The Birth Yurt
Fieldbrook, California

Nestled among the redwoods of Humboldt County, it offered a place to arrive, settle, and surrender to the natural rhythm of birth, surrounded by warmth, nature, and care.

The Birth Yurt was more than a place to give birth. It was an environment designed to support the body in letting go.

Instead of waiting for labor to reach a certain stage, families could come when they felt ready, giving themselves time to land, to feel safe, and to open to the experience of birth.

Within the round space of the yurt, with soft light, warmth, and quiet presence, birth unfolded without rush or pressure—just as it is meant to.

Care was continuous but never intrusive.

Families were supported through labor, birth, and the early postpartum hours, with time to rest, bond, and integrate the experience together. There was no need to leave quickly, only space to be, to recover, and to begin again as a family.

The Birth Yurt was located on a five-acre homestead, surrounded by a circle of redwood trees, a garden, animals, and open land. The environment itself played a role in the experience, offering a calm, grounding sense of connection to something larger.

This space reflected a way of living and caring that values slowness, presence, and trust in the body’s natural rhythms.

Illustrations by Andrea Keating

The Birth Yurt Book

The Birth Yurt continues to live on through the families who passed through its doors and the stories that were born there.

It also lives on in my work today, in the way I create space, support families, and honor birth.

This chapter of my life has deeply shaped the care I offer, and continues to inspire my upcoming book, The Birth Yurt.

In many ways, the space itself is gone, but the way it lives on in my work and in the families who were held there remains.