and psychically including the Holistic Stages of Labor, the relevance of cervical dilation, the descent, flexion and rotation of the baby and the emotional and physical signs of labor progressing.
  • A complete understanding of both stages of 2nd stage of labor (latent and active) and the work of Constance Beynon.
  • How to assess contractions, cervical dilation, rupture of membranes, changes in maternal vital signs, rupture of membranes, and meconium staining.
  • How to assess and interpret FHT patterns in labor and how to respond to any abnormal or unreassuring patterns.
  • How to respond to meconium staining.
  • How to assess dilation on the mother’s foot and use other non-invasive means to assess the progress of labor.
  • How to provide basic comfort measures for the laboring mom.
  • How to facilitate a mother who chooses to birth in various positions.
  • How to facilitate a mother who chooses waterbirth.
  • How to work with and resolve posterior presentation in labor.
  • How to recognize, prevent and treat a cervical lip in labor.
  • How to manually assist the delivery of the baby including nuchal cord, nuchal arm, shoulder dystocia, unusual presentation, and perineal support.
  • How to administer oxygen to the mother in labor and the reasons to do so.
  • How to apply the tenets of the Wise Woman Tradition to the unfolding of a sacred birth.
  • How to ‘do nothing’, how to work with the energy, nourish and tone, stimulate and/or sedate, use potent specifics and/or break and enter when necessary.
  • How to maintain the scene.
  • How to manage your energy when a mother/family chooses something outside of predicted expectations, and how to support them in their choices.
  • How to recognize and facilitate an emergency situation in mother and/or baby.  Including abnormal bleeding, altered vital signs and non-reassuring FHT’s.
  • Understand the need for transport and the ability to facilitate a smooth, fulfilling and safe transition between birthing sites if necessary.
  • An understanding of the medical technologies used in a clinical setting.
  • How to use herbs, homeopathics and other natural means to facilitate the course of labor in the most empowering way possible.

Holistic Postpartum

  • Immediate postpartum assessment including assessment of placental separation and bleeding.
  • Ability to understand the physical, hormonal and psychological process of placental separation and subsequent birth of the placenta.
  •  Understanding that the placenta expulsion is a ‘birth’ in and or itself.
  • The ability to allow this process to unfold in an undisturbed way.
  • Understand the importance of Matrescence or ‘mother making’ and how each stage of birth (baby and placenta) and bonding (breastfeeding) completes an aspect of this process.
  • Ability to obtain a cord blood sample and understanding the reasons why.
  • Ability to facilitate delivery of the placenta including manual removal if necessary.
  • Ability to prevent, recognize and control a postpartum hemorrhage including the appropriate use of homeopathics, herbs, bimanual compression and any and all other means at your disposal.
  • Ability to assess the placenta and create placenta medicine for the mom.
  • Ability to assess perineal lacerations and offer appropriate treatment.
  • Ability to help the mom initiate breastfeeding and share relevant information about her breasts, her infant and the process.
  • Understanding of the hormones prolactin and oxytocin and their importance in birth and breastfeeding.
  • Understanding of uterine involution during the first days of postpartum.
  • Ability to provide excellent postpartum care for the next six weeks including aid with after pains, recognition of a late postpartum hemorrhage, understanding signs and symptoms of infection, recognizing problems with breastfeeding, hemorrhoids, stress, thromboemboletic disease, concerns from loss of sleep and concerns with infant bonding.
  • Recognizing signs and symptoms of postpartum depression and offering appropriate support and prevention in the Quantum paradigm.
  • Ability to assess lacerations according to REEDAT.
  • Understanding The Return and why it is inappropriate to handle, manage, or pick up a newborn infant during this stage.  Recognizing the physiology that undergirds this process and not disturbing the newborn.
  • The ability to understand why the mother should never be disturbed during her Return in the immediate postpartum and the ability to offer undisturbed postpartum care.
  • The ability to continue to guard and protect the new family during the time that the vortex is still open.
  • The ability to nurture the mom and new family by helping her/them weave their birth experience with integrity and honesty.
  • The ability to help families find resources and support during the postpartum.
  • The ability to care for a mother with a disappointing outcome…a transport, a C-section or an unhealthy baby.

