Overview:
My Mission Statement
My mission is to preserve and support the right of parents to give birth where
and with whom they choose, to behave fairly, professionally, and respectfully to
my clients and their families; and to continue to practice the art and science of
midwifery through high standards of practice and integrity, thereby providing
optimal care to mothers, babies and families in Knoxville, TN and surrounding
communities
History
I've always had a keen interest in the process of gestation and birth, I can
remember being in jr high school and finding the whole process very interesting
and wishing I could know more on the subject. The first birth I ever saw was
the birth of my niece, I was 19 years old and was allowed to watch and
participate in the whole process, it was a hospital birth with a lot of intervention,
but the thrill of seeing Megan for the first time was over-whelming.
I then went on a few short years later to give birth
to my own son, It also was a hospital birth (that's
were your suppose to have your baby, right?), I
had the most wonderful gift in the world, my son,
yet I felt violated with all the intervention that was
thrusted upon me, I had had a "natural" birth (no
drugs) yet it felt so far away from natural.
Exactly a year from the birth of my son, I became
pregnant with my daughter, I decided early on that there
was no way that I was going to birth this child in the
hospital. My husband was a EMT, and since we couldn't
find a midwife in our area who did home birth, we
decided that he would do the delivery. We found a great
OB/GYN in our area that understood our need and did
all my prenatal care as well as suggested books and
other educational material that we should use for our
homebirth. We had the ambulance and the crew for it
sitting in our living room during our labor, just in case
we needed to go to the hospital which was 3 minutes
away.
I had my daughter on a
winter afternoon in Laconia,
New Hampshire, in my
bedroom, with my family
and friends around me, it
was so right!!!! The next day
I wanted to get on the roof
and yell "WOMAN OF THE
WORLD, I NEED TO TELL
YOU ABOUT THIS" I had
had a 10 lb 8 oz baby at
home, completely natural
and the way it was intended
to be, I felt better than
great, and my baby was very
healthy and happy.
During my pregnancy with my daughter I had ordered and read a book titled
Spiritual Midwifery, by Ina May Gaskin, in reading this book I found out that
midwives still practiced in the USA, and their was a small but determined
group of people interested in natural home birth. I had received my call to
midwifery. I found a home study course in midwifery, and started learning the
basics of physiology, both moms and baby. During this process I was able to
connect with the midwife association of Houston, TX, they were a birth center,
that specialized in midwife, natural births and also had a apprentice program. I
applied to their program and was accepted shortly after.
I served a 18 month appentiship, starting with coaching and clean-up, up to
catching a baby with the senior midwife standing behind me. I participated in
all aspects of midwifery care including but not limited to, prenatal care, home
visits, post partum care , office work, lab draws , etc… I completed over 1100
hrs of classroom work.
After graduation from the program The Midwife Association hired me to work
as a midwife in there clinic. During the next several years we opened two
additional clinics, one in Houston, and the other in Corpus Christi, TX. As my
children became older I realized that I didn't want them to be raised in a large
city like Houston, so we moved to a small community about 50 miles north
west of Austin TX called Granite Shoals, I practiced as a midwife there until
1999, when I moved to the beautiful state of Tennessee, Which resembled
more closely my native state of New Hampshire.
I then sat for the 8 hr exam required by NARM (North American Registry of
Midwifes) Upon passing the exam I became a Certified Profession Midwife.
With these credentials I am able to obtain a license to practice midwifery in the
state of TN.
Through out the years I have delivered approximately 400 babies, a lot of
clinic births and quite a few home births. I think my heart is really with the
home births and that is all I do at the present.
My children have grown into wonderful adults. My son still lives in TX, but is
talking about moving to TN. My daughter lives here in TN, and attends a local
college. She has just blessed me with my first grand baby, a little girl born
August 1, 2005, delivered by her grandma (me), at my house, in my bed, I
can't describe what a feeling that was, I don't feel I deserve to be that blessed.
Her name is Lisa (after her grandma) and I couldn't love her more.
I feel like my life with home birth has come full circle, I had my daughter at
home, and then I delivered her daughter at home. GOD is so good !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
