Awakening Traditions, LLC
Professional Indigenous Midwifery Care
"She honors what is tough, smart, and untamed in women. She venerates the female soul." - Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D.
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Meet Lauríel
Lauríel Rivera-Stone (Keys), MEAC Trained DEM Midwife | MCU Preceptor | Certified Yoga & Meditation Instructor | Feminine Rites of Passage Coach
Lauríel is an experienced midwife, womb healer and intuitive guide who has been passionately providing culturally competent and inclusive care since attending college in 2014. She recognizes the need for change in the birth realm in order to ensure safe and equitable care growing families. With the aim of helping families grow and thrive in a safe, supportive, and inspiring environment, Lauríel combines evidence-based care with ancient ancestral & feminine wisdom to help lead the families that she serves.
Having been formally trained by MEAC accredited Birthwise Midwifery College, Lauríel has chosen to practice as a traditional community midwife, thus keeping her practices & wisdom rooted in natural & safe physiologic birth. Her exposure to hospitals, birth centers, and homes has enabled her to witness & manage the safe, ethical, and righteous practices of birthing outside of the hospital. Lauríel has been serving families in CT for the last 4 years. Her practice focuses on informed consent and parent-led decision-making, with the goal of empowering communities through education, exposure, and tapping into their inner wisdom.
In addition to being a dedicated community midwife, she is a certified yoga and meditation instructor. She offers monthly wellness gatherings and workshops for women in the community to take a break from their hectic schedules and prioritize self-care. When she isn't on call, Lauríel loves traveling with her husband, reading, hiking, savoring delicious food, and enjoying the outdoors.
Meet SciHonor
SciHonor Devotion, MCU Senior Student Midwife
SciHonor's journey into the world of reproductive health began in 1999, ignited by her personal experience of pregnancy. Inspired to delve deeper into the realms of pregnancy, birth, lactation, and parenting, she embarked on a quest for knowledge that would shape her career profoundly. Motivated by empowering birth experiences, SciHonor pursued formal training as a birth doula in 2001. Over the years, her dedication to enhancing maternal and infant health led her to expand her expertise, becoming proficient as a postpartum doula, childbirth educator, homebirth midwife assistant, and certified lactation counselor.
Her pursuit of excellence in midwifery led her to enroll at Midwives College of Utah, a MEAC accredited school, where she is currently on track to graduate this year with a Bachelor's of Midwifery, earning the status of Certified Professional Midwife (CPM). As a Primary Midwife under supervision, SciHonor's trajectory encompasses a vast spectrum of roles and responsibilities within the midwifery field.
Throughout her career, SciHonor has collaborated with midwives across New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Her experiences range from working with Lauriel Keys for nearly three years in Connecticut to serving as a Primary Midwife under supervision at a bustling birth center in Pennsylvania, where she provided essential, perinatal care to Amish and Mennonite communities.
In her quest to ensure the highest standards of care, SciHonor maintains certifications in Basic Life Support for HealthCare Providers (BLS CPR) and Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP) as mandated by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM). Not content with simply practicing midwifery, she actively contributes to shaping the future of maternal healthcare by serving on the State of Connecticut’s Midwifery Working Group and Doula Advisory Committees, collaborating with key stakeholders to advance the accessibility and quality of midwifery and doula care.
As the Founding Director of Earth’s Natural Touch: Birth Care & Beyond, SciHonor champions a mission aimed at reducing adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes, fostering perinatal wellness, and advocating for breastfeeding support across all families. She is deeply committed to addressing racial and ethnic disparities in infant and maternal health, particularly within Black and Brown communities.
Committed to the Midwifery Model of Care, SciHonor practices in collaboration with and under the supervision of Lauríel, Traditional Midwife and Preceptor at Awakening Traditions. Her involvement spans every facet of client care, from record-keeping and risk assessment, to prenatal and postpartum support, to newborn care, embodying a holistic approach to midwifery that prioritizes the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of families.
Our Philosophy
"Birth is a ceremony, not a procedure."
Becoming a parent is one of the most powerful and moving experiences a person can go through. At Awakening Traditions, we strive to provide families with evidence-based practices, tradition, as well as informed decision-making, to ensure a positive and empowered pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journey. We are focused on meeting the individual needs of each family and providing them with the education and support they need to make the best decisions for themselves and their babies. We believe that birth is a natural, normal physiological process that should be left undisturbed, and that minimal intervention and trusting the body are the keys in experiencing a successful spontaneous birth. We deeply believe that little ones deserved to be welcomed into this world with love and respect in the way in which their parents see fit. We work to provide a safe, intentional, and empowering space for all families, but especially those from black and brown communities, so that our children and mothers can make it through the journey safely. We offer a range of services, from preconception care to postpartum care and lactation support, in order to provide families with highly individualized & culturally competent holistic care. Our goal is always to ensure a safe home birth, but we understand that there are times when a higher level of care is needed, and we prioritize a safe vaginal delivery over a homebirth, when necessary.