Breastfeeding and the Newborn

  • Immediate assessment and care of the newborn at birth.
  • Understanding of the cardiac changes that occur during the transition to neonatal life including the temporary structures in the fetal heart.
  • Understanding the respiratory changes that occur in the newborn’s initiation of breathing
  • Ability to assess respiratory and cardiac function in the newborn.
  • Ability to administer oxygen after delivery.
  • Ability to recognize and manage asphyxia in the newborn including the use of homeopathic, herbs, acupressure and NNR techniques.
  • Ability to assess APGAR scores, gestational age, neurological maturity and function, including reflexes.
  • Ability to clamp and cut the cord and/or the ability to offer lotus birth. Ability to assess the cord during the postpartum, recognizing signs and symptoms of infection. Ability to prevent and treat infection of the cord.
  • Understanding of why the cord is never cut immediately after birth.
  • Ability to recognize normal and abnormal breathing patterns in the neonate. Assessment of RDS and signs and symptoms of infection.
  • Ability to recognize and offer appropriate treatment and/or referral or transport for any neonate who is ill or suffers from any concern beyond the usual variations of normal.
  • Ability to perform the newborn exam (or assist the parents in doing so), recognizing the characteristics of the normal newborn and document the pregnancy, labor, birth and initial exam of the infant.
  • Understanding or typical biotechnical newborn screening and treatment.
  • Understanding the reasoning behind eye care prophylaxis, vitamin K administration, circumcision, and immunization.  Assisting families in navigating choice concerning these topics.
  • Ability to assess breastfeeding in the infant, both at the birth and afterward.
  • Ability to offer eye care to the infant. Ability to recognize plugged tear duct and differentiate from infection.
  • Understanding of the infants need for temperature regulation, feeding and bonding during the neonatal period. Understanding the parent’s need for education and information about their newborn and the ability to provide guidance when necessary.
  • Ability to use herbs and homeopathics for concerns in the newborn.
  • Ability to recognize and treat jaundice in the newborn. Ability to assess the severity of the jaundice and discover the cause.
  • Ability to assess continuing neonatal well-being in the areas of growth and development.
  • Ability to give supportive information about breast and bottle feeding and supporting a woman’s choice.

In the Realms of the Wisdom Arts

  • The ability to see and think in the larger dimensions, to ask effective questions and to find the appropriate answers.
  • The ability to believe in the unity of all things – including each other.
  • The ability to understand that midwifery is about facilitating birth, not about facilitating midwives.
  • The ability to resolve conflict through collaborative means.
  • The ability to access bravery and commit random and deliberate acts of courage during your life and practice.
  • The ability to meet people where they are at, to understand everything on the planet and to actively listen to others.
  • The ability to recognize and heal your wounds.
  • The ability to understand the concepts of rank and to use power and privilege wisely.
  • The ability to be with woman and not need woman to be with midwife.
  • The ability to grasp the notion of the paradox and to intend to be comfortable at the edge of your comfort zone.
  • The ability to respond in a place of neutrality and suspend judgment.
  • The understanding of the basic skills of Conflict Resolution and how to implement them.
  • The understanding of the tenets of Eldership and how they pertain to midwifery.
  • An understanding and appreciation of Sexual Wisdom and Sexuality as a path to the divine.
  • The ability to trust parents, birth and yourself and to place authority in the appropriate hands. You honestly believe that birth is natural event, a rite of passage rather than a medical event even if medical care is involved in the process. You trust that parents are the true experts about their bodies and their births and that your work as a midwife is to inspire families to create and experience what is welcomed and destined for them.
  • I believe that I am a competent, confident, compassionate and caring midwife. I am confident enough to trust birth and parents and return authority to them. I am competent enough to know that when and if others need me, I will be able to provide appropriate and relevant information and function with a level of skill that reflects the wisdom of their judgment in choosing me to serve their needs. I will respond intelligently and effectively. I have the ability to respond with compassion, being totally in the present, suspending prior judgments, and putting myself in the place of the birthing family while remaining always in the big picture. As a caring midwife I serve as the bridge between the sacred and the mundane.