The Birthkeeper, LLC - Missouri Birth & Creative Services

09/11/2025

Women are pure magic. ✨
Can you believe menstrual blood, the very essence of creation, was once seen as taboo, even called a sin to touch in the Bible? Little did they know… this sacred blood was never something to shame. It was designed by nature to create life, to renew, and even to heal.
That’s not dirty, that’s divine.

Scientists have discovered that menstrual blood is far more biologically complex than once thought — containing over 1,000 distinct proteins, with around 385 unique to the endometrium (uterine lining) and not present in regular blood. These unique proteins are involved in cell growth, tissue regeneration, and immune regulation, according to researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China. Because the uterine lining regenerates itself every month, menstrual blood naturally contains stem cells, cytokines, and growth factors that could play a key role in healing and repair mechanisms.

This discovery is opening new avenues in regenerative medicine — scientists are studying how menstrual blood could be used as a non-invasive source of stem cells for therapies aimed at repairing heart tissue, bone damage, or even neurodegenerative diseases.
The female body, once again, proves its extraordinary ability for renewal and self-repair — shedding, healing, and rebuilding itself every month in a perfect cycle of regeneration.

05/11/2025

✨ Honoring the Shifting Seasons of Womanhood ✨

Just as the earth moves through its seasons, so do we as women. From the fertile bloom of our childbearing years to the sacred transformation of perimenopause and beyond, our bodies are living testaments to growth, resilience, and change.

These bodies have carried life, nurtured dreams, and held both creation and release within their wombs. And now, as tides shift and cycles slow, a new chapter begins, one filled with wisdom, power, and an awakening to a different kind of beauty.

I want to honor this extraordinary transition through a special photography session, a celebration of the women stepping into this next season of life. A space to document your body, your story, and your strength in all its forms.

I’m looking for three women who are currently walking through this shift, perimenopause, menopause, or the tender in-between, to join me in this meaningful project. Together, we’ll create something deeply personal, raw, and empowering.

Let’s show the world that change is not to be hidden… it’s to be honored.
Because our bodies are not losing beauty, they are evolving into a new kind of brilliance.

- Danielle
www.thebirthkeeperllc.com

22/10/2025

Within you, a universe is forming, tiny kicks, silent prayers, and a love so powerful it reshapes everything it touches. Documenting your pregnancy is more than photos, it’s a celebration of the sacred transformation of life, body, and soul.

This gorgeous mama you see here welcomed her baby in the comfort of her home back in September and what a beautiful birth it was. So blessed to have been able to document this journey for them.

-Danielle
www.thebirthkeeperllc.com

20/10/2025

Back with one of my favorite families. This time, big sis was SO excited to be part of welcoming her new baby sister… she had her little hands ready to help and the biggest grin the whole time. 💕

And y’all… this baby did not waste any time! 😅 Overnight contractions were off and on, some strong and some light. She was able to sleep really well during those early morning hours after we all left and then bam! One minute contractions were just getting real, the next minute, baby was HERE. I swear we all blinked and she was born! I don’t miss very many births, but this one? She definitely caught all of us off guard with her speedy entrance. Ha!

Even though I didn’t make it in time to catch the actual moment, the story, the love and the sweetness that followed? Pure magic. ✨

Welcome to the world, little one, you are so incredibly loved and you sure know how to make an entrance!

- Danielle
www.thebirthkeeperllc.com

19/10/2025

Wow. 🤩 Two souls, one incredible journey, born side by side in the sacred stillness of home, where strength, trust, and love guided every breath. Our bodies are incredible. 💪🏽

15/10/2025

Today, we pause to honor the tiny lives that touched this world for only a moment but changed our hearts forever. 🤍

October 15th, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, is a day to remember the babies we hold in our hearts instead of our arms.

Whether through miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, ectopic pregnancy, termination for medical reasons, or the loss of a newborn, every story, every name, every heartbeat matters.

To the parents who carry invisible grief, your love is seen, your pain is valid, and your babies will never be forgotten. Tonight, as candles are lit across the world, may their light remind us that love never dies, it simply transforms. 🕯️✨

- Danielle

01/10/2025

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, a time to honor the tiniest lives that left the deepest imprints on our hearts. 💜

There are no words that can fully capture the ache of losing a baby. Whether it was during pregnancy, at birth, or shortly after, the love parents carry for their child is infinite, even when their time earthside is far too short.

