The Welcome Home Ceremony
You brought new life into the world. Now let someone pour into you.
The days after birth are sacred — and often overlooked. While everyone's attention turns to the baby, you are also being reborn: physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The Welcome Home Ceremony is a dedicated postpartum visit offered in your home, designed to receive you in that tender transition, nourish your body with real food and herbal care, and hold space for everything that birth has stirred in you. Offered by Tayna Chessman, LM, CPM — licensed midwife, certified herbalist, and someone who understands that a well-cared-for mother is the foundation of a well-cared-for baby.
When a Baby Is Born, So Is a Mother
Every culture that has ever existed had a tradition of caring for new mothers after birth. The forty days. The sitting month. The lying-in period. The idea is ancient and universal: a woman who has just given birth needs to be held, nourished, and protected while her body and spirit find their footing in a new world.
Modern life has largely abandoned that tradition — and mothers feel it. The Welcome Home Ceremony is an intentional restoration of it. It is not a clinical visit. It is not a checklist. It is a dedicated few hours set apart just for you, in your own home, where you are the one being cared for.
Each ceremony is customized to what you need in the moment we arrive. Some mothers need quiet and warmth. Some need to talk through their birth. Some need hands-on help with feeding. We meet you exactly where you are.
A woman who is deeply supported after birth heals more fully, bonds more easily, and enters motherhood with greater confidence. The ceremony is not a luxury — it is foundational care.
Everything the Ceremony Encompasses
Each element of the Welcome Home Ceremony has been chosen with intention — drawing on midwifery expertise, herbal medicine, and the ancient wisdom of postpartum care traditions.
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Ceremonial Herbal Foot Soak & MassageWe begin by setting the tone. Fresh flowers, gentle music, warm water infused with herbs chosen for their calming and healing properties — lavender, rose, calendula, and herbs selected from Tayna's own apothecary. A foot soak and massage signals to your nervous system that it is safe to rest, and marks the beginning of your postpartum care with intention and warmth.
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Belly Massage & Abdominal WrapPostpartum belly massage has been practiced across cultures for centuries for good reason. Gentle abdominal massage helps your uterus return to its pre-pregnancy position, increases circulation to the tissues, reduces swelling, and supports the realignment of organs and muscles that shifted during pregnancy. It is followed by a supportive abdominal wrap — a physical embrace for the womb space that now holds a new kind of emptiness, helping your body feel held as it heals.
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Scratch-Cooked Nourishing MealReal food is medicine. You will receive a scratch-cooked, nourishing soup or stew prepared with healing ingredients — bone broth, warming spices, and whole foods chosen specifically for postpartum recovery. Drawing on Tayna's background in scratch cooking, herbalism, and traditional food preparation, the meal is made with the same care she brings to her own family's table. It is prepared and brought to your home — enough for you and your partner — warm, wholesome, and made with love.
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Postpartum Healing EducationWe walk through the five universal postpartum needs of all women — rest, warmth, nourishment, support, and seclusion — and how to protect those needs in the weeks ahead. We discuss normal physical recovery, warning signs to watch for, herbal and nutritional support, and how to advocate for your own healing when the world around you is pushing you to bounce back before you are ready.
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Processing Your Birth StoryBirth leaves an imprint — beautiful, difficult, unexpected, or all three. You will have dedicated, unhurried space to speak your birth story aloud to someone who understands what birth truly is. Whether your birth went exactly as hoped or took a completely different path, your experience deserves to be witnessed and honored — not summarized and moved past.
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Lactation & Feeding SupportAs a Licensed Midwife with extensive hands-on lactation experience, Tayna provides in-home feeding support during the ceremony — assessing latch, positioning, milk transfer, and any feeding concerns you have encountered in the first days home. Whether you are breastfeeding, pumping, bottle-feeding, or navigating a combination, you receive practical, judgment-free guidance tailored to your situation and your goals.
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Newborn Care & Partner GuidanceWe spend time helping you and your partner feel confident with the basics of newborn care — bathing, swaddling, safe sleep, diapering, reading your baby's cues, and any questions that have arisen in the early days. As your family grows, roles shift. We offer guidance on protecting your partnership through this tender transition and practical ways your partner can show up for you and your baby in the weeks ahead.
This Ceremony Is for Every New Mother
The Welcome Home Ceremony is not only for families who experienced a difficult birth or a complicated postpartum. It is for any new mother who wants to be intentionally cared for in the days after birth — because that care matters, regardless of how the birth went.
- First-time mothers stepping into a completely new identity
- Experienced mothers who know how quickly the postpartum window closes
- Mothers recovering from cesarean births who need additional support and healing time
- Families with limited local support who need someone to show up and hold space
- Mothers who experienced a difficult birth and need to process what happened
- Any mother who simply wants to feel received, nourished, and cared for
There is a long tradition in almost every culture of protecting and nourishing new mothers for forty days after birth. The Welcome Home Ceremony honors that wisdom — bringing it into your home, into your specific circumstances, and into the care of someone who has attended many births and knows how sacred this threshold truly is.
What Tayna Brings to Your Home
The Welcome Home Ceremony draws on every dimension of Tayna's training and life — not just her clinical credentials.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should the ceremony take place?
Ideally within the first one to two weeks after birth — while you are still in the deeply tender early postpartum window. That said, the ceremony can be offered at any point in the first six weeks. We schedule based on what feels right for your family and what your body and schedule allow.
How long does the ceremony take?
The ceremony typically lasts three to four hours, though we move at your pace. There is no rush. The time is yours and we let your needs guide the flow of the visit.
Is my partner welcome to be present?
Yes — partners are warmly welcomed and are an important part of the ceremony. Partner guidance and relationship support is woven into the visit, because the postpartum transition affects the whole family.
Do I need to prepare anything?
Nothing is required of you. The meal is prepared and brought to your home. The herbs, wrap, and supplies are brought by Tayna. The only thing you need to do is be home, be comfortable, and be ready to receive care.
Is the ceremony available for cesarean births?
Absolutely — and cesarean mothers often benefit deeply from this kind of intentional postpartum care. The ceremony is adapted to your recovery and physical needs, with particular attention to abdominal healing and the emotional processing that can accompany a surgical birth.
Is this covered by insurance?
The Welcome Home Ceremony is a private-pay service. Certain components — such as the lactation consultation — may be separately billable to insurance depending on your plan. Verify your benefits or contact us to discuss options.
What areas do you serve for the ceremony?
The Welcome Home Ceremony is available for families in Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, Winchester, and the surrounding Southwest Riverside County area. Contact us if you are outside this area and we will do our best to accommodate you.
You Carried Life. Now Let Someone Carry You.
The Welcome Home Ceremony is offered in your home in Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, and Southwest Riverside County. Spaces are limited. Reach out early to reserve your date.