Back on the Border
Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but … life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.
GABRIEL GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ, Love in the Time of Cholera
I have now been back at the birth clinic on the border for over a month and a half. It was rough settling back in to such a busy atmosphere, but I am now feeling more at ease. Three days a week I am in the clinic, either doing pre-natal and post-partum appointments or on the birth rotation. I have personally caught 3 babies since I have been back bringing my total to 12, and had one woman in labor transfer to the hospital for an early labor complication, where she birthed safely and vaginally.
We have been so lucky to have a special preceptor at the birth center these last few weeks named Ruth Kauffman. She graduated from this program and is a RN and CPM. She has spent many years now as a career midwife with MSF (Doctors Without Borders) and was on the frontlines treating pregnant women in Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak. Her enthusiasm for birth is infectious, as is her drive to understand the science behind what she sees in each encounter with our clients. It has been really special to have someone around who pushes us to think critically in a way that is both challenging and validating.
Here is an article about her work with MSF (Swoon!).
The pace at the clinic is high speed, and I am learning so much I sometimes feel I don’t have time to process it all. I am forcing myself to carve out time each day to complete my homework assignments and research topics of interest. Currently I am working on an assignment researching Group Beta Strep (GBS) infections, Early Onset Sepsis, and Respiratory Distress in the newborn. It is pretty heavy material, but certainly important to understand.
If you are interested in a well researched, easy to understand review of the literature on GBS during pregnancy check out this great site by Rebecca Dekker, PhD, RN, APRN at www.evidencebasedbirth.com
I have been accessing a wealth of great websites and guidelines and will be sharing more of the articles in a later post. For now, I am going to try to get some exercise before heading back to the books. Thanks for reading!
xo
A
A Dream is Born
Without darkness, nothing comes to birth, As without light, nothing flowers.
MAY SARTON, Journal of a Solitude
Here I am on the cusp of heading back to midwifery school in Texas. I have been through so many changes over this last year since leaving the program, all in an attempt to make it back and finish this dream of mine, to become a midwife. If the sacrifices we make to attain something are any measure of their worth, this may be the most important step I have taken in my life. Thankfully, I am too busy to dwell on all the destruction I have left in my wake, or the giant hole in my heart. Being around birth is healing though. Slowly, one birth at a time, the losses become gains.
My dream is to provide luscious birth experiences for people all over the globe. This site is dedicated to becoming a destination home birth provider. I will travel to you, wherever you are, to facilitate the birth you dream of: in peace, love, and harmony, surrounded by the people you trust, in the home and location of your choosing.
As things progress this will be the blog portion of my site where I will post updates on my experiences as a student of Midwifery at a high volume birth center on the border of the U.S. and Mexico. I will also try to post interesting and informative articles, links to new useful websites, and possibly upload some photos from time to time, all relating to the field of midwifery.
If you want to know more about me and the services I plan to provide upon graduation and certification, check out the About Me page where my list of qualifications and certifications continues to grow.
Thank you for following along on this journey.
xo
A
Wanderlust Midwifery Services 