As a doula and birth photographer, I’ve had the sacred honor of documenting these tender moments, moments filled with both unbearable grief and immeasurable love. These photographs and stories are not just images, they are proof that these babies existed, that they mattered, and that their stories deserve to be remembered.

To every parent who has walked this path of loss, your love, your sorrow, your courage, it all matters. You are not alone. Your baby’s life, no matter how brief, is forever woven into your story and into the hearts of all who hold space with you.

This month, may we remember together. May we speak their names. May we hold each other gently. And may grieving families feel less alone in their journey. 🌙✨

- Danielle
www.thebirthkeeperllc.com

30/09/2025

There are moments in this work that stop me in my tracks, the full circle ones. 🌙✨ Being invited to support a family as their doula during birth and then returning weeks later to photograph their little one earthside, feels like the sweetest continuation of their story. From bump to birth to baby snuggles at home… it’s an honor I’ll never take for granted. 💛

18/09/2025

Sometimes birth looks different than we planned. ✨ For some mothers, the path to meeting their baby is through a cesarean birth. A planned cesarean is no less powerful, no less sacred, and certainly no less birth.

It takes incredible strength to walk into that operating room, knowing it’s a major surgery, and to surrender with courage, love, and hope. These mothers choose trust, bravery, and resilience as they undergo one of the most involved procedures there is… all to meet their baby.

Birth is never one-size-fits-all. Every story is unique, every mother is strong, and every baby’s arrival is extraordinary.

To the cesarean mamas, planned or unplanned, your story is worthy, beautiful, and deserves to be honored in this way.

I’d love to hear from you, if you’ve had a cesarean, what did it teach you about your strength?

- Danielle
www.thebirthkeeperllc.com

16/09/2025

Birth is not just an event, it’s the most raw, vulnerable, sacred threshold a family will ever cross. To be invited into that space as a photographer & doula is not something casual, it’s not just “taking pictures” as a photographer. It’s holding the weight of a story that will only happen once. It’s walking into intensity, beauty, tears, and power, and knowing when to lean in and when to melt into the background.

It takes professionalism. It takes intuition. It takes someone who understands that this work is more than art, it’s a responsibility. Because these moments… the first breath, the tears, the grit, the fierce love, are unrepeatable.

Birth photography isn’t just about the photos. It’s about protecting the sacredness of that room while capturing the truth of it. That’s why it matters who you hire, because not everyone is meant to hold this kind of space.

✨ These moments deserve to be remembered with reverence.

✨ These stories deserve to be told with dignity.

✨ This work deserves to be valued as the profound calling that it is.

- Danielle
www.thebirthkeeperllc.com

10/09/2025

✨ Let’s talk about the value of birth photography.

People will spend $3k+ on wedding photography without hesitation… yet hesitate when it comes to investing in birth photography. But here’s the thing, a wedding is scheduled. You know the date, the time, the venue. Your photographer shows up for 8–10 hours, captures the magic, and goes home.

A birth is unpredictable. Your birth photographer is on-call 24/7, often for weeks. We drop everything, family events, sleep, holidays, because we’re committed to being there the moment you need us. And when labor begins, we can be by your side for 12, 18, even 24+ hours, documenting the most raw, powerful, once in a lifetime story you’ll ever live.

The value isn’t just in the hours, it’s in the sacrifice, the dedication, the skill, and the heart of the photographer, so choose wisely! It’s in preserving the moment you meet your baby. It’s in the way your partner looks at you with tears in their eyes. It’s in the first breath, the first cry, the first touch.

These are moments that can never be redone.

Birth photographers aren’t “just taking pictures.” We’re giving families something priceless, a way to relive the day their lives changed forever.

So yes, birth photography is an investment. And like weddings, it deserves to be honored and compensated for the time, talent, and commitment it requires.

Because your baby’s birth day? It’s every bit as important, if not more, than your wedding day. 💛

-Danielle
www.thebirthkeeperllc.com