Choosing to be a home birth midwife is more of a calling than a simple choice of profession. Almost ten years ago, I heeded that call, and have begun to reflect on this life path I’ve chosen. One thing I’ve noticed is that the reasons for practicing midwifery are many, and I seem to add more the longer I practice.
For me, the number one reason I choose to be a midwife always comes down to helping women feel loved and supported during childbirth. Women deserve to choose how they birth their babies. If they desire a home birth, women should receive the best possible care by a midwife so they can give birth safely at home.
As a home birth midwife, I have the privilege to experience normal and natural birth. Birth is experienced as a normal physiological process versus a medical emergency waiting to happen. Birthing at home allows labor and birth to unfold truly uninhibited. The mother goes into labor on her own and moves through the stages of labor naturally. There is no intervention or augmentation. The women move freely, eat and drink and enjoy being in the safety and comfort of their home.
As a midwife, I average 14 prenatal visits with each client, and visits last about one hour. We build a relationship. As a home birth midwife I get to journey with the pregnant women from the first visit on through birth and then the postpartum period. My presence as a midwife during this vulnerable time in a woman’s life is constant and reassuring to them. We get to know each other and build trust during the prenatal care period.
Understanding my clients’ desires for home birth, and really knowing them at the time of birth, translates into me being able to give truly personalized support. Honoring their desires for their safe home birth is a great privilege.
Women and their partners deserve to be loved, heard and supported during their prenatal period, birth experience and postpartum recovery. My experience, skill and professionalism as a home birth midwife allow me to create the space for women and their partners to have the safe, natural birth they desire.
At this time in my career, I have become the family midwife to many of my clients. Delivering third babies for families I have known since they became pregnant with their first child is one of the many reasons why I choose to be a midwife.
Hugs,
Monika
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