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A wide range of services and resources to families who are interested in taking responsibility for their own health. I am currently preparing for my NARM testing in February and am on my way to becoming a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM). In addition, I am a student of Ancient Art Midwifery Institute, an intensive midwife correspondence course.
Home deliveries throughout Northern Ohio tailored to your birth plan. Do you wish to make it an extended family event? A gentle water birth? Or a very intimate, nearly unassisted birth in which Daddy catches his own baby? It is such a blessing to provide the birth you desire!
The woman is her own authority. As Carla Hartley says:The decision to Home Birth is a decision to make all the decisions. View my role as simply a paid consultant.
My two primary goals:
{1.} I don't want to be a part of your birth memory. I want your birth story to be family focused. It should not begin with "...first the midwife got here, checked me and then... " I want to blend into the background; quietly & gently guiding you to the next decision. Think of me as professional cheerleader who just happens to know a tremendous amount about natural birth. I have all the knowledge and equipment to handle an emergency, but my goal is to not interfere with the normal process of your body giving birth in its own way, in God's time.
{2.} My second goal is to make sure you maintain the "space" you need to do your thing. View me as the Gate Keeper. I have no problem working out a signal with you in which you let me know someone (like a mother-in-law or child) is interfering in your focus; I gently guide them out of the room, the house, the county -- whatever is necessary to allow your work to continue uninterrupted.
These two above goals have been my focus since I began my involvement with midwifery, but on a recent conference call with Carla Hartley of AAMI, I was able to use part of her words to finally summarize my feelings into something understandable and easy to communicate to you and my clients. Thank you Carla, you have a wonderful way with words!
Advice on nutrition. While under my care, you will be held accountable to a sensible eating plan, as well as wise use of supplements and herbs to address any special needs (low iron, high BP, leg cramps, etc). Prevention is the key to successful outcomes!!
On the following pages, you will read my ravings and rants about a broad spectrum of self-care. I welcome feedback and love to communicate with other like-minded folks.
If you had to use one word to describe me, it would be RESOURCEFUL.
All my close friends know they can count on me to know a little bit about everything. I know someone (or at the very least, know OF someone) in virtually all areas of holistic expertise.
Over the years I’ve gathered quite a few favorite sources for the various things that are important to me.
I firmly believe that due to the depleted soil and the chemical processing of foods in the marketplace today, one must use quality supplements. Herbs and Homeopathics have their place in natural healing as well; however, if you feed your body correctly, and give it all the support it needs from a cellular level… your immune system will hum and your body can repair itself! No antibiotics needed. Everything from autoimmune disorders to cancer.
Read in your best Jeff Foxworthy voice... If you've ever been called "crunchy", you might be at the right website. If you are familiar with various "super green" food sources, you might be at the right website. If you often blend "organic wheat germ" into your breakfast power shake, you might be at the right website. If you know all these acronyms: UC, HB, AP, SAHM, HS'ing and have experienced any/all of them at your home, you might be at the right website. If you have experienced "tandem nursing" of children nearly 2 years apart, you're certainly at the right site. If you crave things bunnies eat, you have found the right place and the right midwife!
Aren't you just dying to know all the acronyms?
UC = Unassisted Childbirth; HB = Home Birth; AP = Attachment Parenting; SAHM = Stay At Home Mom; HS'ing = Home Schooling
Please keep your eye on Legislative efforts here in Ohio. Be especially watchful of House Bill # 148: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/BillText127/127_HB_148_I_Y.pdf This is the "Complimentary and Alternative Health Care" bill; pay attention to Page 10. In this original language, line 13 (the irony, eh?) would make Home Birth by Lay trained midwives illegal in Ohio.
I would encourage you, as a client of midwifery, to join the statewide Consumer Group: Ohio Friends of Midwives (aka OFOM). This group's page is currently being updated, but bookmark this address and keeping checking back for updates to stay abreast of current issues: www.ofom.org
If you are one of my clients from the past or current year, watch for a letter to come from OFOM via email or snail mail regarding how you can help us keep home birth alive and well in Ohio!