Tag Archives: Midwifery

The Birth Interview Project | Michelle’s First Birth Center Birth

24 Jun

The Birth Interview Project consists of 17 simple questions designed to help mothers process their birth story & share it with others. All mothers are invited to take part in this project. Born out of Joy’s desire to help women discover, process and express the  feelings surrounding their birth experiences, The Birth Interview Project strives to offer a platform for mothers and readers alike to share and be heard, to search and to discover, to identify and to heal, and to exhort and remember. The views and opinions expressed here are unique to each woman who takes part in the Birth Interview Project and may not always reflect the values of the blog author.

Please give a brief description of yourself, and what number baby/birth you’re sharing with us.

Hi! I am Michelle, mother of Laurel who is currently my only child. Although we are expecting another one at the end of May! My birth experience empowered me so much that I became a doula and currently I am a birth assistant at a local birth center.

What was your due date, and what was your baby’s birth date?

Due date: July 4th. Birth Date: June 27th

What is your baby’s name, and what was their weight and length?

Laurel Katharine,  8lbs 9oz and 18.5 inches long.

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Because I Love Her | The Need for Change in Homebirth Care

27 Apr

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Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time researching  homebirth and the midwifery model of care in the United States. I’ve discovered we’ve got some maturing to do. I feel that the natural childbirth movement is having some major growing pains.  We have been failing our mothers, and the excellent midwives who give homebirth a good name, because we’re allowing negligent midwives to practice (and teach us)!

Did you know that we don’t have a national and or reliable way of weeding out bad midwives?  Did you know that there are midwives who have lost babies at birth due to their own negligence and these midwives are still practicing? Did you know that there are loss mothers who have raised their voice at the injustice of their newborns’ death, and the mothers are the ones being shunned, not the midwives – whose negligent care caused the death of their babies?

I could cry, in fact I have cried.  I feel so deeply grieved by this. I love homebirth. I love the midwifery model of care, but I’m beginning to feel that we’re valuing the message and the look of homebirth more than the desire and effort it will take to see it blossom and grow into something strong, healthy, and stable.

We cannot ignore our need to change. As any healthy relationship moves forward in growth, there are times when we have to acknowledge our failings to each other – with love and care, so that the fruit of the relationship stays sweet. It’s time, birth lovers, it is imperatively… time.

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The Birth Interview Project | Heidi’s 3rd VBAC – home waterbirth

8 Apr

The Birth Interview Project consists of 17 simple questions designed to help mothers process their birth story & share it with others. All mothers are invited to take part in this project. Born out of Joy’s desire to help women discover, process and express the  feelings surrounding their birth experiences, The Birth Interview Project strives to offer a platform for mothers and readers alike to share and be heard, to search and to discover, to identify and to heal, and to exhort and remember. The views and opinions expressed here are unique to each woman who takes part in the Birth Interview Project and may not reflect the values of the blog author.


Please give a brief description of yourself, and what number baby/birth you’re sharing with us.

I’m Heidi, wife to Kit and mom to six little ones.   We are homeschoolers and I’m a doula in my spare time.  :)  I’m sharing the birth story of our sixth baby, which was our third VBAC (2HBAC, first in the water.  Would that be WBAC?) :) .  We’ve alternated boys & girls and after our fifth baby was born the kids announced we had one spot left in our van and one empty chair at our dining table and we needed to fill it.  My husband said we really needed to balance out the boy-girl ratio, too.  

What was your due date, and what was your baby’s birth date?

I was due mid-October, but we’ve never gotten to our due date and my husband really wanted her to arrive on 10/2/10.  Our daughter cooperated.  Such a sweet baby!  :)

What was Miss O’s weight and length?

7lbs 7ozs and 21″ long.
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