10 fingers and 10 toes

Friday afternoon 29 May 2009, Green Midwife Community Birth Services welcomed it’s first birth to the practice and all 10 sweet toes and all 10 long fingers were counted.  This brought up some thought as I cleaned the birth off my skin.  When my mom taught me about toes and fingers she taught me that my toes have special powers and since they are especially long, she taught me their main function was to pick things up...In time, I attempted to write with them...not so good.  The one thing I became quite skilled at was picking clothes off the ground and swinging them up to my hands so I could either put them on or fold them or hang them up.  It expedites cleaning by minutes, for sure.  The other thing is I learned my toes are my foundation, my roots and they spread like wings and spread really awkwardly but they give me great balance.  It is my platform.  My fingers, they are meant to touch, to spread warmth and to heal.  

At the end of my shower tonight, I lifted my arms up with exhilaration as I jump off this platform that has been so well supported by all those elders who walked this midwifery path before me and taught me.  The others who have endured this profession and all the hard work midwives have dedicated themselves to in order to persevere and hold a presence in our birthing community in the United States.  Today, I dove into the waters of a not so quiet sea and I know that I know how to ride waves, so I guess this is going to work out even when the waters are rough.

One other thing my mom and dad both did when we were little was taught us to count, of course, on our toes and fingers...and all things counted for, these 10 things are pulsing through my heart with importance tonight as I move forward in my work as a midwife:

1               Midwifery is in the fashion of adversity, in our culture, and I hope this changes (obviously) yet I can only commit to continuing to practice and play my role to impact the health and journey of families.

2              The journey of women, in birth, has been shortened and our power has been stripped from us and I often wonder what it is about women these days that scares them (truly) about birth, that encourages them to have their deepest seeded power lifted, and willing to give up their personal rite to a higher hand or authority.  If we still looked at birth as an event of empowerment, would women be fighting stronger and choosing other paths as they walk into motherhood? 

3               I believe (on a cellular level) that all women have the capacity to learn the phrase “My body rocks” and say it loud enough to their self that they feel it in their belly.  That this phrase alone can give women the confidence to believe in their beauty and power, it’s inevitable when practiced. 

4               Love your love warrior, even when part of that love and strength comes from your man, your partner, or from another support source.  Honor your support partner and LOVE BACK!

5               Clean off every experience. 

6               Each start is a fresh start.

7               Commitment to your authentic and true self takes work but it is such a beautiful feeling to know you.

8               I hope we have the consciousness in our country to really see that midwives do provide safe care and give great maternity care.

9               I hope midwives, as a whole profession, begin to collaborate more because we will only continue to be a divided force if we keep going head to head with one another.

10            I am overjoyed and blessed to announce that Lucia (Loo-CEE-ah) "Lucy" Mae Janssen was the first baby to bless the waters of Green Midwife Community Birth Services.  She is brilliant and long and our blessing.  Thank you Sara and Matt and Bella, and everyone else that joined us to begin. 

 Peace.

Celebrate A Midwife Today.

To celebrate International Midwife Day, May 5^th of every year, I reached out to many different parents in my large community to speak up for midwives.  All the people who responded to me with a short 10-minute writing assignment birthed at home or in a birth center, although I tried to get others to join in who had midwives in a hospital and even from other countries.  If you’re reading this and feel like adding, the “assignment” was:

why you chose a midwife for care during your pregnancy and birth (whether home or hospital) and a hope you have for midwifery in the United States. Also, if the writers wanted to “give some love” they could.

If you read today and you have a story, please add it.  There is a midwife for every mother, and I do feel glad that in the marginalized US we have a way to be celebrated and a way to celebrate one another as maternity and birth specialists.  All expressions have been given permission for use on this blog, by the writers and parents. 

Here begins the creativity and expression of others...

 I chose a midwife for my care during the pregnancy and birth of my two children because I wanted to be in an environment that trusted in the natural process and beauty of birth. I wanted a caregiver that believed in the empowerment and education of her clients; I wanted to be empowered and educated. This is what I found in my midwife- all this and more- including support of my body/mind/soul,  sisterhood, and a loving personal relationship. My dream for the future is that all women will have a loving, nurturing environment in which to birth their babies.

Lauren Hunt, Viroqua, Wisconsin

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 On January 25th 2009 at 12:15 pm my life truly began... After 7 hours of allowing my body to move, feel, push, hurt, & experience the one of the most natural things God ever created, I welcomed my daughter Alomae James into a calm, safe, quiet and peaceful world in the comfort of my home. An environment sans bright lights, sterile busy hands and complicated terminology...Just a tub, my loving husband, and a few beautiful women in the background to "watch over" us like angels. It was the most amazing experience to witness my body’s strength and watch it flourish in what it was designed to do. On this day, I gave my baby the best start to her life & found a whole new meaning to mine.

