When you go to the Mothers of Gaia Birthkeeping website you almost immediately see a quote by Ina May Gaskin, possibly the most well-known midwife in the United States. The quote by Gaskin reads, “Whenever and however you give birth, your experience will impact your emotions, your mind, your body, and your spirit for the rest of your life.”
I do not think any woman who has been through the birth experience, no matter what the experience was, would disagree with Gaskin’s comment. Giving birth is powerful, primal, sacred and joyful all at the same time.
Laura Ellen Smith started her business Mothers of Gaia Birthkeeping to walk with women on their pregnancy path, and/or the postpartum path. The services Smith provides are quantum birthkeeper, home birth doula, postpartum doula, and pregnancy coach. She is based out of Rollinsville, but, of course, the nature of her business keeps her traveling all around the area. Smith will travel to Boulder, Denver, Black Hawk, Nederland, Longmont and around the Front Range for her clients.
Smith is not a medical provider or a licensed midwife. She always wants people to choose care that fits their needs. Smith is a birthkeeping graduate of The Matrona School. With that she brings her knowledge of physiological birth, homeopathy and herbalism to her practice. Smith says, “As a two-time yoga school graduate, I bring breathwork, meditation, and embodiment practices to help women integrate their experiences in pregnancy, and birth from a place of groundedness and inner-knowing.”
She adds, “As a woman, I bring my personal experience of reconnecting with the wisdom of my own body and learning to trust its divine intelligence, to support women who are also on the path of self-discovery.”
At this point you might be wondering what the difference is between a doula and a birthkeeper. On the Mothers of Gaia website Smith writes that a birth doula “provides emotional and physical support for women in labor and birth. Doulas help educate mothers and partners about the various types of monitoring, testing, and procedures a regulated care provider may request to perform. They then help the mother make educated and informed decisions on how they want their birth experience to be. A doula is not a medical professional and does not make decisions for the mother in labor, birth or the immediate postpartum.
A quantum birthkeeper takes it to a deeper level of understanding and walks with the mother and the family on this transformational journey. The Mothers of Gaia website says, “A Quantum Birthkeeper is a deeply aligned woman who serves women with intention and consciousness. A Quantum Birthkeeper has patience and infinite trust in the birthing mother’s innate, instinctual and ancestral abilities to bring her baby earthside. She believes in the sacred wisdom of physiological birth and the mystical power of the undisturbed birth.”
Smith has truly felt inspired to do this work. She says, “I believe the time is now to center women and reclaim the matriarchy. I strongly believe that how we are born affects our relationships of trust with both our bodies and Mother Earth. To heal the Earth we must first heal birth. That’s why I’ve created Mothers of Gaia Birthkeeping. A business with loving intention and a purpose to bring women’s liberation through reconnecting, grounding, and trusting our bodies through a journey of womanhood, so that we can take that newfound intuition and heal the relationships, communities and environments around us.”
Her approach is one of a holistic and natural mindset in her work as a quantum birthkeeper, home birth doula and pregnancy coach. Smith empowers women to be on a path of self sovereignty and deepen their relationship of trust with their own bodies as they go through this amazing time in their lives.
Smith says the most incredible part of her work is witnessing the creation of families. A time that is unforgettable and sacred for all touched by the experience.
For more information about Mothers of Gaia Birthkeeping go to the website at https:// mothersgaiabirthkeeping.com/. Laura Ellen Smith can be contacted by email or phone at laura@mothersgaiabirthkeeping.com, 720- 772-1830. Mothers of Gaia is also on Facebook and Instagram, https:// www.facebook.com/mothersofgaia, https:// www.instagram.com/ mothersofgaia/.
Sponsored by Gilpin County Commissioners, with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.
