Calista Carework

My Approach to Birth

My Approach to Birth

  1. My background with touch, as well as my deep knowledge of our anatomy and physiology, is central to how I support my birthing clients.
  2. I prioritize an evidence-informed approach, but I do not believe evidence can tell an individual what to do. Your risk tolerance, your values, or your traditions are important data too. I care about education, agency, and choice.
  3. I respect physiological birth and I respect medicine as a useful tool when needed/desired.
  4. I am relationship and community centered. I believe that the trust and caring shared between myself and my clients makes all the difference. I have a passion for advocacy.
  5. I am body accepting. I put daily work into respecting and caring for bodies in all of our sizes, shapes, and abilities.
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Sliding Scale Pricing

I believe birth support should be accessible for everyone, so I use a tiered pricing model. This allows each person or family to identify what they are able to pay, and we can work together with mutual care and respect.

  • Basic needs = food, housing, transportation.
  • Expendable income = coffee shops, brunch, new clothes, new games.

I use a modified form of the Green Bottle Sliding Scale, inspired by Alexis J. Cunningfolk  to create this pricing model.

Bottle One: $1,300 – $3000

  • I can take vacations or afford time off of work if I get sick
  • I am comfortable and able to meet my basic needs*
  • I may have some debt but it doesn’t prohibit attainment of my basic needs
  • I own my own home or rent a higher end property
  • I own a car
  • I am employed
  • I have access to financial savings
  • I have expendable income*

Bottle Two: $900 – $1,300

  • I may stress about meeting my basic needs*, but still regularly achieve them
  • I have some debt
  • I am employed or self employed but work part time
  • I have limited financial savings
  • I have limited expendable income*
  • I have to actively save in order to take a vacation
  • I own a car but struggle to cover its costs

Bottle Three: Medicaid Coverage or $500 – $900

If you are covered by Medicaid (and just Medicaid — no secondary policies), I can work with you at no cost via Everyday Miracles. EM connects birthing people with doula support, childbirth education, and carseat support.

Find out more here.

  • I frequently struggle to meet basic needs* and don’t always achieve them
  • I have debt and it sometimes prohibits me from meeting basics needs
  • I rent lower end properties or struggle to have stable housing
  • I don’t have a car or struggle to afford fuel for a car
  • I am unemployed or qualify for government assistance
  • I have almost no expendable income*
  • I have no financial savings
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My massage clients are fairly evenly divided between people who don’t mask and people who are incredibly mindful and rigorous in their safety practices. So I may be baffling both groups of clients in different ways.

I am committed to masking for the long haul because I want to build a world where people can access healthcare and body care and community care without risk to their health. My perfect world has much more government and/or communal harm reduction measures, and many more people sustaining flexible habits rather than forgetting about COVID all together. That said, I don’t harbor ill will towards those who have let their mask stocks run dry. This is a systems issue. Late stage racial capitalism, patriarchy, and imperialism are exhausting and, as individuals,  it is hard to do yet another thing.

It seems to me that, again and again, the needs of the disabled, sick, or elderly are the needs that are compromised, even in the most progressive spaces. So to those of you who are diligently COVID conscious and who deeply want to avoid illness: what can I do to make my office space meet your needs?

Email Me About COVID Precautions

Resources