i am so grateful for a local midwifery office in the roanoke valley neighborhood. happy #internationalmidwiferyweek
i spent the morning with my friendly, local community of midwives in roanoke,va. with degra nofsinger luna midwifery and crystal fink breath of life midwifery. i wanted to celebrate international midwifery week with them this year. it was my first time in a midwife office as a visitor.
i witnessed so many awesome things that made my heart sing.
i saw
rooms filled with love and support
the cutest, happiest, squishy baby
great friendships between client and midwife
couples walking into the appointment together
grandparents and in-laws coming to the appointment
caring and sharing
the excitement of first prenatal visits
lab draws
teaching explained and understanding happen
showing expectant parents baby’s current position in the womb
inversion technique demonstrated to client
i heard
the baby’s heartbeat and mom’s relief with tears of joy.
the oooh’s and aaaah’s from staff during a 6 week check up with mom and her beautiful baby
conversations filled with truth and laughter
hard questions answered
lots of talking on both sides
i learned
more about poop and the awesomeness of pooping twice a day! who does that!
more about gestational diabetes and how to explain it. afterward. we all felt super smart.
i shared
story telling can distract a nervous client. i shared my birth story to a client nervous about her blood draw. i almost forgot i was there to photograph! she loved my story. they said i did great at distracting her and she did great too!
midwives do what?
talking with my student midwife friend, shay brown who trains under breath of life midwifery, i asked her, “what do midwives do?” she did not even hesitate. in less than 30 seconds, she came up with these four highlights of being a midwife:
bonding with families, not just the mamas.
informed consent
a successful first 6 weeks after birth
midwives are there from start to finish – (prenatal to postpartum- we see birth clients through from beginning to end).
special thanks to midwives degra nofsinger and crystal fink. thanks for a beautiful day together, and thanks to student midwives molly greene and randi graves and p.a. student rebecca levy. watch the video to see the images taken while i was visiting. photos taken with permission.
degra nofsinger’s contact information
luna midwifery (540)-312-0099
1950 electric road, roanoke,va 24018
www.lunamidwifery.com facebook
crystal fink’s contact information
breath of life midwifery llc (540) 676-7288
1950 electric road, roanoke,va 24018
crystal@breathoflifemidwifery.org
tag your midwife and thank them.
about laura postpartum doula in christiansburg,va
full time postpartum doula care is what i am doing now. you can contact me here: grammie doula. i would love to help you have an awesome 4th trimester. ~laura
