Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaymie Kuhl.
Jaymie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My journey started with the birth of my first baby four years ago. I had a healthy pregnancy, but I was uneducated and unprepared for childbirth. I didn’t know anything about labor or birth and just showed up at the hospital when my water broke. I was terrified and not given the support I needed in that moment. I was given every drug, intervention, and disruption in my birth process without informed consent, so I ended up with a cesarean section. I felt defeated.
Years later, when I found out I was pregnant with my second baby, you could say the pendulum swung. I did the opposite of everything I did during my first pregnancy. I read all the books, took the classes, did the research, hired a doula, and hired a midwife to help me birth my baby at home.
My peaceful, beautiful HBAC [home birth after cesarean] is what brought me to where I am today. I had two birth experiences: one trusting our medical system, the other trusting my body. One traumatizing, the other empowering. I realized the incongruence between the dogma of the modern medical-industrial complex and our Creator’s design and I thought, “OK, now what am I going to do with this?”
I had let my God-given intuition lead me into my redemptive birth, so I started allowing it to lead me through life. I felt called to serve other women the way I had been held up and supported. So I quit my 9 to 5 and began my journey into birth work as a doula.
And I love every second of it. It’s a high honor being trusted and invited into a mother’s sacred birth space and one I do not take lightly.
I’m living out my life’s purpose, helping women trust the process that is birth and connect to the wisdom and strength that is already within them.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My cesarean section and its effects on my psyche were my biggest struggle. I spent my entire second pregnancy healing, unlearning, and actively changing my mindset about birth. I was very intentional throughout the process of releasing fear and the belief that my body had failed me the first time. I learned everything about physiological birth, listened to positive birth stories, and prayed over my birth and my baby daily.
I’ve also struggled with the business aspect of birth work because I don’t see it as a business but rather being the support that every mother deserves. I feel I have a divine duty to fulfill what I’ve been called to. My heart is for women and babies.
As you know, we’re big fans of Resolute Birth. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I’m a birth doula and placenta encapsulation specialist serving women birthing at home, birth centers, and some hospitals in Orange County, Long Beach, parts of LA County and the Inland Empire.
As a birth doula, I take a holistic approach to caring for women during pregnancy, labor and birth, and immediately postpartum. My goal is to educate and empower women to make informed choices that resonate with their unique journey. I meet moms where they’re at.
Every woman is unique, so my services are tailored to each individual, but I prioritize my clients’ mindset. Preparing the physical body for birth is important, but mindset is ultimately what determines how a woman experiences her birth. I help mothers release fears surrounding childbirth whether they stem from societal fear-based narratives or a past negative experience.
The power of the mind-body connection is so often overlooked by Western medicine, but our thoughts and feelings matter to our physiological functions – especially birth. This is why fear or anxiety stalls or can even stop labor!
That being said, I love working with VBAC moms. I hope that my healing holds space for theirs.
I hope to embody the love of Christ as I walk alongside mothers during such a special time.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I was born, raised, and still reside in the city of Orange. It’s not that I don’t like change, but I enjoy the tight-knit community and I feel like I’m supposed to be where I am right now. I love the local small businesses and the city’s activities for children and families. I find myself and my family spending every holiday in the Orange Circle to participate in the family-friendly festivities. And the Orange farmer’s market is the best in the county!
I don’t love how dense our population has become because our streets are far more packed than when I was a kid. But I can’t blame people.
Contact Info:
- Website: resolutebirth.com
- Instagram: @resolutebirth
- Facebook: Resolute Birth – Orange County Doula Services
Image Credits
Ariele Chapman, Macrae Wenger
