Meet Sydney

Hi Everyone! I’m Sydney. I have four lovely littles and a wonderful husband. When I found out I was carrying my most recent baby in 2020, I was committed to having a homebirth. I had become aware of birth outside the medical paradigm and I knew that this was for me. My husband and I discussed things, and we decided to hire a birthkeeper. After going through the grapevine of the local birthwork community, we were directed to Kathleen. We met and I knew she was going to be my person. And although I did end up bringing my baby earthside before Kathleen arrived, her prenatal, immediate postpartum, and continuous ongoing support was invaluable. In fact, it was the exact work I wanted to do. I wanted to meet women where they were at, stand in my integrity, and be truly with women. Months later, I asked Kathleen if she’d be interested in teaching me. I’d done my own education through the Holistically Empowered Rebel Birthkeepers Academy of Learning (HERBAL), I’d attended births, and I had devoured every piece of birth outside the medical paradigm’s information that I could find. But I knew I needed to get into the trenches, to learn at the feet of someone I’d admired who had been there for me, to dig deep and jump into my passion for autonomy in women’s health. I am a birthkeeper because my life was changed the moment I took radical responsibility for my pregnancy and birth— and it *really* changed my life. I believe all women deserve access to information, support, community, and choice at all points of their lives, but where I shine in assisting this effort is birth work. Turning the mirror on a woman’s intuition, reflecting back to her the innate knowledge she already has, loving her through the process, and of course witnessing the transformation. The transformation a woman undergoes during her firewalk of birth is the reason I do this. To walk with women across the coals, celebrate in their wildness, and support them choosing for themselves– this is why I am a birthkeeper.

Ps. I promise I’ll get headshots.