TeamMidwife-Stories

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*The testimonies and opinions expressed on www.teammidwife.org are those of each post author and do not necessarily represent the views or practice standards of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Got me through it!

I was having really painful back labor due to a posterior baby. I wanted a drug free birth so my midwife gave me sterile water injections so I could rest. After many hours of laboring, I began to ask ...

Midwives are key for a successful unmedicated VBAC

I went to an ob/gyn when I was pregnant with ny first child because it was the mainstream thing to do and I did not know that I had options. I was treated like I had some medical issue, with unnecessa...

Birthing My Way

I’ve been fascinated by the concept of childbirth for many years. By the time I found out I was pregnant, I had already researched everything I could think of about pregnancy and childbirth and I knew...

The Moment After

I had already chosen and had been seeing my midwife for maternity care, but my moment of truth came hours before birth when the anethesiologist working L&D tried to bully my midwife into taking me in ...

My Moment of Truth

In retrospect my moment of truth was 32 years ago when my most special of childhood pets, Nana (the dog), gave birth to her puppies. I ran screaming in to my mom's bathroom, where she was preparing he...

I am well

I have always been well, healthy that is and so are most young women. So, of course, I needed someone to help me in my wellness. I like to think of myself as a conquerer of natural childbirth and bre...

MD opted for homebirth with midwife

I had my first child in the middle of my medical school training. I was, perhaps, a different sort of medical school student in that I wanted to help people stay healthy and promote the body's natura...

The moment I decided Midwifery was my path

I remember the first moment I knew that baby catching was my calling; the morning my eldest niece was born into this world. I attended UCSC with the goals and ambitions to conquer medical school and ...

when I knew I loved my midwife

During my prenatals with my midwife - she spent time talking and listening to me. She helped me to let go of my fears. My mother and brother died in childbirth, my midwife said "you are not your mo...

I can't remember when it happened...

But after years of being a nurse and childbirth educator I knew without a doubt that midwives provided the best care for childbearing women. As a result my daughters and my daughter in law have had t...

"Pushed" by Jennifer Block Opened my Eyes

When pregnant with my first child, I chose an OB provider because that's what all my friends did and I didn't really know my options. When I started thinking about labor and delivery in my 3rd trimes...

My Moment of Truth

My moment of truth came when I was 17 years old and was with my sister during her labor and birth of her second daughter. She had a midwife and I decided that day that I NEEDED to become one myself. ...

Why I became a Nurse Midwife?

When I was 22 I met a home birth midwife from Northern California. She was my good friend's sister. I could see that she loved her calling. I went to school to become a nurse midwife in 1982 and gradu...

The Calling

I had never heard of a midwife. Growing up, I had never known anyone who knew or had a midwife at their delivery. A friend happened to have a copy of Spiritual Midwifery and I opened it up one day. I ...

My Moment of Truth - when I switched to a midwife

I had been seeing the same OB/GYN for over 15 years old. Granted, I moved away for a few years, but when I returned I started seeing him again. Every visit, he was ask "So I see you had a laproscopy...

My moment that I discovered that women needed a choice.

When I was a night shift nurse in labor and delivery in 1990, I worked at a teaching hospital with Ob residents and medical students. Women would come into the hospital in active labor and wanted to w...

Our search for respect

Once the shock of being pregnant wore off I embraced this new life forming inside of me and I knew I had to do whatever I could to make sure (s)he had the best life possible. I had an appointment to ...

Who's the boss?

I chose to have a home birth with midwives because I had no interest in being forced to accept interventions and medications, or being told to lie down or not to eat. I wanted to be fully present fo...

Lights in the Sky

1972, a warm night at Muona Mission Hospital, I was looking at the moon, stars and planets, knowing that my family 15,000 miles away was looking at the same moon, but different lights in the sky. Dur...

Healthcare and Healing

"I can't find a heart beat. I'm sorry, but you have had a spontaneous abortion." I felt hollow and empty as those words echoed inside of my head. No heart beat? How could that be? As I struggled over ...

Losing twin number two

I knew from the time I heard the word midwife that was my calling. But I was still an L&D nurse when I had a miscarriage. As an educated, midwife to be, "patient", I allowed a resident OB to tug on ...

My Well Woman Midwife

Since I was a child I knew that I would have a midwife at the birth of my child, and so it was. I loved every moment of my prenatal care, birth, and post natal experience. When a year passed and I nee...

Celebration and not a "Cure"

My husband and I chose a midwife and a birthing center to have our baby because the more visits we made to our OB/GYN, the more we felt like we were being treated as "sick" and needing to get better. ...

Empowering Women

My journey to becoming a midwife has had many inspirations and moments of truth including my own birth at home with a midwife 30+ years ago, the wonderful and inspiring midwives who have become my men...

Why I became a Midwife

The time I knew I was called to be a midwife was when I was given the privilege of being present at my sister-in-laws birth at a birthing center. Having had my baby the year previously by cesarean sec...

My Evolution: Hospital to Homebirth

During my first 2 pregnancies, there weren't even any questions on my mind, really. I'd be in the hospital, on my back, with an epidural and an OB delivering my babies. After those first 2, I star...

