Recently, Terri has applied and been accepted into NewLife International School of Midwifery’s Summer Short-term Clinical Internship Program. They are an approved out-of-country site for NARM, the national certifying body for direct-entry midwives. Therefore, this opportunity would give Terri a boost in her skills and birth requirements toward becoming a Certified Professional Midwife by putting her ahead 6-8 months in her route.

The cost for a month at this internship is only $700 and that includes room and board. Terri has saved the money for the internship cost. However, it does not include travel expenses. It seems that the flight will be about $2000, and that is the kicker. Anyone who would like to donate financially, air miles or by praying would be most appreciated!

Birth Journey Prep believes that we need more midwives in this community as good options for birthing families. We need Terri to become a licensed midwife and serve in the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene areas!

I have seen a young 20-year-old woman sail through the transition phase of labor in the jetted tub at the birth center, and then beautifully deliver her own daughter while lying on her side on a queen-sized bed. I have witnessed the serene birth of a couple in their thirties who spent most of the labor of their first child outside under the stars in their hot tub. The mom then calmly entered the house, only to deliver her baby crouching in the 4:00am moonlight streaming from the window. She immediately, yet slowly pulled the baby to her chest, so quietly. I have seen a 42-year-old home-schooling, goat-raising mother of ten rejoice in her first waterbirth. My doula clients of over five years ago have no idea that this world exists, that this kind of birth is even possible. I had no idea when I had my son. But now I have seen too much to go back….

I have seen a lot- good and bad, wonderful and terrifying. I have seen shoulder dystocias- handled expertly by midwives, then gruesomely by an OB. I have seen severe maternal hemorrhages, an inverted uterus, an umbilical cord snap upon delivery, mouth-to-mouth baby resuscitation, malpresentations, thick fresh meconium, preterm labor, partial placental ruptures and a complete breech (undiagnosed) home delivery (on a primip!), ALL of these complications handled perfectly by a skilled midwife. I have seen that good, wise midwives can handle these events appropriately or transfer care to the hospitals when warranted. I am going to be one of these midwives.

So I want to become a midwife. I hope to serve families in my community by providing them with safe, yet beautiful birth experiences. I want parents to truly learn what informed consent is and what their rights are; as consumers, as patients, as parents. This will empower them so much as they become bigger families and go on from their birth, to hire pediatricians, family docs, or any healthcare service provider in the future.

I want to help women learn to take responsibility for their own health and diets, during pregnancy and throughout the rest of their lives. Their nutrition and lifestyle can affect their health, for good or bad. Too often I’ve seen healthcare providers fail to teach women this. It is all pathology to them and the answers are all too often pharmaceuticals or other technologies. They don’t trust birth. They don’t trust the design.

I trust the design. I have “what it takes”. I have good math, science and problem-solving skills. I am very relational, and have a keen sense at all times of what my role is in situations with other people. I consider myself to have a very observant nature in general and pride myself on my ability to remain calm in crisis. And as my maid of honor pointed out at my wedding, I am very loyal. Completely reliable.

I am first and foremost a child of God, secondly my husband’s wife, and thirdly my children’s mom. But God has given me a passion for birth and I firmly believe that midwifery is my calling. He has provided me with the honor of being present at each birth I have attended. I will go where He next leads me on this path.

“Reproductive Exhaustion: If you have experienced years of hormonal birth control or have never had consistent cycles, you may need to boost your body’s mineral storage in order to regulate or help start your periods again naturally. Start taking a high quality prenatal vitamin and mineral, most often found at a health food store, that contains an abundance of minerals in the formula for the best value for your money and your body. If you are dealing with reproductive exhaustion it can take six months or longer before your fertility returns to normal. Although drugs are available to force your ovulation and periods, if you have not created the platform of health required it will be difficult for your body to avoid miscarriage. Replacing your lost minerals, increasing the protein and the water you consume, and increasing your daily exercise will help to boost your ability to conceive and your ability to carry your baby to the natural conclusion of pregnancy.

