Farewell For Now Seasons 1


Farewell for now Seasons. Last week, Seasons Midwifery & Birth Center, in our current form, welcomed our last babies Earthside. The final 3 came in a whirlwind and were all born within 8 hours of each other. Not one of them was easy or simple. They all required our skills and expertise. I was repeatedly grateful for the exemplary team at Seasons and the work we do to train, drill and prepare. Thanks to our dedication and passion for our work, all these families are snuggled up with fresh babies today. I am truly a mix of emotions as I sit to write this, sadness, exhaustion, anger, pride and happiness. Sadness for this loss, exhaustion after weeks of supporting staff, community and myself through this closing process. Pride in the work we have done and yes, happiness for all the families we have touched through our care.

Seasons Team
The team for the birth whirlwind

Sadly, this work and this care is not valued by our current health care system. A health care system that is failing our country, leading to the worst perinatal outcomes of any developed nation. And yet, this work, the work we did at Seasons is valuable beyond measure. Midwifery and birth center care have been proven time and time and time and time again to be an evidence based way to improve outcomes. Please remember and know that when we talk about the abysmal outcomes in our country, those outcomes are based on the mainstream hospital based, medical industrial complex, model and NOT the community birth based model. This does not mean that physicians are evil, every physician that I know cares deeply about their work. However, they are also subject to the same powers that have created our flawed and failing systems. None of us are immune. The answer lies in challenging the status quo, opening the way to interprofessional and interfacility collaboration to create a NEW system that cares about outcomes for families.

Seasons Families
Our recent family reunion. Thanks to Lindsey Eden Photography for the image.

For now, I will mourn the loss of the center we have known and loved, that has thrived in our community for nearly 4 years and close to 700 babies. I will mourn the loss of my amazing team, the midwives, birth assistants, the administrative staff, medical assistants, the educators, doulas, physicians and countless others that blessed the center with their time, energy and commitment. I will take time to feel what I need to feel, to release what I need to let go and to nurture my heart and soul.

Healing

There is a blessing from this tragedy, Seasons will return, we will transform into a new non-profit model. We will be working with Elephant Circle and other community partners to birth this new project. It will require immense work and time but as we know, it is effort well spent.

Please consider donating directly to our Transformation Fund

Please consider signing this petition. Be sure to click the google doc form to add your name and contact info to stay informed of upcoming actions.


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