Midwifery Rocks!

Because of my awesome natural births in 1987 and 1992, under the care of midwives in-hospital both times, I became an advocate for natural birth. This led me to become a labor-support doula in 1996, ...

Too Many Prescriptions

Childbirth and pregnancy terrify me. I have known too many people that have shared horrific stories with me. I wanted a different experience. I'm a planner, so I started looking into options long b...

Birth Day

And then it was here. The day that was over 9 months in the making. Baby was ready. My midwife had told me months ago that the average first time mom delivered 11 days past her due date. Well, here I ...

The Moment I Knew I Could Be a Midwife

As a hospital nurse, I was often advocating for my clients, a mediator between them and their various healthcare providers. One afternoon as a labor and delivery nurse, I heard a mother screaming and ...

Paternalism

I realized my healthcare provider had abused my trust in her to make paternalistic decisions about my contraceptive choices based on outdated evidence and mostly her own judgmental view of my lifestyl...

Giving women options and supporting autonomy

I decided to become a midwife after witnessing birth at an Amish settlement. Women had options in where and how they chose to birth. I wanted to also provide these options for other women. ...

My Midwife Mentor

I had worked in labor and delivery as an RN for many years and was feeling, lets just say, "frustrated". Then the hospital I worked for hired a fantastic midwife to help manage the deck. What a brea...

"Oh, You Want to Talk? I'll Get a Midwife."

When my fluid was leaking with my first daughter (38 weeks) and the doctor wanted to immediately induce me even though I was fine, the baby was fine, the monitors were fine, we said, "Well, can we tal...

My Moment of Truth

I was 15 years old when I first became interested in the whole process of getting pregnant and giving birth. As I started doing more research in my free time, I discovered midwifery. It was fascinatin...

My Moment of Truth

My mother had shared my birth story with me. It involved ridicule, nausea and vomiting, being tied to a table, forceps, separation. She also shared me brother's story, which was even sadder. These wer...

My Midwives-Fighting & Supporting for a Natural Birth

This is my first pregnancy and I wasn’t sold on the idea of a midwife or home delivery. I decided I wanted to get care from a doctor until we met with a local midwife. I left the doctor’s office fee...

Because Women Matter

I believe in the power of women, in their bodies, in their choices, and in their ability to do incredible feats. I believe that birth is beautiful, each and every time. I believe that all women, regar...

My Moment of Truth

My life has been a series of breadcrumbs, constantly leading me toward my goals. There are rarely bold signs, but usually little morsels tugging and guiding along the way. When I was 16, I wanted ...

My moment of truth

I am from Nepal, and I came to United States to pursue further education. As long as I remember, I have always wanted to make a difference in the field of women's health. However, I did not then know ...

My son is 24 yo today!

My younger son was born at 3am 24 years ago today into the competent, experienced caring hands of my midwife Nancy C in Brooklyn, NY. My other midwife Joanne M took photos for us of that miraculous d...

My moment of truth

At 17 I gave birth to twin girls, after a pregnancy that left me feeling powerless, uninformed, cheated, and treated as if I had no choices. With my 2nd pregnancy I sought out something different, so...

My body, My baby

Words simply do not exist explain the impact that my midwives had on my life. After a 5 year struggle with infertility, I was finally pregnant. It was only when my OB suggested that I just go ahead a...

Pregnancy and other....

It was 1978, and I knew I was going to have a problem with my new health care provider when I walked up to the door of his office just in time for my first appointment and read the sign on the door: ...

Coming full circle

My moment of truth happened 31 years ago. Pregnant with our second child, we knew we wanted a midwife. The birth was amazing and we subsequently had a midwife for our third child. After our children ...

It's my body, simple as that.

I was diagnosed in 2004 with Crohn's disease. The journey I went on with various doctors gave me some great insight to the medical world. I soon realized that I knew my body better than anyone else. M...

Finally, a Midwife

My first child was born on a military base. I gained 70 lbs during the pregnancy and distinctly remember comments such as "your blood pressure is a little high" and "you're spilling glucose in your ur...

Moment of Truth

My moment of truth occured in 1978 at age 18 when I worked with several certified nurse midwives at a Natural Childbirthing Center in Douglasville Georgia. I was taught that birth was normal and when ...

The Birth of my Baby and beyond

When I got pregnant my husband (who's older than I am and already had a teenage son) encouraged me to read Ina May Gaskin. I didn't know anything about natural birth. I didn't know anything about be...

Midwife provides my well woman care

I had three children by midwife at home the first with a nurse midwife the second and third with lay midwives. I am now perimenopausal and use the nurse midwife at the local birth center for all my we...

Second child, first time around

My decision to choose a mid wife came a moment of realizing that I wanted something different, something better for my second child. Not that my first daughter wasn't of importance, but having my firs...

I chose a midwife and homebirth.

After having a c-section with my first, I wanted a VBAC with number 2. I did lots of research and found that a lot of the interventions carried out during my first labor and delivery may have caused ...

The only way I would have chosen to have my babies

I'm sure that most of the stories being told on this site are of mothers who have given birth recently. I am an exception. I gave birth to my two children in 1992 and 1993. I had always felt strongly ...