My hope is that every woman might experience such beauty in birth. That they would feel respected, capable & encouraged in what should be the most empowering moment of their life! Midwives make this possible-they are giving us our bodies back & our babies the purest start to life.

Echo Zielinski, Portland, Oregon

 My daughter was born on Sept. 1, 2003 in the basement of our home, in a portable blue tub.  I was the first person to lay hands on her and I immediately swept her up and placed her on her mother’s chest.   I’ve told the story of Lily’s birth dozens of times and every time I finish I feel like I have not done the experience justice.  It was an experience that is unlikely ever to be matched in its clarity, it’s focus and its intensity.

The decision to have a homebirth was not mine, and I admit when I “agreed” to use a midwife I didn’t know exactly what that meant.  But I quickly became a firm believer in midwives and home births, and skeptical of the medical industry’s treatment of pregnant women.

By education and experience I have long been skeptical of the American medical establishment.  By using a midwife Lily’s mother and I were able to pursue a natural, affordable option that didn’t ‘medicalize’ her pregnancy, didn’t treat her like she had a condition of some sort, and made her feel comfortable about her ability to handle her pregnancy and delivery.  In fact, when inevitably family and friends would ask why were not using a hospital, I took to answering their question with a question:  “Why would we?  She’s not sick.”  This was actually a pretty useful way of getting them to think about delivering a baby outside of a medical setting.

Once Lily was delivered and the delivery team left (we had a midwife, her apprentice and a doula) it was just the three of us.  Lily’s mother fell asleep and I stayed up all night just staring at our new daughter.  For a Father who I suspect is marginalized to a large extent in a hospital setting, this was a priceless experience.  I truly believe my bonding with Lily started in the first seconds of her life, which is the way it should be.

Lily’s birth was a transformative experience for everyone involved.  If it had not been a homebirth, I would not have been as involved as I was and would have missed out on a truly miraculous evening.  Homebirths CAN be for everyone (well, probably 90% of us) and I could not recommend it more. 

 Geoff Easton, Missoula, MT USA

Choosing to give birth with a midwife was an easy decision for me. For as long as I can remember I wanted to do a water birth and the midwives were going to help me facilitate it, whereas the hospitals were not. I also believed that giving birth was something women were created for and that our bodies are perfectly capable of doing with a little help. Once I found the wonderful women who assisted me during pregnancy and the birth of my son my expectations were completely blown away. I never imagined how much time they would spend with me during each appointment, and that I felt loved, cared for and taught things about labor and delivery that I had never learned in all my own studies. My labor was long and intense, and they were with me every step of the way, believing in me when I didn't believe in myself. When my 11 pound 4.5 oz bouncing baby boy arrived they made me feel like a superhero and that my boy was the coolest little baby ever. Even though I am sure they make every woman feel like this, it still made a huge impression on my husband, my family and me. I loved that my midwife did home visits, and I couldn't have felt more comfortable if these ladies were my sisters! For any future pregnancies I will be calling my midwives! I wish I could convey how truly amazing my pregnancy and birth experience was, and I believe this was truly a direct result of my midwives!

Aimee Archer, Colorado, Oregon, and Vienna. 

 Midwife. Just saying that word makes my heart sing. I know so many amazing, inspiring women who are midwives…I currently have 2 friends who are midwives, and 5 who are training to be. The very sound of that word crossing my lips brings a smile to my face.  We chose to birth at home with a midwife with our first child, and we are doing the same this time around. We made this decision because we believe that birth is a natural and beautiful part of life...not a medical procedure. Birthing at home allowed us to experience this deeply emotional and special time in the privacy of our own home...we can't wait to do it again!

Sara Janssen, Bozeman, Montana

with barely any smile on my face I can relate midwifery to firing a wood kiln - these days we have lots of options available to help fire our ceramic wares - fancy electronic pyrometers that display a digital read out of temperatures inside the kiln and wonderful little devices called oxiprobes that measure oxygen or the lack thereof in the atmosphere of the kiln.  All of this on one hand - on the other we can simply watch our clay bodies mature as the firing progresses, watching the color of the heat and firing the kiln according to our senses.  I feel that I am more attentive to my kiln and my experience is more authentic and natural without the use of pyrometers...no matter how wonderful the technology might be.  My wife and I fired our last baby without a "pyrometer" - I think the feta-scope was the most technology we saw during her entire pregnancy.  What a change from the cesarean section birth she endured before this recent birth - and the baby's position was the same as the one that resulted in the last cesarean (breech).  I stand in awe at my wife and her body. Such a wonderful experience and I am so thankful for the support of our midwives and the loving care they provide for us - a month has passed and they are still stopping in to visit and see our little girl. 

How about a toast to midwives and a hope that we human beings can show a tremendous amount of respect and gratitude for the technology that surrounds us here in the United States in every respect, medical or artistic; And let us be aware of the power each of us hold in our own bodies and senses and use it in the best way that we know how - we can let things be simple.

Benj Upchurch, Tiffin, Iowa