I am now the owner of a practice with FIVE wonderful midwives. This new reality has suddenly exploded at my feet in all its newness, challenge and opportunity. FIVE midwives.... what is going on at Lovers Lane Birth Center?
One is me: Dinah, owner and roll-with-it-midwife, mistress of the "And why not?" school of philosophy. Another is Adelle, second short, curly-haired, Jewish, middle-aged midwife type who is unfurling in the freedom and ambiguity of life away from the hospital. Third is Kristy, our modest, quiet,and gentle money-and-billing managing midwife. Fourth is Kristine, the amazingly able, get-it-all done office-organizer-midwife. And fifth is Anna, who has yet to begin but will find her own place in our roomy birth center, bringing with her her life with her chickens, her garden her nearly centenarian live-in grandma, her still breastfeeding youngest and her 100-mile-running spouse (now that sounds intriguing doesn't it?)
I'm thinking about subsuming our feelings and being open to our clients wishes, learning and growing as midwives and as people from that. But, at the same time our own feelings matter, our boundaries and comfort zones move over time but they do define us as people and our midwifery practices. We midwives are works in progress. So is the birth center. And so are our clients and their families.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
I'm in a positive vortex!
Yesterday had a sort of wildness. Seeing prenatal visits, my 3 o'clock appointment, N, appeared at 9am just as I was about to see my 9 o'clock appointment. The 9 was J, a former client in a intense state of distress. I knew her well. She had all her babies with me. She is on a quest for the stable family life that she and her sisters never had. How hard to make that work when you don't really know what it feels like. It was crumbling again. She was in for STD testing. I can provide the testing but the challenges remain. Meanwhile N, who is 37 weeks along, is in the waiting area with her 15 yr old son. She says her water broke at 4 in the morning and she is contracting. She had not called me. As she drove herself to the birth center and was sitting calmly on the sofa with scarcely a labored breath, I thought it might be a while. I gave J a hug and ushered N into my office.
As N sat opposite me, describing her night, I noticed that she didn't look quite the same as she had 10 minutes earlier in the waiting area. She was definitely beginning to work a little. Hmmm. Maybe not an obvious send-back-home. We walked to the birth room and I checked her: 3cms, completely effaced, zero station. "What about a walk in the park with the ducklings?" "Good idea" she said and off she went.
So I went into my office to see my 10 o'clock appointment. This was B, past her due date, blood pressure rising, baby persistently posterior: that's the mom who should be in labor. Oh well, she is thankfully stable and doing OK.
Meanwhile N cannot focus on the ducklings. Things are more serious. It is now 10:15 and we need to get her husband here from work ASAP. N labored standing and swaying. Then she labored kneeling with strong pressure on her back. Then she lay down on her side and things got really strong. It was 10:45. Her husband and sister were at her side. My wonderful assistant, Kristine was there to help and N was feeling pressure. As she pushed a little for the first time, we asked her if she wanted to get into the tub. By the next push she was kneeling in the water and 2 pushes later her sweet little girl swam through her legs and into her arms. Her baby opened her eyes and stared at her mom in that perfect state of entrancement that only a newborn has. Kristine and I kept an eye on them for a bit and then they went home in time for me to see my 2:30 and 3:30 appointments. Life is good!
Last night I slept well. Adelle worked seeing prenatals today. Usually I do come into the birth center on my days off for a bit. Because as I said on a prior post, the birth center is my baby. So in the afternoon I went in to touch base with my baby. Imagine my surprise. Adelle had a mirror day to mine. In between her appointments a client came in in labor. She was also a little early and somewhat unexpected. She showed up 9 cms along and slid out her teeny little baby who hollered and nursed just like the big ones.
Our team at the birth center has undergone a lot of change lately: trying to find the right midwives, the right office help, the right birth assistants, has been very bumpy. But I am feeling almost ecstatic. The midwives are right. The new and perfect office team will be completed tomorrow, and the 2 regular birth assistant (who are also incidentally the office team!) are fabulous. I am in a positive vortex.
While Kristy, who had assisted at the birth, helped to clean up and see the family safely out the door, I chatted with J who had a prenatal visit with Adelle: "definitely in a positive vortex today" I commented. "I can feel that" said J.
As N sat opposite me, describing her night, I noticed that she didn't look quite the same as she had 10 minutes earlier in the waiting area. She was definitely beginning to work a little. Hmmm. Maybe not an obvious send-back-home. We walked to the birth room and I checked her: 3cms, completely effaced, zero station. "What about a walk in the park with the ducklings?" "Good idea" she said and off she went.
So I went into my office to see my 10 o'clock appointment. This was B, past her due date, blood pressure rising, baby persistently posterior: that's the mom who should be in labor. Oh well, she is thankfully stable and doing OK.
Meanwhile N cannot focus on the ducklings. Things are more serious. It is now 10:15 and we need to get her husband here from work ASAP. N labored standing and swaying. Then she labored kneeling with strong pressure on her back. Then she lay down on her side and things got really strong. It was 10:45. Her husband and sister were at her side. My wonderful assistant, Kristine was there to help and N was feeling pressure. As she pushed a little for the first time, we asked her if she wanted to get into the tub. By the next push she was kneeling in the water and 2 pushes later her sweet little girl swam through her legs and into her arms. Her baby opened her eyes and stared at her mom in that perfect state of entrancement that only a newborn has. Kristine and I kept an eye on them for a bit and then they went home in time for me to see my 2:30 and 3:30 appointments. Life is good!
Last night I slept well. Adelle worked seeing prenatals today. Usually I do come into the birth center on my days off for a bit. Because as I said on a prior post, the birth center is my baby. So in the afternoon I went in to touch base with my baby. Imagine my surprise. Adelle had a mirror day to mine. In between her appointments a client came in in labor. She was also a little early and somewhat unexpected. She showed up 9 cms along and slid out her teeny little baby who hollered and nursed just like the big ones.
Our team at the birth center has undergone a lot of change lately: trying to find the right midwives, the right office help, the right birth assistants, has been very bumpy. But I am feeling almost ecstatic. The midwives are right. The new and perfect office team will be completed tomorrow, and the 2 regular birth assistant (who are also incidentally the office team!) are fabulous. I am in a positive vortex.
While Kristy, who had assisted at the birth, helped to clean up and see the family safely out the door, I chatted with J who had a prenatal visit with Adelle: "definitely in a positive vortex today" I commented. "I can feel that" said J.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)