You can begin to take high quality prenatal vitamins and minerals for 3 to 6 months before conception to boost your fertility naturally. Prenatals will help you to avoid birth defects and miscarriage. Your partner can also take high quality prenatal vitamin and minerals to assist in boosting his fertility as well.

To further boost your fertility, increase the amount of protein that you are eating. When you snack, snack on protein. Adding more fruits and vegetables, organic if available, will also help to increase the mineral content of your body.

Increase the amount of water that you consume, when wishing to conceive, have water at your side to sip on throughout the day and evening.

To further boost your reproductive system you can have one cup a day of the women’s tea, red raspberry leaf, the woman’s tea, can also help to boost your mineral supplies and fertility. This is also very soothing and restorative for a woman’s entire hormonal system.

Increase daily gentle exercise to reduce your daily stress. Look to include a calming activity for yourself every day like warm baths, a nap, starting a hobby, writing, listening or playing music. Any activity that helps you to feel calm and quiet for about twenty minutes.

Learn to locate your 8 days of fertility in each cycle. By locating your ovulation pattern you will gain control over your fertility throughout your life. During sexual intimacy make sure you take advantage of the potent pre-ejaculate.

Changing your nutrition, increasing your exercise and reducing your stress level can help tremendously in boosting your fertility naturally. These steps will also ensure that you have all the building materials in place to create a healthy pregnancy and baby. Making these improvements and locating your personal ovulation pattern will help to boost your fertility naturally.

Cycle Pain:
If you feel your cycles are too heavy and too painful then the night before your cycle starts or at the very beginning of your cycle, have an ibuprofen (Advil) once, and this will help immediately with painful cramping and will most likely reduce your flow by half throughout your cycle. Learn when you ovulate so you can predict exactly when your next cycle will start. Always circle the first day of your cycle on your calendar, this is an important day. Check out Cycle Savvy for more fascinating cycle knowledge. Taking Charge of Your Fertility is an excellent program to follow. Learning when you ovulate will also help you to prevent pregnancy without drugs, if you are having occasional sexual intimacy, so that you can avoid or be doubly prepared on your days of fertility.

Cycle Myths:
Women are fertile all the time. Not true. Women are only fertile the three days of ovulation (when the egg is released). In fact, a human egg can only survive up to 24 hours after being released from an ovary. The reason women are fertile for as long as eight days per cycle is because sperm can live for up to five days if the fertile clear cervical fluid is present. Interestingly enough, it is men who are always fertile. Their pre-ejaculate contains the most potent sperm, use this to your advantage if you are desiring conception.”

Copyright 2008, Secrets Newsletter 2008, by National Bestselling Author, Gail J. Dahl “Pregnancy & Childbirth Secrets” Now available through major bookstores across North America and the UK. http://web.mac.com/pregnancysecrets . This article may be reprinted or posted for the purpose of childbirth education when references are included. The information contained in or provided through this publication is intended for general consumer understanding and education only and is not intended to be, and is not provided as, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your midwife, physician, nurse or other qualified health care provider before you undergo any treatment or for answers to any questions you may have regarding any medical condition.

Terri here:
I also wanted to mention Natural Family Planning and The Creighton Model as resources. And did you know that acupuncture and chinese medicine can be very helpful as well? Explore all your options. There are many things to do before you go to medical fertility specialists.

I have a lot to say about breastfeeding and  given my remedial typing skills, I’ll only say a few words today and beef this post up later.  I’m a much better talker then typist so please extend grace, my friends!

I know firsthand of many of the challenges that families face when choosing to breastfeed and the heartbreak that can happen when, for whatever reason, it doesn’t happen.  Moms ask all the time… ” What if I don’t make enough milk?”  “My breasts don’t seem big enough to hold enough milk for a baby”  How will I know my baby is getting anough milk?”  “I was a formula fed baby and I turned out ok…isn’t formula just as good as breastmilk?”  “How will I breastfeed in public?”  “What if it hurts?”  Have you found yourself asking these questions?  I know I did when I was pregnant with my first.  Those and many more swam around in my brain as I anxiously awaited the birth fo my daughter, Emma.