"We must remember that birth is not a medical procedure, but a sacred ceremony. It is a powerful event that has been taking place since the beginning of time, manifested through the strength and wisdom of women like myself. Unfortunately, in the U.S., we lack a deep connection and understanding of birth, often taking it for granted. With the introduction of European-led obstetrics and gynecological care, our numbers of successful birth outcomes have drastically declined, particularly in communities of color. This is why I am here—to undo the trauma, to remind my community of our power and innate physiological wisdom, and to ensure that the women of my community, and the babies they bring into the world, are treated with love, respect, and intention. Our statistics demand that we take charge and change the way we do things, and I believe that it is no longer safe to take the implicit bias of the modern hospital system at face value. Hope and faith should no longer be our only strategies. We must be educated and intentional if we are to ensure successful birth outcomes for all."
Lauriel Keys, Midwife
Culturally competent care
We prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion at Awakening Traditions. We extend a warm invitation to individuals from underrepresented backgrounds, including Black, Indigenous, Latino.A.X, Asian communities, and other marginalized identities, to participate in our services.
Upcoming Events
Your Journey Starts Here
Contact Info
Phone
Address
860-222-0998
12 Charter Oak Place, Hartford CT 06106
I found Lauriel towards the end of my pregnancy with my daughter. I knew I wanted a home birth and decided to begin interviewing midwives after my anatomy scan. I had a rough go with previous pregnancies that resulted in loss and so I wanted someone who would make me feel comfortable discussing this with and would also be able to fully support me as I navigate the final weeks of my first healthy pregnancy. I literally knew I wanted her to be my midwife within the first few moments of meeting her. She has such a nurturing and warm energy to her. I felt like I was talking to an old friend. Throughout those final weeks of my pregnancy she really helped me understand what to expect, helped me mentally prepare, and was very thorough in her home visit with my husband and I. I never felt rushed in any visit with her, not during my pregnancy and not during her postpartum visits. During my birth there were a few moments that I could have felt worried/scared/stressed because of what was happening, but the way she handled it all put me at such ease. She was the perfect person for it and I thank God for putting her in my path. I am eternally grateful for her and I cannot wait for her to be alongside me in my next pregnancy. Lauriel could not have been a more supportive, loving, uplifting, reassuring, professional, and just all around amazing midwife. 🙏🏻
I highly recommend a birth supported by Awakening Traditions!
After a less than satisfactory hospital birth experience with my son, I chose to have a home birth for my second child and was lucky to work with Lauríel. Even though it wasn’t my first pregnancy, she taught me so much and I saw how you can truly have a continuum of care that centers around you and your baby.
Lauríel has been an incredible source of comfort, knowledge, and support. Whether it was suggesting supplements to help me during pregnancy, her calm and encouraging energy during the birth, or providing natural solutions to help both me and my daughter postpartum, I cannot thank her enough for making sure we were safe, healthy, and cared for!
Lauriel provided care for me for my third baby, first home birth. She is such a pleasure to work with. Very respectful of individual choices and preferences, easy to talk to, and responsive. She has such a calming energy and was so good with my older kids who just wanted to share every story of their life with her. I felt both autonomous and supported. If it helps, I’ll say I am pretty familiar with a number of midwives as well since I am one too. I respected her as a provider and as a colleague. I highly recommend!
I can’t say enough great things. After having my first daughter in a hospital, being induced, and eventually having an epidural I was nervous to attempt a homebirth. Lauriel was caring and attentive for every appointment. When interacting she was really listening; and not just listening to respond. A provider that really listens and offers constructive feedback instead of medical jargon is so rare these days. Lauriel has the most beautiful heart and connected with me on a level beyond patient/provider. When it was time for baby to come, I felt so empowered through everything. She was calm, supportive and accommodating. I really felt like I was having a baby with my husband and friends. It was the single coolest moment of my life. The aftercare was nothing short of spectacular as well. My baby’s now 8 months old and I’m still singing her praises to anybody who will listen. Will definitely be having another babe with you Lauriel. Love you girl! 🤟🏼