Exploring Life & Business with Kaytlin Brown of Asher Birth & Body

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaytlin Brown. 

Hi Kaytlin, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been fascinated with the body and its ability to heal itself after trauma, injuries, etc. That fascination led me down the path of becoming a massage therapist (after receiving my BS in Exercise Science). I’ve now been licensed for 10 years or so and have spent the better part of that building my own thriving massage practice in Denver, CO, where I mostly helped people with preventative, therapeutic bodywork. In 2019 I gave birth to my son, Simon, and gained a whole new level of respect for what our bodies (especially pregnant people) are capable of doing. I had an incredibly empowering birth experience which lit a fire inside to be more involved in that whole part of life. That’s when I decided I wanted to be a doula and offer bodywork and birth support to pregnant/birthing people. I had just got my practice up and running again after maternity leave when Covid reared its ugly head. I made the difficult decision to close my practice in Denver due to the uncertainties of the virus and the more vulnerable population I was working with (pregnant people). I just couldn’t picture myself having to make a phone call informing someone that I had exposed them somehow. It felt like the right thing to do at the time. 

At that time, my husband was also out of work so we took the opportunity to pick up our family and move onto our next adventure, which ended up being a yearlong stint living with my parents in smalltown Montana, where we worked odd jobs while we rode out the pandemic with the support of family. It wasn’t the easiest year we’ve had but I feel incredibly lucky to have had that time, in a safe place, to figure out our next steps. I enrolled in a comprehensive maternal support practitioner (doula) program and worked through that while my husband cast a wide net for jobs all over the US, eventually landing us in Phoenix. Now here we are! Settling into this wonderful city of Phoenix and feeling every day like we’re in the exact place we are supposed to be. 

I’ve opened my new business here, Asher Birth & Body, and have been welcomed into the birth community with wide-open arms. I’ve never been a stranger to networking so it’s been so fun to meet all of the wonderful doulas, women’s health practitioners, midwives, etc. that serve families in the valley. I look forward to future growth and the deepening of those relationships as I begin working with more and more. I currently offer Pre/Post-natal massage at an office in Downtown Phoenix but come the first of the year (2022) I’ll move my practice to Scottsdale where I’ll be working out of a brand new Integrative Holistic Family Clinic, called Kokua. As a birth doula, I support growing families where ever they choose to have their babies (hospital, birth center, home). It’s a massive opportunity to get my hands on more families (literally!) and really start working with the amazing people here!! 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The past 2 years haven’t been a smooth road for most people, especially small business owners like myself. Fortunately, I have had support from my husband and family. When we relocated, our initial goal was a short stay while we planned our next move. That turned into a year of wondering and waiting to see what was going to happen all over the world and see where there were going to be opportunities for us. I made the decision to really prioritize my mental health over the past couple of years. Suddenly closing my practice, moving, raising a toddler and the stress of a global pandemic doesn’t lend itself to a very healthy mental state but I was determined (and still am) to not only make it through but to do so with resilience. I’m convinced the work I’ve been doing to optimize my mental health – through mental wellness targeted supplements, mind/body programs, and surrounding myself with a mentally empowering community – is what helped me rocket myself into a new city and new business with ease. I plan to use these tools in my practice to support families through the stress that is becoming a parent. I’ve had so much fun pivoting and learning about this new person I’m becoming. It’s been a bumpy ride but it’s feeling smoother every day. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Asher Birth & Body was born from my personal experience as a massage therapist for 10 years and my empowering experience becoming a first-time parent. Asher, my son’s middle name, means “happy” or “blessed” which are two things I believe every pregnant person deserves their pregnancy and birth experience to be. 

As a massage therapist, I will be an integral part of your pregnancy. Our bodies change a lot throughout those 10 months which can lead to aches and pains and overall stress and tension that might be different than we are used to. The goal of bodywork during pregnancy is to address those areas in a way that helps you to relax and become more attuned to your body and what works to bring you relief and calm. The work I do with people during their pregnancy can also translate into the birth/labor space where it can be a beneficial comfort measure for the laboring person. Just as prenatal work is important, so too, possibly even more so, is Postpartum massage. This can be helpful for healing and reconnecting to the body. Although touch is a physical thing, it can also be powerful for mental and emotional well-being. 

As a Birth Doula, if I’m lucky enough to be that person for you, I will do so without judgment, creating an empowering space for you to have whatever birth experience feels right. An important note, as it gets confusing for people sometimes, I offer non-medical comfort measures, touch, verbal support, information, a calming presence, or jokes and laughter if that’s what you need. I am there to provide resources and evidence-based information to pregnant people in an effort to bring baby into this world in a safe, holistic, loving way. I truly believe in the benefits of support, education, and preparation, both mental and physical, for the transition to parenthood. Though we can never be truly ‘ready’, the added value of having a doula like myself present on your journey can make it all feel less overwhelming and more exciting, as it should be. 

In addition to bodywork and doula support, I also have a partnership with an amazing Mental Wellness Company. Their mission to change the conversation around mental health and to offer holistic products and programs to help naturally improve mental wellness is very much in alignment with how I support my clients. If ever there is a time to use all the tools at hand to be strong and resilient in the face of stress, it’s when you’re pregnant or giving birth! I offer these products and access to the programs and community to all my clients. 

I do believe that all of my passions, tools, and expertise combine beautifully together to support every family going through the transition to parenthood and looking for comprehensive support. Becoming a parent is one of the biggest things we’ll ever do and we aren’t meant to do big things alone. That’s where Asher Birth & Body comes in. 

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I’m hopeful that the landscape of the birth world will continue to change for the better over the next 5-10 years. If there’s any bit of silver lining that has come out of the pandemic it’s that birthing people are much more aware of their options, rights, and choices in the birth space. I see a lot more people researching birth centers and home birth options vs the traditional hospital route. This can and will definitely increase the need/use of doulas as those providers are some of the biggest champions of doula work. There is also quite a bit of evidence that suggests having a birth doula improves birth outcomes (look it up!). 

That’s not to say there isn’t a lot of work to be done. We are living in times where there are still massive discrepancies in maternal health care (mostly due to racial bias). Our roles as doulas is imperative in helping to interrupt the harm, discrimination, loss of autonomy, and coercion that is happening, particularly in vulnerable communities, in the medical system. This can happen through provider re-education of birth as a normal physiological process vs a medical procedure, collaboration and creating policies that support community-based organizations and birth professionals already doing the work, supporting birth workers of color, providing patient/community-centered care and birthing education that’s accessible and affordable, re-establishing trust in the community and SO MUCH MORE. This is a much bigger conversation than this article has space for but it still needs to be mentioned. 

I’m just getting started in the birth world but I look forward to being even a small part of the massive changes we as doulas are working towards creating. I hope that what I create here at Asher Birth & Body can be a place where families can feel empowered, safe, and supported. 

Pricing:

• Prenatal/Postpartum Massage $110 ( 90 minutes)
• Birth Doula Support $900 (see website for all this includes)

Contact Info:

• Email: kaytlin@asherbirthandbody.com
• Website: www.asherbirthandbody.com
• Instagram: @asherbirthandbody

Image Credits
Mary Elizabeth Photos
Krissy Blackband