In the spirit of empowering birthing families to search out and research information that is critical to their parenting journeys,  I will resist the urge to simply insert my own answers to the above questions.  Here’s an opportunity to be an advocate for your own and your baby’s care.  I would encourage you to take some time to pray and examine your own beliefs about breastfeeding.  What are those beliefs?  Where did they come from?  Are you holding them tightly or loosely?  Also, spend some time talking with your partner about breastfeeding.  Are you on the same page?  How committed are each of you to breastfeeding your baby or babies?  How much support can you expect at home?  Do you have an extended network of support?  Where are you willing to reach out if you need help?  I know, I know…it’s a lot of questions but I promise that your exploration will not be in vain.  Being openly communicative with the Lord, yourself and your partner is key to your success.

Most hospitals have lactation consultants on staff and if you are choosing to birth at a hospital, I would encourage you to meet with someone before your baby’s arrival,  then again during your stay.  They are masters at all things breastfeeding and have extensive training and education in the field.  Your nurses are also good resources and usually very committed to getting you and baby off to a good start.  The doula who attends your birth with you will also provide valuable tips and help, especially during that all important first feeding.  Midwives, at either hospital, birth center or home births, can offer tremendous support long before the birth and after.  Trust me, they are gold mines!  Finally, please, take a breastfeeding class, read a few books, etc.. before baby comes.  Our 5 week series or 2 day weekend class includes basic breastfeeding information and covers topics such as the first hour, proper latch, positions, etc.. 

It seems like there’s a lot to this breastfeeding thing, right?  Sometimes, it is as easy as easy can be.  Here’s a breast, here’s a baby…Voila! Success!  But sometimes (most of the time) there’s a little more of a learning curve then that. Sometimes, a big learning curve.  If you remember one thing from this post, let it be the following…If it seems hard at first, it doesn’t mean you’re a breastfeeding failure!  And on the other end of the spectrum, if you are unable or unwilling to breastfeed, for whatever reason, you are not a failure of a mother!  Did you hear that? It’s true. Remember that.

By choosing to breastfeed, you are giving your baby the best possible start in life.  I don’t need to quote research studies here.  You can look them up if you want.  It can be a challenge, but it is 100% worth it.  There are some great resources out there to put in your toolbox.  The Nursing Woman’s Companion by Kathleen Huggins is wonderful.  Check out, too, the new Ina May’s Guide to Breastfeeding.  I haven’t read it yet, but her other stuff is great so I’m guessing this is too.  Kellymom is a great website to start you off.  Be sure to do research about local support groups at La Leche League. For specific help when you are having breastfeeding trouble go to Low Milk Supply for great resources.Don’t forget our Starting Your Birth Journey intro class where we’ll be touching on breastfeeding and have some handouts and other resources available to you.

Terri and I are excited to come along side you!  You can breastfeed your baby and he/she will thank you for it.  Blessings on your journey.

We will continue to maintain our separate doula practices and will provide back up for each others’ clients. Our site is still a work in progress so please bear with us. I promise, more doula information is coming!

Right now, our focus and big push is for getting our Starting Your Birth Journey event off and running. We have found, as we work with families from all different walks of life, that one constant is the lack of information available to them early in the journey. So many mamas are well into their 3rd trimester of pregnancy before they realize all the options that have been available to them all along. So it follows, that very few of them will make any changes or incorporate new strategies for their care at this late date, even if they see the benefit.

With that in mind and heart, Starting Your Birth Journey was born. We’ll provide a 2 hour presentation meant to equip, enlighten and empower birthing or soon-to-be birthing families. There will be lots of resources available at the event that cover a broad range of options, research and providers of all sorts and services. Here are a few to start you off: lamaze.org, mothersnaturally.com, birthingnaturally.net and motherfriendly.org. Our suggested donation of $15 covers our time and handouts and will be refunded when you sign up for our 5 week or 2 day Christ Centered Birthing class series.

Keep in mind, the Starting Your Birth Journey event is not just for Christians! Anyone having a desire to learn more about pregnancy, birth and beyond can benefit from attending. Our 5 week or 2 day classes are geared to the Christian family but are of course available and welcoming to all.

As always, please feel free to contact either of us anytime and we wish you blessings on your journey.