CNMs gave me the birth experiences of a lifetime!

When I had my first son five years ago, there was not a midwife in the hospitals where I was required to deliver (due to insurance). So, I hired a CNM as a montrice because I wanted extra support, no...

Best Choice Ever

After only two appointments at my OB's office I knew I wanted better quality care. I am so thankful to have a midwife here in town that comes highly recommended. I immediately switched to her care and...

love, compassion, patience, mothering

Where do i begin? I had my 6th child this march and my wonderful midwife took the best care of me. I can only say beautiful words about her. She is more than a midmife,she is now a part of my life. I ...

Wonderful Birth experience

I switched to a midwife group from a regular OB/GYN Dr's office after feeling like I was "asking too many questions and taking up the Doctor's time." A colleague suggested I try a midwife. I was very ...

My body is not a Lemon

First lets start with my son's birth. I had a C-section with him. It was not the birth I wanted and I was left feeling kinda cheated and struggled with some postpartum depression after that; which I f...

I LOVE MY MIDWIVES!!

My first child was born with an OB-GYN. While the doctor was very nice, she was also very set in her ways. She had my water broken just to speed up my labor for her own convenience, not for any medi...

My Midwife Helped me Have Two VBACs

My Midwife helped me have two successful VBACs. She met me at the hospital, supported me through my labor and delivery and I used hypnobirthing to remain calm. She worked side-by-side with my doula an...

I heart midwives

When deciding to have children, my initial thought was to have an OB/GYN deliver our child and make it the best experience with whatever drugs would make me comfortable. Then a friend, a naturopath, r...

I Love My Midwives

My practice has 3 rotating midwives. After beginning my prenatal care with my OB/GYN with whom I had loved for about 10 years, I was crying after leaving the office. I didn't get any support for my de...

Calm Empowerment

When I became pregnant with my first child, my sister-in-law, an OB/GYN, suggested that I see a midwife. She so overwhelmingly praised the midwives in her practice that it seemed like the natural choi...

So much more than birth support

My best friend got me thinking about having my first baby at home, but I was nervous about the idea. I'd been raised to believe that birth was a medical event that belonged in a hospital; the media al...

All about bringing a new family member into the world

We were having our first child and I was attending a regular OBGYN when around our 20th week visit we decided to switch to a midwife. We felt the doctors were more about getting through patients and m...

Wonderful birth experience

I didn't have a crazy birth experience. Instead, I had an experience that I loved and that was calm and safe. My midwife was kind and compassionate throughout my prenatal visits. She offered advice an...

The Most Empowering Experience of My Life (Thanks to my Midwives)

Before I even became pregnant, I had decided with my husband that we wanted to deliver our baby with a midwife. I am so thankful that we have a wonderful midwifery practice in my city that delivers in...

We loved loved our midwife

We are a lesbian couple and we found the perfect midwife! She spoke to us like normal people and was just beyond amazing! She delivered our baby and did a great job!! She spoke to us in terms we could...

Midwife saves the day!!

I met this midwife during my third pregnancy. I immediately liked her gentle wisdom and easy presence in the room. I felt I could discuss anything. As the day came for delivery, it turned into a long ...

Put at ease!

I love my midwife/practitioner, because anytime you go to someone new you never know if they are going to make you feel uncomfortable. But my midwife/practitioner was just the opposite and seriously s...

Our Amazing Midwife

Our midwife is the most kind, caring, compassionate midwife you will ever meet. My husband and I loved her from the first meeting we had with her because she respected all of our wishes for our birth,...

Wonderful Midwife

I had always heard about how much better my friends liked their midwife over any OB/GYN they had had in the past. When I first found out I was pregnant we went to the local nurse-midwife for an interv...

Exactly the Kind of Care I Was Looking For

I grew up in a normal American home. Anytime there was a health issue, we were sent to the doctor and given meds. My mom went to the hospital for all four of her births (which ALL happened to be cesar...

I Instantly Felt Comfortable with Her

I was fortunate to learn about midwifery care during my first pregnancy. After personal testimonies from other mothers and following my own research, I decided midwifery care was the way to go. Althou...

The Level of Support Is Phenomenal

I am currently 32 weeks along with my fourth little blessing and finally got the opportunity to use a midwife! I had been trying for several pregnancies, but being in the military we move a lot and ju...

My Midwife Saved My Life

I have three little girls. I have had my wonderful CNM since I was 30 weeks pregnant with my first daughter. I am not even sure where to start to say how wonderful she is. When I first contacted my...

The Best Experience for Us

I recently gave birth to my first baby with the assistance of a midwife. After learning we were pregnant, there was not question as to whom we would use for our prenatal care and delivery. My midwife ...

My Cheerleader, My Rock, My Coach, and My Friend

To say that I love my midwife is nothing short of an understatement. She unselfishly gave me the support and encouragement that I needed to confidently obtain a wonderful natural healthy birth for my ...

My Midwife Gave Me Choices

Within a matter of weeks after finding out I was pregnant, I chose to see a group of certified nurse-midwives who attended births at a freestanding birth center as well as a nearby hospital. It was th...