Erika Archer

Hi my name is Erika and I live in McHenry county. With easy access to I-90, I am able to serve a wide area including; McHenry, Kane, Cook, Dupage, Dekalb, Boone, Lake, Ogle, and Winnebago counties. If you are beyond these boundaries, please contact me and I will assist you in your search or make special considerations as my schedule allows. I have additional training and expertise in music therapy, labor and postpartum doula support, and lactation. I draw upon these skills to assist moms through postpartum recovery as a placenta encapsulist.

 

I am happily married to my best friend and high school sweetheart. We grew up in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago and later moved to central Iowa, where we resided for 13 years, before returning to the area in 2008. I am a stay at home mother to three little girls and a little boy. With the support of wonderful midwives, I birthed my babies into the warmth of water and the tranquility of our home. While my birthing experiences met my dreams, my experiences postpartum were those of nightmares.

 

Following the birth of my first daughter, I experienced severe depletion and fatigue, which by the end of the first week had bypassed the “baby blues”, turned into postpartum depression, and exasperated into what I call “full meltdown” around 6 months postpartum. I crumbled into the darkness. My husband and I conceived, rather unexpectedly, when our first daughter was only 10 months. I was very scared and concerned, but also excited to get a second chance at enjoying the newborn period. At 20 weeks we had an additional surprise – I was carrying twins. After a very healthy pregnancy, my twins were safely born at home at 39 weeks, healthy and perfect. Then the pattern began again. I went through the same cycle of depletion, fatigue, and postpartum depression, this time nursing twins and caring for our daughter who was 19 months.

 

After 6.5 years of healing, I was determined to meet the last little spirit I always knew should be with me. Needless to say it took a LOT of convincing. Both my husband and I were very afraid of the postpartum period. My last little baby, was born in September 2013. It was an amazing experience. I was able to use placenta capsules immediately postpartum for the first time. My experience was night and day in comparison to the past, yet he was my toughest birth and I had all the same breastfeeding challenges (tongue and lip ties ((all 4 of mine have had ties)), mastitis, plugged ducts, and thrush). I have had the best milk supply, and best of all I’ve had no PPD or anxiety, despite many initial problems with breastfeeding and the added stress of incorporating a new baby into a home with three busy girls.

 

I struggle to express the passion I feel. I wish I had known about placenta encapsulation early on when I had my girls. Despite my knowledge of birth, experience in lactation, hours of reading, days of searching for care providers and birthing options, I had never heard or read about placenta encapsulation. If only I had known! But, I am so thankful to have learned about it and now been blessed with the opportunity to use it immediately after my son’s birth. It’s been a markedly different journey this time.

 

I am so honored to be working within the PBi network and providing this service to new moms and families. With every placenta, I am reminded of it’s life-giving force, humbled by it's healing powers, and through encapsulation, blessed to be able to share this with other women. I look forward to assisting you during this period of growth and transformation.