OHMI Midwives

03/22/2026

New office signage!
Big thanks to our wonderful maintenance guy

03/20/2026

✨Shared Responsibility in Care✨

At we believe pregnancy and birth are normal, physiologic processes. Our role is to support and protect that normalcy while keeping both parent and baby healthy and within low-risk guidelines.

As your midwives, we are responsible for:
• Ongoing assessment of maternal and fetal well-being
• Identifying when something moves outside the range of normal
• Practicing within established protocols, training, and scope of care
• Providing clear, honest, and evidence-based information
• Offering recommendations based on clinical judgment and experience

We approach this responsibility with deep respect for the families we serve.

At the same time, we believe just as strongly in your role:

You are the primary decision-maker in your care.

We are here to educate, guide, and support… not to make decisions for you. Each family brings their own values, intuition, and preferences into their pregnancy and birth experience.

Your choices matter, and they are honored within the framework of safe and ethical care.
Because of this, care within our practice is a shared responsibility.

We are responsible for the quality and integrity of the care we provide.

You are responsible for the decisions you make based on the information, options, and recommendations we share.

Birth is powerful, dynamic, and at times unpredictable. While we are skilled in supporting normal birth and recognizing when additional care is needed, NO provider can guarantee a specific outcome.

What we do promise:
We will show up with attentiveness, honesty, and clinical vigilance.

We will communicate clearly and respectfully.

We will support you in making informed decisions… every step of the way.

At OHMI Midwives, our goal is not to take control or to center ourselves in your experience, but to walk alongside you in it… with trust, transparency, and shared responsibility.

✨Shelly, Lisa, & Amber✨

03/16/2026

Great information for looking at glucose levels in pregnancy. We love CGM monitoring and are open to the idea of analyzing data earlier, rather than later.

03/13/2026

💕Your stories help families find us💕

A new client inquiry today shared that she spent time reading through our Google reviews… and it’s what led her to reach out. 🥹

To every family who has taken the time to share their experience with an online review, “thank you!”. Your words help other parents find their way to the care they’re looking for.

03/13/2026

🚨 Ohio Home Birth Families — We Need Your Voice THIS Week! 🚨

If you support better access to midwives in Ohio, take 5 minutes today to send a short email of support for HB 537. If even half of us send a letter, it could make a huge difference before the next hearing at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus next week.

There is a bill being voted on in Ohio right now that could significantly improve access to midwifery care for families across the state.

➡️HB 537 would:
• Allow midwives to be licensed by the state

• Open the door for insurance coverage for midwifery care

• Allow freestanding birth centers in Ohio

This is a huge step toward expanding safe, family-centered birth options in our state.

Right now lawmakers are accepting written proponent testimony, and they need to hear from families who support access to midwives.

✉️ Submit your testimony to:

info@unitedbirthcoalition.org

📅 Deadline: March 16

If even half of us send a letter, it could make a huge difference before the next hearing at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus next week.

➡️How to write your proponent testimony

The goal is simple: clearly explain who you are, why you support the bill, and why lawmakers should vote for it. It’s usually short, respectful, and personal.

Start by:

• Thanking the committee for their time

• Stating who you are and why this issue matters to you

Explain why the bill matters

Legislators respond strongly to:

• Personal stories

• Real examples

• Practical impact on families

Explain how the bill solves a problem

Focus on:

• Why the current situation in Ohio is lacking

• How HB 537 improves it

• Who it will help

End clearly

Politely urge the committee to support HB 537.

⭐️Tips

• Keep it short (1 page or less)

• Use plain language

• Lead with your story

• Stay respectful and non-confrontational

• Clearly state that you support HB 537

With your help, we are excited to show overwhelming support for midwives and birth options in the capital next week.

03/11/2026

Sweet baby girl… weighing to make sure she’s still gaining, every ounce counts. “You’re doing so great!”

03/09/2026

Local support for nursing parents 💕

03/06/2026

Lovely ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Google Review

03/05/2026

I think this is the earliest I’ve been able to visualize and measure for an early pregnancy confirmation/dating scan.

📣Disclosure: our in-office scans are non-diagnostic and only available for existing clients. We use ultrasound minimally, and when deemed appropriate. In this case, to ease a worried parent’s state of mind.

03/04/2026

OHMI Midwife Shelly Varelli podcast interview.

“This one feels hugely vulnerable to share…

🎙️I recently sat down with Stephen Zenner of Toledo Free Press and the Toledo Works podcast to talk about women’s healthcare and birth work. What I did not expect was how the questions would resemble more of a life-story narrative interview… In our short time together, guided by Stephens gentle nature, I am lead to discuss some intimate details and deeply personal perspectives (I thought we would be discussing birth in Toledo in a broader context): Why/how I became a midwife, my personal birth experiences, career paths, what autonomy in childbirth means to me, and the heart behind supporting women through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. 💕

If you’re curious about the deeper “why” behind what I do, this conversation captures it well. I hope you enjoy this 30 min interview, while I blush and try to dismiss my inner critic.” 🫣

Here’s the link: https://www.wgte.org/radio/local-podcasts/toledo-works/womens-reproductive-healthcare

🍎https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/toledo-works/id1862564040?i=1000745417689of

03/03/2026

Reiki is such a beautiful, natural gift of healing.

💫 Postpartum Episiotomy Recovery and Perineal Pain💫
A 2024 clinical trial study by Aydemir, Soğukpınar, & Kara looked at the impact of applying the energetic healing of Reiki on episiotomy recovery and perineal pain.

⭐️86 postpartum women were included in the research; (n=40) in the intervention group (receiving Reiki) and (n=46) in the control group (not receiving). 40 women had spontaneous deliveries and non-instrumental births were given 35-40 minutes of Reiki on days 1, 2, and & postpartum. Their pain was assessed on days 1, 2, 7, and 14 postpartum. The group that received Reiki had less pain and less edema by day 14, suggesting their recovery was happening faster.

⭐️The study does not detail how Reiki was administered, likely hovering/hands over the lower pelvic area, using intention to send Reiki to the episiotomy site.

It's great to see clinical studies that support the work we do. 🙌

Aydemir, H., Soğukpınar, N., & Kara, M. (2024). The impact of Reiki practice on episiotomy recovery and perineal pain: A randomized controlled study. African journal of reproductive health, 28(7), 35–46.

03/02/2026

A full day of Neonatal Resuscitation training yesterday with a quick visit to Lake Michigan! Thank you and our hosts at the beautiful

We renew this certification every two years to keep these critical skills sharp and up to date. Preparation is part of providing safe, responsible care, even for the rare moments we hope never come.

Grateful for continued education, new perspectives, and the opportunity to serve families well.