11/20/2025
When you are in the hospital attending births, it's rare to reconnect with a family you served once mama & baby have left for home. In community midwifery, there is a connection with the families that goes beyond the birth-day. I (re)found a beautiful note left by a mama whose birth I was fortunate to attend. At the time, I was still a very young midwife (nearly ten years ago) and interning with Midwife Seattle under the mentorship of Midwife Cindie Brown. I have such a vivid memory of the experience and this message brings me such joy:
" Before I was even pregnant I had a lot of ideas about how I wanted to give birth and the type of care I wanted to recieve. I knew I wanted to birth in my home, in the water, with (if possible) no interventions. I wanted care providers who respected me, who educated me on all my options but then let me make my own decisions for what was best for my baby and my body. I didn't want to ever utter the words "my doctor won't let me" whether I was talking about going to 42 weeks and beyond, declining a test, or anything else.
When I met Cindie [Brown] and Elise [Foegel] (and later Amita!). I knew they were perfect for me. They were so warm and kind, seemed so wise, and we're obviously all about respecting the birthing mother. I looked forward to every appointment, they were joyous times for me. I had a beautiful pregnancy in their care. At the appointment before a test or decision needed to be made they gave me a handout so I could take my time to research and decide for myself if it was right for me. They supported my decision to do hypnobabies (which, btw I also reccomend).
We ended up calling them to come a little bit too late in my birthing time (I believe this was because I was pretty calm from hypnobabies so my doula, who was absolutely wonderful, didn't believe I was as far as I was) they ended up coming about 10 minutes (give or take, I was a little distracted) before my sweet girl was born. Amita got to my home first and seeing her face above me was the most beautiful sight. Aria entered the world and Cindie and Amita took the most wonderful care of us both. I lost quite a bit of blood and they handled it so calmly and peacefully. They were completely prepared to handle the situation. I also tore and they stitched me up in my bed with care. They helped with our first latch, called the next day, came to our home two days later, and my two in office post partum appointments were wonderful.
I cannot recommend these ladies enough. They are so wonderful and gave my little family the best experience (they even checked in with my husband)
I truly feel blessed that they were my care providers during this momentous time in my life!"
Sending
