Thank you notes

A first for this midwife...During midwifery school, I wrote a thesis called "The Greening of Birth." A considerable portion of this paper focuses on the collaboration of maternity care providers to greatly reduce the rising maternal mortality rate in the United States. This means midwives and OB/MD's work together when they need to in order to keep birth healthy and safe. Once I started my practice, I did my best to say "thank you" when we transported to our local hospital for the care a midwife cannot provide. I wanted to begin building connection and community for myself as a provider, and for my clients/patients. I still send them every transport.

Two weeks ago, I transported a momma who planned to birth at home. The onset of pre-eclampsia and her baby turning breech brought her to a hospital birth. We met with an fantastic OB, Melissa Augustyn. The parents asked for the hospital to follow their birth plan, a usual occurrence. Dr. Augustyn was very supportive of their requests. When asked if I could be support during my client's birth, for a cesarean, she told us that a recent hospital policy kept any supporters other than the partner out of the surgical theater. Dr. Augustyn "pushed" to get everything these parents wanted for their birth, and therefore I was allowed to attend my client during her birth. The surgical staff was very respectful to the "sacred" birth environment and to this mother, as she birthed her sweet baby girl. I was with my client in the recovery room, as father and baby went through the rituals of the nursery. When I left the hospital that day, I was amazed at the day. Two weeks later. I went to clean out my office yesterday and checked the mail. There was a letter from Melissa expressing gratitude. She said she was writing a note to me at the same time she received mine. I like that kind of synchronicity. In a system where there is plenty of bureaucracy, it is heartwarming and human to know that we are on the way to making collaborative systems in maternity care.

As the rise in "The Greening of Birth" and maternity care begins, I am excited for more midwives to show what we DO know and what we have learned. We can send the continual message that we are the experts in normal birth and pregnancy. I am thrilled for more midwives to receive recognition from other maternity care providers, creating that collaborative force.

With this, I am also reminded every birth is magical.

Maiden-Mother-Crone

This morning my momma started an email with the following sentence, "Bec, since the day you were born, you have stolen my heart--just like your sister did-- and I have wanted you to have a perfect life." It was in this new day that I (not having yet birthed any children, yet witnessing many births) had an

ah-haa moment knowing that every mother I know wants the same thing for their sons and daughters that my mother wants for us.

In old traditions, the cycles of women were known as "Maiden-Mother-Crone." We enter times, now, where not every woman becomes a mother, physically. But energetically, there are many ways to tend to children and become a mother. We all have something in our lives that 'on the day it was born' our hearts broke wide open and our souls poured out, and whomphhh, we hope and pray that little thing has a perfect life. Yet, who gets a perfect life?

Maiden, we are, from birth until we start to swell and gestate. If you are a woman who choose not to gestate a baby, what in life have you been gestating, nourishing and caring for over time? What are you gestating today? What have you mothered to creation and continued to love, just like a child? Here in this place, we play, we create a mess and start over again, we experience joy, we fall in love, and we find ourselves.

Mother...Your body swollen, life force running through you, you caring for one thing like you've never cared for yourself. During gestation, what has inspired you creatively? What do you fear about the transition and how is this fear eased? How will this maiden transform into a mother? My mother has been a constant blessing, even when challenging, to the progression of my life. She is the only woman who believes in me with such strength and yet challenges me until I push off...She is probably like this because I "pushed off" from her womb in about 4 minutes once she actually began to push in labor. After the birth of becoming Mother, we grow up. Even if you become a mother later in life, you get to grow up AGAIN. Can you see the joy? Every birth, we grow into motherhood further and further. We get wrapped up in our "seeds" and tend to them, as we tend to ourselves, our commitments and to life. Age comes to us and our wised souls watch as our families evolve, our children(metaphoric or physical) leave us and begin their own lives; and as Mother, as woman, we begin again.

The wise woman, the Crone, the auntie, the grandmother, this woman passes on the wisdom, the lessons and the unconditional love that she has experienced throughout life. She holds her daughter as she births her babies, life dreams, goals and losses. She endures the magic that is passed through our ancestors and generations, hoping to pass it on to a "seed" that will carry this wisdom into the wind. Her hair is gray, lines show in her face, and after years of watching her mother's and aunt's hold the wisdom she begins to carry the torch.

With my birth sister about to have a baby, we three women represent Maiden-Mother-Crone and what a profound time it is in our lives. Midwives "mother" women into motherhood all the time. Today, I write this as a new mother sits at home with her week old baby girl and to me revels in the love she feels. Today, I write this for all of you exploring your phases in womanhood. May you find light in your transformation.

Blessed be!

A first for the US

Aviva Jill Romm, a name we hear in the midwifery community, and now entering the medical community. I check up on her progression every now and again, see what she's done, see what she's written and if she has graduated from Yale University. Today, I realized that she is creating the FIRST Women's Health Internal Medicine program (through Yale University) in the United States. Here we go girls! Get ready for transformation.

Check out this woman's "gifts" if you are a natural childbirth momma, interested in women's health from an integrative perspective, or just believe that we are the ones who can empower change in our medical system on her website:

http://www.avivaromm.com/

I am thrilled to keep up with her and see what more she has in store, including conversations on vaccinations, natural birth and postpartum care from birthing women, and women's health. Thank you Aviva!

