Heritage Birth Services

01/01/2026

2025 was a busy year! I waited until almost the last min to make sure we didn’t add any extra babies before midnight 😅

2025 was a beautiful year in many ways and a challenging year in others. It marked my 20th year as a primary midwife in Mississippi !!! We have continued to build our team, adding Laurie in as a second midwife and seeing Mary continue to grow as a student.

We’ve had so many AMAZING births!!! And although our biggest baby topped out the scales at a whopping 12 pounds (and NO tearing, may I add!) we had four others that were over 10 pounds including a triumphant 11 pound VBAC 👏👏👏👏

Because some births are just safest in the hospital, we also provided hospital support for several families throughout the year.

One of our families lost a sweet baby boy at 24 weeks and another family received a spina bifida diagnosis at the 20-weeks anatomy scan. We also saw our first molar pregnancy this year.

We want to thank all of our clients for inviting us into their homes and trusting us with their births. So many have become not just clients but also treasured friends. We look forward to what 2026 has in store for Heritage Birth Services!

“Lo, children are an HERITAGE of the Lord…” Psalm 127:3.

12/30/2025

12/26/2025

Have you ever wondered what you really should be looking for in a prenatal vitamin? One of my favorite herbalists breaks it down in the following article 👇👇👇

Prenatal Vitamins: Do You Need One and How to Choose - Aviva Romm, MD

12/24/2025

Merry Christmas to you, mama.

Merry Christmas to the mama celebrating her very first Christmas as a mother;
still learning this new version of herself, holding her baby and realizing life will never look the same again.

Merry Christmas to the mama who should have been celebrating her first Christmas with her baby but instead is holding memories, and a love that didn’t get a chance to grow old.
Your baby is not forgotten. Neither are you.

Merry Christmas to the NICU parents spending Christmas beside machines instead of a tree.
Watching monitors instead of movies.
Praying over incubators instead of opening presents.
This is not how you imagined today, and it hurts more than you let on.

Merry Christmas to the mama walking into surgery this Christmas.
Trying to be brave while your heart races.
Trusting your body to open in a way you never planned, just so you can meet your baby.

Merry Christmas to the mama laboring today
pushing through pain, fear, strength, and surrender all at once.
You are doing something life-changing right now.

Merry Christmas to the mama battling postpartum stress.
Smiling on the outside, unraveling on the inside.
Loving her baby deeply while feeling exhausted beyond words.

Merry Christmas to the mama whose year almost broke her;
who survived loss, fear, surgery, waiting rooms, sleepless nights, and silent prayers and somehow made it here.

Wherever you are today ; celebrating, grieving, waiting, healing, hoping , you belong in this season too.

You matter.
Your story matters.
And you are not alone today. Not one bit 🫶🏾

12/20/2025

When I was just 15 years old, I watched my aunt die in childbirth.

She was in labor with twins. I walked with her to the hospital, carrying her small suitcase on my head. When we arrived, they turned us away. We did not have money to pay.

“Go back. Go back,” they told her.

So we did.

On the walk home, my aunt could not go any farther. She delivered her first baby on the side of the road. She was bleeding, but she kept walking. My mother carried the newborn the rest of the way.

When we reached home, my aunt delivered her second baby. The bleeding did not stop.

I was a child. I did not understand what was happening. But when I saw my mother cry, I cried too.

My aunt died that day.

This is a painful story to share. But it is important. Because this is not rare in Haiti. And because it is preventable.

As a Haitian teenager, I made a promise to myself. I would do everything in my power to make sure no other woman would die the way my aunt did.

I became a midwife.

Eleven years ago, I joined MamaBaby Haiti. Today, our midwives provide free, respectful, life saving care to mothers and babies who have nowhere else to turn.

At MamaBaby Haiti, no woman is ever turned away.

Not because she is poor.
Not because she cannot pay.
Not because she arrived too late.

And that is why your support matters so deeply.

Every day, women come to our doors in labor. Some have walked for hours. Some arrive already in danger. Without enough staff, supplies, and resources, we cannot care for every mother who needs us.

With your support, we can.

🌱 Mothers survive childbirth
🌱 Babies are born safely
🌱 Children do not lose their mothers
🌱 Families stay whole

A gift of $25, $50, or any amount helps provide skilled midwives, clean birth supplies, and emergency care for women who would otherwise have none.

Please give today. The need is urgent, and the lives are real.

🌱 Donate here: https://mamababyhaiti.org/donate

Thank you for standing with Haitian mothers. Thank you for choosing compassion. Thank you for helping us make sure no girl has to watch her aunt die on the side of the road.

With gratitude,
Carmelle Moise
Midwife and Director
MamaBaby Haiti Lascahobas Birth Center

P.S. Every day we wait, more women arrive in desperate need of care. Your generosity today can mean a safe birth tomorrow.

12/17/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1C1wUFma8Z/?mibextid=wwXIfr

A 2024 study looked at maternal and neonatal outcomes in midwife-attended planned home births versus planned hospital births in Spain.

Researchers analysed data from 3,463 low-risk births between 2016 and 2018, including 2,713 hospital and 750 home births.

They found several differences between the groups, which is often the case in this type of study.

“Women choosing home births typically had higher education levels and were predominantly Spanish. They were 3.43 times more likely to have a spontaneous birth and significantly less likely to undergo instrumental births than those in hospitals.

“Home births were associated with higher utilization of non-pharmacological analgesia and a more pronounced tendency to initiate breastfeeding within the first hour post birth. stronger inclination towards breastfeeding.

“Hospital births, conversely, showed higher use of the lithotomy position and epidural analgesia.” (Alcaraz-Vidal et al 2024).

“There were no significant differences in neonatal outcomes between the two groups.” (Alcaraz-Vidal et al 2024).

The researchers conclude that:

“Home births managed by midwives offered better obstetric and neonatal outcomes for low-risk women than hospital births.

"These results suggest home birth as a safe, viable option that promotes natural birthing processes and reduces medical interventions.

"The study supports the integration of midwife-led home birth into public health policies, affirming its benefits for maternal and neonatal health.” (Alcaraz-Vidal et al 2024).

We have added this to the ever-growing list of studies evidencing the safety of home birth on our home birth information hub.

You can find that, and the link to this study, at https://www.sarawickham.com/research-updates/is_home_birth_safe/

You can sign up to get my email updates (in which I share lots more than I post on social media) at https://www.sarawickham.com

12/15/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CvS6tpF3N/?mibextid=wwXIfr

AJOG Expert Review in Labor: Water birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis of maternal and neonatal outcomes https://ow.ly/nr7O50R9Nzi