Star of The Sea Doula Services - Britni Sisco CBD

Star of The Sea Doula Services - Britni Sisco CBD I am a doula serving the St. Louis and Greater St. Louis area. I provide nurturing care and support

Something I was mulling over on our flight home while I was trying to ignore the very bumpy decent into the airport, can...
08/07/2025

Something I was mulling over on our flight home while I was trying to ignore the very bumpy decent into the airport, can we create a system where policy and the individual can peacefully coexist within medical care? Is it possible? I often feel like one gives way to the other leaving one side feeling stressed, angry, disappointed, or even traumatized. What could be the solution? Is there a solution? What are your thoughts?

On vacation! I will respond to inquiries, emails, and messages when I am back. Current clients I will respond to message...
08/02/2025

On vacation! I will respond to inquiries, emails, and messages when I am back. Current clients I will respond to messages so no worries 😉✨

Things are moving fast with my calendar! Just wanted to give you all a little update, my January and February are fully ...
07/31/2025

Things are moving fast with my calendar! Just wanted to give you all a little update, my January and February are fully booked and I am assuming my March and April will be going fast. May and June I am taking a hard pause on clients for what will be some much needed family time. The rest of the summer and into September will be repeat clients only as I have found that while I LOVE working with new families I have know I need for some slowness in some seasons and working with my amazing repeat families allows me to do that.

If we have interviewed already and you are seeing that a month is booked or spots are disappearing don't worry I have saved you a spot. 😉
staroftheseadoula.com

Hormones do weird things, sometimes things like crazy dreams and wild food cravings! Which would you choose if you had t...
07/29/2025

Hormones do weird things, sometimes things like crazy dreams and wild food cravings! Which would you choose if you had to pick??

Has anyone else had an experience like this?Recently I took one of my children to an appointment for what I thought was ...
07/28/2025

Has anyone else had an experience like this?

Recently I took one of my children to an appointment for what I thought was going to be a discussion about the pros and cons of a potential procedure we have been considering. What it turned into was an aggravating circular conversation of, "You are here this is what you want right?" I felt like I was being heard but not listened to. After point this out and explaining that we had not discussed the particulars of this child's case, it turns out that the procedure that they had been trying to push on us was NOT at all suitable for him. If I had not have pushed harder, what might have happened? I'll never know, but what I do know is that advocacy does not stop with birth, it is a life long skill we can use not only for ourselves but for our children.

This is why I encourage my clients to learn (and teach them) to advocate for themselves and their preferences during the childbearing year, because it s a life long skill that will serve them, their children, and families well.

The little bundle hidden in the blanket there was almost born in the car. After a mildly longer labor with my first baby...
07/25/2025

The little bundle hidden in the blanket there was almost born in the car. After a mildly longer labor with my first baby, I was planning for another long haul birth experience with my second, he (true to his nature) had other plans and quickly ramped things up after he turned into a better position. I went from "hmm I think this is for sure active labor"- "oh my waters broke" - "oh my I'm pushing" in about an hour after a weird on and off pattern all afternoon. I am extremely grateful for providers who made what could have been a panic filled experience a peaceful one. He loves to hear this story every year, so happy birth day little guy!

Birth can be so unpredictable which is equal amounts wonderful and scary, being able to maintain a balance of being open to baby's needs and your needs while holding firm on the boundaries you have with your preferences is key to creating a peaceful experience no matter how birth happens.

Now let's talk Pitocin! Often times when providers mention Pitocin they will say that it's the same as oxytocin and if y...
07/23/2025

Now let's talk Pitocin!

Often times when providers mention Pitocin they will say that it's the same as oxytocin and if you see a bag of it in a labor room it will be labeled as "Oxytocin" so while on a molecular level this may be true, there is little difference in the chain structure of oxytocin and Pitocin, the way they react in the body has some significant differences.

✨Labor contractions with Pitocin are dictated by how many units are being pumped through your IV at any given time. This means that the brain is not getting the opportunity to create that bio feed back loop between baby, the uterus and the brain. Since Pitocin does not cross the blood brain barrier the uterus has a harder time creating those pain releasing endorphins. This is why moms who have had inductions report a significant difference in the sensations of the contracts with and induced labor vs. and labor that was not induced.

✨Babies often do not tolerate oxytocin well, since the loop is interrupted baby doesn't have the opportunity to tell the body, "Hey slow this down, I don't like this", which is why it is not uncommon to see babies who go into distress while Pitocin is being used during labor. Sometimes using Pitocin in labor is a good option, it's a tool we can utilize as needed, but it doesn't come without risks and this discussion should be a part of the informed consent/refusal process.

✨ Something that has become very standard in most hospitals across the US is the use of Pitocin after delivery to speed up and generally manage the delivery of the placenta and hemmorage prevention. There is a lot to this and I love 's articles on this. This is an area where you can really see provider preference and hospital policy really over ride the need for case by case evaluation. Discussing ahead of time if you have preexisting risk factors or what risk factors arise in labor or delivery that would make the use of postpartum Pitocin genially helpful can help to reduce the potential risk of using something you don't need.

Another great resource is research on Pitocin and Oxytocin and their implication on the labor and delivery process!

