Midwife: Sage Femme, Hebamme, Comadrona, Partera

Things have been a bit crazy over the past couple weeks, had two more births to first-time moms, one cesarean after five hours of pushing, one baby born at home into her father’s hands.
The two births were days apart.  I must say that they were vastly different in so many ways, not just the place […]

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A sweet baby boy, 8lbs 4oz, was born just past midnight this morning in the water.  It was her third baby, her second homebirth.   I’m so excited to see those older siblings (who slept right through the birth, like many kids do!) with this new babe!

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It was their fourth girl, I was honored to have been the midwife at all the births.
While her mom was working hard, the 5 year old and I looked through old photo albums - viewing her birth and her older sister’s birth pictures.  Then, while mom was squatting to push, she sat and held my […]

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The mama with the PROM had her baby in the wee hours of the morning Saturday morning. She had a girl, after about four hours of active labor. Smooth, gentle labor and birth with three of the older sisters watching.
A first time mama gave birth this morning at 10.36am after starting active labor […]

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Does anyone know of a midwife in San Diego (or near there) that practices in a hands-off way?  Someone who could be flexible during birth?

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If you’re still using Internet Explorer, please stop.  
This blog will be missing huge amounts of links and information when viewed with IE.  Go to the link under the header and download yourself some Mozilla Firefox.
Just like with AOL, sometimes we need to move on in order to stay ahead.
xoxo

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Ah, it’s such an issue with people. Without a doubt, this is one of the biggest concerns people have with homebirth:
What if the cord is around the neck?
Here’s a great blog entry from Lisa Barrett about this.
Here are a couple entries from my previous blog on this topic:
A general entry about nuchal cords, which […]

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baby boy, born in the wee hours of this morning at home.
I’m off to another birth, a first-time mom who lives in my neighborhood. please send us warm thoughts!
(coffeeismyfriendcoffeeismyfriendcoffeeismyfriendcoffeeismyfriend)

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It seems many readers that have Internet Explorer are having a hard time with my YouTube embedding…
So, instead of posting the actual clip, I’ll post the link instead.
This link will take you to a beautiful montage of a lesbian couple having a planned unattended birth of a baby boy!

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I had a client birth her second baby, a VBAC, in the wee hours of this morning. Baby is 9lbs 9oz, an ounce larger than her first - a cesarean for ‘cephalopelvic disproportion’.
Here’s an inspiring video on those CPD-labeled mothers and their triumphs over the diagnosis.

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In the last year there have been some statements made about the increase in maternal mortality rates in our country. In a nutshell, these statements blamed women of size and their ‘myriad of health issues’ for the sharpest rise in maternal mortality. These public statements, delivered to news organizations which took out the […]

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One of the things about Spring that I love is the energy and propulsion towards making change.

I am moving my blog! I still haven’t decided if I’m going to bring all my archived posts over to the new site (I think I will, but only if I manage to get more time online), but […]

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Have you seen her latest strip?
Really, Michel Odent. *deep sigh* What he has to say is so vital to our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. We will never see world change without paying sharp attention to what we do prenatally, at birth and immediately postpartum.

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Don’t forget to run over to Tina Cassidy’s blog and revel in her baby’s birth story.

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…is that I’m not the only one that feels this way about it.
Within this truth, the company I keep is remarkable. Astounding. Powerful.
Seeing, meeting and conversing with Michel Odent, Dr John, Sarah Buckley, Gail Hart, Karen Strange, Laura Shanley, Gloria Lemay - these are just a handful of the people that touched my […]

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Off to the Trust Birth Conference!
Two of my clients birthed on Tuesday…one a heavy, thirteen minute shoulder dystocia and full CPR to a 12lb 12oz baby girl. Later that evening, a baby boy’s arrival that happened so fast I missed it by five minutes.
The big baby is doing well - she responded quickly to […]

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Barb’s blog has a new post entitled Midwifery Education , a spin-off from a conversation that has been happening over at another blog (which I have to admit I haven’t had time to read at all).
I have so much to say to this post, including the desire to read the referenced blog to discover where […]

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In response to my post about the prospective study that Missy Cheney from the Oregon State University is creating, my friend Linda wrote this:
(note: Kraig Bohot is the Communications Director for the Oregon Health Licensing Office, the office that oversees the Licensed Direct-Entry Midwifery Board)

Linda said…

Melissa seems to be very happy […]

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I am limited in my online time and it feels like anything I write or respond to never quite conveys my initial intention. Two year old distractions, a 13 year old wanting to look at the latest YouTube craze - it all takes me away from getting my thoughts down succinctly. Bear with […]

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Here is a story published in the Portland newspaper, The Oregonian about midwives and gathering midwifery statistics.

In 1977, Oregon’s attorney general held that midwives didn’t require licenses to attend births without drugs or surgical procedures, says Maryl Smith, a historian with the midwifery council. Five years later, the midwifery council began a voluntary certification program […]

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