I am amazed at how fast I was able to get this site up and running. Only with the help of my wonderful son was it possible. I want to thank anyone who has ventured here to check it out. I am really excited about where I am going and plan to get to know so many wonderful people along the way. This week I received very encouraging feedback from my senior midwife. It seems she kind of likes me 😉 so I may be able to stick around with her for a while. I am ever thankful for her and all the other midwives who will take us students under their wings. There is much risk involved, mostly for the midwife and not the student, and I respect that! Midwives are a bit protective of who they allow to meet their clients as they should be. I am hoping I have the grace and kindness that mine has shown me. I look forward to the day that I know some things and I am able to share them with a new student. I learn so much just by observing how she interacts with her clients and the things she says. I love the statement ‘each one, teach one’. This is what we need to embrace as this work cannot be done by attending classes, we must follow a midwife working in the field or we will have no idea what we are doing when we get out on our own. I am most thankful that I was able to connect with a midwife who runs her practice just as I envision I would do.
My ideal practice is one in which I am able to provide support and encouragement to the point that the expecting mother finds the power with in herself to bring her child into the world on her own, following her own God given instincts. I detest the medical model of birth in which the woman really is not in charge at all. Perhaps there is a hospital somewhere in which the woman’s desires are totally respected. Sadly, I have not seen this. What I have seen is that once the woman shows up in a hospital her ideas are taken into consideration verbally but hospital policy over rides it all together. It comes down to what is convenient for the staff. PLEASE if you have experienced truly mother centered care in a hospital let me know as I would love to know it exists in this country. I understand the fact that the hospital wants to make sure everything is safe but when a mom is healthy there is no reason to treat her in the way they do.
I am someone who years ago believed home birth was an unwise and foolish choice. This was back when I believed I would have died in childbirth had I not had a life saving surgical delivery(c-section). It was not until after my fourth child that I discovered the truth about midwifery care vs. the medical model of birth. I read all the sweet stories of women who had births in which they were respected and honored and I wanted that for myself. I was determined my next births would be different. As soon as I had my 5th child with true midwives and a wonderful homebirth Dr, I decided one day I would serve women in the same way. I had 3 beautiful births and learned first hand that it is possible and safe to be honored and respected in birth. I learned that I can ride the waves of birth and not die of pain. I became empowered and from that point on I have had a passion to tell other women about this wonderful thing. Sadly, I cannot give this to others. All I can do is share my experience and encourage and support moms. I can help them and assist them but it is they who will have to have the determination to be in charge. Obviously, this takes a bit of humility as we do need to realize what is wise and what is foolish. This is why I am training. I want to be able to be that safe place where a mom can have her baby gently and respected but I will be able to see the signs of danger and know what to do to help her. There is a time and place for hospital assisted birth, however for most women it is not necessary. A study was just released this past week that exposed the truth on home birth vs. hospital birth. Here is the summary of findings:
“For women who had previously given birth, the risk of severe outcomes for home births was one per 1,000; for hospital births, it was 2.3 per 1,000. This represented a reduction in risk of 58.3 percent. The rate per 1,000 for postpartum hemorrhage was 19.6 for home births, compared to 37.6 for hospitals, a 47.9 percent reduction. The rates per 1,000 for manual removal of the placenta were 8.5 and 19.6, respectively, representing a risk reduction of 56.9 percent.”
This is the study: Primary source: BMJ
Source reference:
de Jonge A et al “Severe adverse maternal outcomes among low risk women with planned home versus hospital births in the Netherlands: nationwide cohort study” BMJ 2013; DOI: 10.1136/bmj.f3263.