Baby is here, YAY! Now what happens?? You get a look at your baby and whoosh, a flood of hormones hit! That primary one?...
07/22/2025

Baby is here, YAY! Now what happens?? You get a look at your baby and whoosh, a flood of hormones hit! That primary one? That's right Oxytocin! Now it plays a handful of roles in this moment:
✨ Bonding - You are totally engrossed in your little one, like whoa are they real, am I really holding them? Did I just do that?
✨ Contractions - Yes still with the contractions 😅The uterus now contracts to begin to restrict blood flow to the uterus, and to slowly release the placenta from the uterine wall to expel it and hopeful prevent a hemorrhage. This plays into the next role...
✨Breastfeeding - when baby latches, the brain pulses oxytocin to deepen that bond and also contract the uterus. This will happen not only immediately after birth but over the course of the next week or so to bring the uterus back down to its pre pregnancy size. This is why if we are seeing a placenta that is being a little stubborn we can encourage baby to latch to see if that will encourage the uterus to expel the placenta on its own.

Now, I totally recognize that sometimes things don't happen this smoothly after a baby is born, and there are a lot of interruptions needed or unneeded after birth that can really interrupt this process. Sometimes we don't get that lovey feeling after our babies are born and we are just shocked and maybe not feeling so great about the whole birth process. This does not mean all is lost or that you have messed up the bonding process, it just means maybe you need a little more time and that is ok.

Oxytocin the labor started and the stress reducer! As I mentioned in my last post oxytocin plays a huge role in the labo...
07/22/2025

Oxytocin the labor started and the stress reducer!
As I mentioned in my last post oxytocin plays a huge role in the labor process by... does anyone know??... That's right by telling the uterus to contract! When baby signals to moms body that they are ready to make the journey earth-side the brain begins to pulse oxytocin, as it connects with the receptors on the uterus it tells the uterus to contract. The uterus receiving this message contracts, baby says, "That's great let's keep this going!" and it all works on the beautiful bio-feed back style loop that will eventually bring forth a baby. (other factors involved here but you get the picture)

Anyway, as all this is happening, this hormone is crossing through both halves of the brain triggering the release of pain reducing endorphins to help lower the stress in the physical expense on both mom and baby. This beautiful dance continues as long as mom is feeling supported, cared for and safe, and baby is born. Then we move onto the postpartum role of Oxytocin!

The WHAT hormone??Oxytocin, one of my favorite little hormones! Well I guess not so little as it plays a huge roll in my...
07/19/2025

The WHAT hormone??

Oxytocin, one of my favorite little hormones! Well I guess not so little as it plays a huge roll in my doula work. Oxytocin is a major player in the later pregnancy, labor, birth, and breastfeeding process (it plays a role in other parts of our lives but we can talk about that another time) but is often not talked about and if it is it is in relation to the synthetic version, Pitocin. I am hoping over the next few posts to discuss in some more detail how Oxytocin plays a role in each of these areas, how we can support that, and how Pitocin (while sometimes helpful) can disrupt that process.

Was Oxytocin ever mentioned in your childbirth education or by your provider? If so in what context?

Oh Social Media... it can be so helpful and so not helpful all at once. The labor, birth, and parenting worlds have expl...
07/18/2025

Oh Social Media... it can be so helpful and so not helpful all at once. The labor, birth, and parenting worlds have exploded all over all social platforms over the last few years. In some ways I think it has brought us closer together, we feel a lot less alone in parenting and motherhood than maybe we could feel sometimes. I think though a majority of us feel very stressed and confused most of the time though looking at posts, reels, and quick videos about "the best" "the easiest" "you will ruin your child if you". Like how are you supposed to come out of the journey with any type of success if this is your measure? This is what I call the parent trap, we get so focused on what others are telling us is the best or only way to do something, we totally miss the situation, reality, child in front of us at that moment.

This is why I really encourage parents to treat social media like you would any other type of advice you get from anywhere else in life, pause, take a moment and really think: 1. Can I genuinely trust this person? 2. Is this advice truly relevant to my situation? 3. How does this advice sit with me? Does it measure up to what I KNOW about my child? About our family? About myself? Asking ourselves these questions can really help to filter anything we see on social media through the lens of the true connection and knowledge we have about children and ourselves, and allows us to stay connected to that inner parent.

07/16/2025

🌿 A heartfelt shout-out to doulas everywhere 🌿

To the ones who walk beside families in the raw, holy moments of birth…
Who whisper strength when things get hard.
Who protect the space when the world gets loud.
Who know that birth is not a medical event—
but a rite of passage, a story being written.

Your presence matters.
Your intuition, your advocacy, your quiet anchoring…
These things change lives.

At Birth Story Medicine, we’re honoured to walk with many doulas who are deepening their offerings—learning how to support clients after the birth too, when the story doesn’t sit quite right.
When integration is needed.
When healing calls.

💛 If you’re a doula ready to add another dimension to your work—or to create another income stream with depth and meaning—Birth Story Medicine might be for you.

Thank you for all you do. Truly.
We see you. And we’re cheering you on.

Find out more: https://birthstorymedicine.com/birth-story-mentoring-course-part-i/

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St. Charles, MO

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