Out they come...

A quick good morning to y'all. Out comes a new movie "Natural Born Babies" to fill the screens of Americans. A review from Molly Remer came out yesterday and was posted on The Citizens for Midwifery blog.

This lovely short film produced by a midwifery service in California, is a great “ad” for the benefits of homebirth and of midwifery care. Natural Born Babies has a very clean, fresh, and contemporary feel and features a multicultural collection of homebirth families talking about their experiences in front of a white screen. Something that is particularly striking is that some of the people speaking with love and enthusiasm about their midwives and their birth experiences include a cardiologist, an anesthesiologist, and an ER physician!

The first part of the film is titled Interventions and features both men and women speaking about birth, referencing how pregnancy and birth are treated like medical conditions and including a lot of discussion about the prevalence of cesareans. The point is made that, “no epidural can replace human touch.” The second part is titled The Birth Specialists and points out that OB/GYNS are pathology specialists, whereas midwives are trained in normalcy—“we take low-risk women, and keep them low-risk.” Midwives are specialists in normal pregnancy and birth. Because of the film’s emphasis is wholly on out-of-hospital birth and hospitals are critiqued very soundly, hospital-bound couples viewing the film may find that it causes their defenses to rise.

Several of the parents are holding their babies as they speak and a CNM speaks briefly as well (citing both ACNM and MANA). The CNM manages Orange County’s only accredited birth center. I enjoyed the presence of a bio-physicist dad originally from Holland saying, “everyone I know was born at home” and noting that “you give birth the same way you live.” Several of the couples speaking do refer to the father as “delivering” the baby, which is a long-term pet peeve of mine.

Special features include a 10 minute version of the film, an outtakes section, and a look inside the South Coast Birth Center. At the end of the film we see that one of the couples is the director/producer of the film.

Natural Born Babies is a fast-paced film and though it is filmed in a “talking heads” format, it cuts quickly from person to person, thus keeping the viewer engaged. If you are looking for an informative video that is homebirth and midwifery friendly, but that does not include any birth footage, this would be a good addition to your library.

Take the time to seek this movie out, I am adding it to my library now. Enjoy the sunshine all you Bozemanites, and for the rest of you may springtime activities fill you up.

Reviewed by Molly Remer, MSW, CCCE; http://talkbirth.wordpress.com

New Sprouts

Once again, I have taken a hiatus from the world of the web. Inspired by many recent opportunities, I have thought focusing on this blog rather than a blog, facebook, twitter and all the ways to reach out. Let's say, I am synchronizing my efforts so I can produce something good, a resource for those who want to be inspired by birth and midwifery and the ways of parenting. Maybe in this redirection, there are also days when I just write to the Green Midwife community about happenings, creative ventures and new learnings in Midwifery.

So...what have I been up to since February? Let me introduce what my small practice has been doing...we've been growing.

Simon was born to Robin and Pat back in February, on a very snowy day. He was a sweet little guy who has brought lots of light to the life to us.

Modina Millie Mattie was born to Modina Sr and her father Dave in March. She came to us 5 weeks early, and she showed

exemplary vitals and was able to go straight to her momma's chest where she started nursing and she truly hasn't stopped since.

Ania Lynn was born next, on her family farm, and she came quite quickly...All 9 lbs 1 ounce of her. It was one of those midwifery births that restores all vision and clarity to the reasons why I love this job with all my soul. (This picture got removed from facebook for being "obscene").

And finally, sweet little baby Trinci Blue was born in the wee hours of the morning. Her momma gave all her go with the pushing and around 2 in the morning she slid out into everyone's arms. Many people had been waiting for this birth, and it all came in perfect time.

With the other birth centers in town thriving and I trying to find my place in this midwifery community, I realize Green Midwife has been thriving too. In February, Erin Ellis, CPM, LM moved to Bozeman and it's been wonderful to have build a new friendship and really like a big breath of fresh air has come around town. We all welcome her to the community and know she will add new light. It is our hope that we can work together to bring more unity to the local midwives and inspire more frequent gatherings, peer reviews and continuing education opportunities that make midwifery an empowering job and build better communities. A fun journey is ahead of us.

I got to take a vacation to Louisiana and Texas, to visit my boyfriend Ross where he is working on his family farm. It was an opportunity for me to reconnect with my heritage and a time to learn about his history, being my family comes from Southwestern Louisiana/East Texas and his from North Louisiana. We met up briefly with some Green Midwife clients who birthed about a year ago, in Austin, and of course beautiful Sara Janssen and her traveling family caught the moment on camera. In there, I have had some time with family. My lovely older sister Jennifer and her partner Sky are expecting their first baby in August. If that baby comes in August, I will be the only woman in our direct lineage not born in August. Thank heavens for my aunt Marilyn, who is born in September.

Finally, Green Midwife is moving out of the Main Street office in Bozeman on June 1st. As spring sprouts new life, so do I to this blog and to the other arenas of an enjoyable midwifery practice. New horizons are on the way for this midwife in Bozeman and I am looking forward to watching the growth of my practice here in Montana.