human rights

A Midwife for EveryBody
A Midwife for Every Body is more than a catchy phrase, it is a universal truth that we must strive to reach. As a midwife, I have a strong belief that midwifery care needs to be accessible to all. Midwifery has a long history of helping to serve the under […]

A Midwife for EveryBody

Divinity 4
For me, to be with birth is to be with Divinity. To hold this sacred space and to welcome this new soul to the world is a true blessing. I have a sincere belief that if every adult human could be present for a healthy, supported and planned physiologic birth, […]

Divinity

Fertility Awareness Method 2
As a Midwife, I believe strongly in the wisdom of the body and our ability to harness its powers. This installment of Covering Contraception: Fertility Awareness Method or FAM (also known as Natural Family Planning or NFP) will give an overview of one such example of how we can use knowledge […]

Covering Contraception: Fertility Awareness Method

The Sixth Pearl
Gather Your Pearls, The Sixth Pearl is all about Community. As the single drop of water needs other drops to add in strength, so do midwives.  I had struggled with how to phrase this next pearl, wanting it sound just right, but not have it be too corny.  Finally, after […]

Pearls of Practice; the Sixth Pearl

all about pap smears
All About Pap Smears is presented in the spirit of sharing knowledge and information; all people deserve to know about their bodies and how they work. This piece is dedicated to Henrietta Lacks and her family. If you have never heard of her, please read here. I cannot recommend the book, The Immortal Life of […]

All About Pap Smears

Tools Of My Trade 4
Speculums, Clamps, Tenaculums and Scissors. These instruments are hard, cold, shiny and clunky.  These instruments are also Tools Of My Trade.  As a clinician, I appreciate them, use them for pap smears, rupture of membrane evaluations, placement of IUD’s and repairing of lacerations after birth. All valuable and necessary tasks. […]

Tools Of My Trade #7

The Third Pearl 1
Let’s face it, as midwives we have an interesting calling.  It is profound, spiritual, demanding, awe inspiring and a little crazy.  It is systematic and mentally challenging work, to which we dedicate years of study.  It is also a complex, ever evolving work of art that we spend many years […]

The Third Pearl of Practice

Now We Wait 4
And now we wait. This process has been long, it has been demanding, frustrating and exhausting. It has also been, in a strange way, empowering and it has fostered a stronger birth community. I am proud to have been a part of this work, to fight for families; so they […]

Now We Wait

Postpartum Depression
While this article was still germinating in my mind, I sat down in front of my computer to reach out via social media. I asked folks to share their experience with Postpartum Depression (PPD) in three words. What happened next, was something I was not entirely prepared for or expecting. […]

Postpartum Depression

Fun and Games
It’s all fun and games until its not! Working through this process to update our birth center regulations in the state of Colorado has been many things; tedious, inspiring, infuriating, hard-fought.  It has also brought together a vibrant community of birth workers and created a network of supporters. Personally, this […]

Fun and Games