Fundamentalism scares me. Whether the topic is religion, politics, or health care, fundamentalism scares me. As a licensed midwife attending planned home births, the public fundamentalism on either side of the home birth issue scares me both personally and professionally....
Note: Albany.com is not responsible for posts and comments written by non-staff members.
Poem: The Scent of Birth
The scent of birth is a heady perfume Its base note is loamy- earth, sweat, blood Aquiline top note - soft, clear water, salty tears, grassy newness Between another layer floats, subtle and persistent -clean wax of vernix The scent of birth surges Baby...
Life on call 24/7
I am a midwife. Specifically, I am a private practice, planned homebirth attending midwife. In my normal life, I am on call 24/7. Every hour of every day, I am ready for someone's call: a laboring woman, a breastfeeding mom,...
Memory: Change Your Shorts!
Memory: I was in active labor with my second baby. It was hard work and I was relaxing well with and especially between the contractions. Endorphins were surging through me and my thoughts were, well, let's just say I wasn't...
Talking to Babies
Dear Reader, Thank you so much for reading this post. If you are regularly reading Midwifery, Mothering & Me, thank you again. I truly appreciate the support. We humans like to be acknowledged. We like to be recognized. We...
“Oh, you are a midwife? What a wonderful job!”
"Wow! You are a midwife? What a wonderful job!" Whenever someone greets me like this, I smile, I pause and then I say, "Yes". With my smile, I acknowledge this person's excitement about midwifery (and most likely about birth). My...
Memory: Perfect in Her Mother’s Eyes
My first nursing job, I worked in a very busy, very traditional, labor and delivery ward. Labors happened in shared Labor Rooms; two or three labor beds, wheeled gurneys actually, were in each of these curtain-divided rooms. Just prior...
The moment I knew I was a grown-up
The first time I knew that I was a grown-up -that moment and the events leading up to it are imprinted on my memory. It remains embossed, a soft puckering created by hard pressing.As I write this, my husband sleeps...
Preconception Consults: My Favorite
Like mothers, midwives are not supposed to have favorites. Want to know a secret? We do have favorites. My favorite (at least one of them) is preconception consults. At Local Care Midwifery, PLLC (LCM), a preconception consult is an hour...