Meet Kelsey Chieko Babb | Community Midwife/Partera, Herbalist, Mother

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelsey Chieko Babb and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelsey Chieko, what are you inspired by?
I’m inspired by how plant medicines support fertility, nourish pregnancy, and create thriving families/communities. I’m a student of herbalism and practices that are guided by the land around us. My practice, Sana Sana Midwifery, is inspired by pregnancy, childbirth, and the inherent relationship therein to la Madre Tierra, Mother Nature, that has existed since time immemorial.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Sana Sana Midwifery is a Latina-owned home birth midwifery practice providing holistic fertility support, comprehensive prenatal care, humanistic birth and postpartum care, all within the comfort of your home – a very important feature to be revisited. For those who may not yet be familiar, a community midwife is an autonomous health care provider specializing in normal pregnancy and birth. We also provide comprehensive prenatal and postpartum care.

Anyone on the path to become a midwife knows that there are no shortcuts and that often the road is long and winding- and so it was the same with me. I graduated from midwifery school at Bastyr University in 2018. I found work with the Houston birth center that I completed an apprenticeship with, but when that birth center suddenly closed in 2019, I found myself on my own. I was in my twenties back then and being young, I hesitated at the thought of creating a solo midwife practice. Instead I went back to school and began working as a neonatal icu nurse. To go from attending holistic natural births to working in one of the most intensive ICUs in modern medicine may not be a common path, but that was my path. It gave me a lot of perspective into both styles of healthcare and insight into the gaps that exist in each. I worked as a nurse in a very busy neonatal ICU unit providing round the clock care and I’ve worked in Labor and Delivery as a transition nurse attending deliveries. In between these jobs, I would take home births on my own. All this to say, I’ve seen more of the birth world than perhaps anyone else. What I have seen made me realize that home birth midwifery is more important today than ever.

In our age of political polarization, international conflict, and profit-driven healthcare the home is one of our last sacred sanctuaries. Birth begins at home where the first dreams or visions of your new baby take hold. Birth care belongs in the family. As a community midwife, I make every effort to see my clients in their homes within their family dynamic as I believe this is an important component of holistic care. Individualized care is the norm and the wisdom of the body is respected. Not all midwives work with plant medicine, but this is something uniquely integrated into my practice.

One way this shows up is around postpartum care planning, which is built into the standard home birth package but also available to anyone who calls me looking to experience this level of care. Herbal remedies for postpartum care often come from my garden or are locally sourced. We can experience revitalization as newly postpartum mothers when we have all the right foods, herbal allies, abdominal support with la faja, community, love, and rest.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Great question! I just had two of my best friends visit from out of town so I can tell you the most recent itinerary. We signed up for an eco-printing workshop at Contemporary Handweavers of Houston, which I would highly recommend to anyone following the natural plant dyes trend and/or looking for a fiber arts community. Then we had plans to check out the Houston Botanic Garden. Heading out towards the end of the day is a great time to set out on their many trails. A lot of birds and wildlife to see there!

With regards to food, that’s just too big of a question! There’s an amazing variety of good food in Houston. However, if you’re asking me, there’s only one place to go for a pot of tea and that’s The Path of Tea.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Community midwifery would not survive without its wonderful network of local birth workers. Natalie Guzman of Sweet Surrender Doula deserves recognition for her heart-centered work within the Spanish speaking communities of Houston. She reached out to me with invitations to participate at community gatherings on natural childbirth, as well as Spanish speaking birth worker meet-ups. Natalie and Sana Sana Midwifery have collaborated in a sister project called Cariño Collective, a traveling tiendita showcasing herbal preparations, birth tools, and workshops for birth professionals.

I’d also like to dedicate this shoutout to my amazing partner, my family, the wonderful mentors over the years, and my close friends for their love and support.

Website: https://www.sanamidwife.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanasanamidwife/

Image Credits
Photos by Grady Carter
Photos with client permission