Queen City BirthWork is a Chicana-owned, women lead business. It was founded by Sessy Spira in 2012. Through the years it has grown from a one-woman show to the collective it is today. Our goal is to be a resource for expectant families, provide community, and bridge the gap between patients and providers. As a collective, our focus is on inclusivity and modern birthwork.
QCB is a blend of all the birthworkers in its arms. As a collective, we pull from our own unique experiences to offer whole care to the folks we work with. We come from diverse backgrounds offering different perspectives as we participate in discussions surrounding race, sex, gender, and socioeconomic status. These topics not only affect us directly but also the communities we work with. We are wildly aware of the obstacles often faced while navigating pregnancy and birth.
We, as a group, have worked diligently over the years to build strong relationships with many healthcare providers here in Denver. These connections and experiences allow us to collaborate with nurses, midwives, and doctors with confidence.
Get to know us
Meet your Birthworkers
Jessi Bouck
Birth Doula, Childbirth Educator & Photography
Jessi strives to help clients and their partners feel supported and empowered in their choices, as well as to provide a sense of safety and normalcy to pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Drawing from her years of supporting families while working at The Mama’hood and teaching prenatal and postpartum yoga, She uses the principles of simplicity, joy, mindfulness, and evidence-based care to support the amazing stages of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum life.
Favorites
• Gardening • Houseplants • Cooking
Embroidery • Knitting • Dancing
Martial Arts • Outlander book series
Human Biology • Science in general
• Archery • Breakfast Burritos •
Craft Cocktails • Netflix • Traveling
Photo credit: Lauren Wright Photography
Favorites
• Playing instruments • Singing
• Wine and chocolate • Sparkles and sequins • Baby cheeks • Fishing
• Watching movies • Painting •
• Coffee•
Photo credit: Lauren Wright Photography
Justice Mentz
Birth Doula, Photography &
Certified Placenta Encapsulator
Justice found her purpose as a birth worker and is a staple in the births she attends. Her desire to encourage women and their partners to form good communication with their providers helps promote healthy and happy outcomes. She has a calm yet confident presence and is an asset to the families she works with. Justice assists her clients in navigating their pregnancy and birth by helping them to make informed decisions that are right for them.
Sessy Spira
Birth Doula, Photography &
Certified Lactation Counselor
Sessy has worked with many different families and offers professional and sincere birth doula support, prenatal bodywork, and birth photography. Her ability to connect with families promotes a comfortable environment and open communication. Her supportive nature helps birthing people and their partners unite with their personal birth preferences. She blends years of experience as a birth doula and confident skills as a bodyworker to offer complete knowledgeable care to her clients.
Favorites
• Hats • Sewing • Taking Photographs • Hiking • Fishing • Doughnuts • Gardening • Vanilla lattes • Bread (all of the bread) •
• Hand-made Mexican Jewelry •
• Squeezing hips •
Photo credit: Lauren Wright Photography
M'Lisa Goodwin
Carlee began her birthwork journey in 2016. She found her passion for pregnancy and birth long before experiencing it herself, though her own eventual birth experience only amplified her zeal for all of it. She loves to see folks find their power through their pregnancy and birth journeys. She wholeheartedly believes the birth space is a sacred and vulnerable place and works hard to honor that, as well as believing everyone deserves to be supported fully through it. Her ultimate goal is to carry peace into what can oftentimes be a season of life full of unknowns.
Carlee Bond
Birth Doula & Photography
Birth Doula
Favorites
• yoga • Green/Matcha tea •
• Unique earrings • Reading ALL THE TIME • Puppies • Family • • Sneakers • Firstlatch•
• Babywearing • Candles •
• Sweets (especially mango sticky rice)• Takeout food from mom & pop restaurants • Passion fruit & other tropical fruits •
Hirut Endris
Hirut was born in Ethiopia and lived most of her life in London, before relocating to Denver in March 2019. Before her own birth story led her to birth work, Hirut worked as a surgical assistant in London for 5 years. Her role always involved supporting and caring for others and using comfort measures on patients to relax them while they were undergoing surgical procedures using only local anesthesia.
Hirut strongly believes that we are worthy of a positive birth story no matter who we are and where and how we choose to birth our children.
Birth Doula & Certified Breastfeeding Specialist
Cally Podd
Cally is originally from Wisconsin and has since lived in Portland, Oregon, and Amsterdam, The Netherlands with her family before settling in Denver. She gave birth to three children in these three different cities and can attest to how transformative it is in having a supportive birth team. These experiences left her passionately seeking how she could support families so they may receive a raw and beautiful birth story, no matter their beliefs, values, or birth preferences. She believes every single labor and birth is remarkable no matter the path it takes and it’s her deepest goal that her birthing clients believe in their innate ability to birth. Cally strives for them to feel heard and elevated so that they enter/re-enter parenthood in the most positive light.
Simone Morse
Birth Doula
As a birth doula, Simone tells her clients they are welcome to stand on her shoulders, knowing their identity, beliefs, and personhood are tenderly cared for. She supports birthers in their inner quest to seek the birth they wish. Through evidence-based information and comfort technique work, she navigates the plethora of options available with her clients. Simone's journey into becoming a birth doula is years of heart work, global travel, and a fun career in youth coaching. She is a native New Yorker, living a life of boundlessness whereby values of inclusion, love, and longevity are the foundation. She is fulfilled in this work and grateful to be invited to powerful birthing experiences.
Favorites
Animals • Hiking • Camping •
• Plants • Reading • School •
Working out • Cycling • Eating •
• Iced coffee only lol • Will also do anything adrenaline related •
Photo credit: Lauren Wright Photography
Certified Lactation Counselor & Postpartum Doula
M'Lisa has been working with families since 2017, she offers fertility, postpartum, and lactation support. By offering breast/chest feeding techniques as well as bottle feeds, she helps ensure you and your baby are happy and comfortable with whichever feeding technique you choose. She has a passion for helping all her families with different types of feeds. M'Lisa is very calm and confident in her work which she brings into each family she meets.
M'Lisa certified with BeboMia originally in 2017 and recently cross-trained with Childbirth International in early 2020. She also trained as a certified lactation counselor with the Healthy Children Project in 2018.