Reflection
I completed the final clinical experiences for the assist phase at a birth center with a high (20 per month) volume of births. The time I spent at that birth center was an extremely valuable learning experience. I began my internship with high hopes for a birth my very first night. I had just completed a week of training with the staff midwives and had recovered from a bout of the stomach flu. I felt like Bilbo Baggins from the novel The Hobbit calling out “I'm going on an adventure!” I began hopeful that many babies would be born during my four-week internship. I gained so much more than just my numbers for my clinical log. When I set out for the internship I was certain that someday I would own and operate a birth center in my local community. I want to serve the women in my area by especially being available for low income and teen mothers who were unlikely to want or be able to afford a home birth. As I reflect upon my experiences of my assist phase I want to recall and record, even if just for myself, why I want to be a midwife and what about the prospect of having a birth center is so attractive to me. I have thought a lot about why I am so interested in midwifery. My interest began as a simple desire to be of service. Irma Bombeck has said, “If I had my life to live over, instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle”, I agree wholeheartedly. My greatest joy is my children and grandchildren. I love the gift I have been given of being the vessel through which they are placed on earth. After my years as a stay at home mother and then as a Jill of all trades I’ve learned something about myself, I want to be doing something significant. I decided long ago that my time is valuable. I never enjoy time spent in idleness. I am always looking for the significance of the way I am spending my time. I have spent years in service to my family and now that they have grown I am looking forward to many more years of service in the field of midwifery. I have defined the mantra for my business as “Investing in wise women of today, yesterday and tomorrow.” I want to specialize in working with women who are open to alternative methods of health and who are committed to educating themselves. In opening a birth center, I hope to better balance my needs for income with my lifestyle and my desire to serve as many women as possible in these goals. I want a larger footprint in my local community to be a voice for wellness and healing through holistic pathways. I continue to seek for the perfect practice model to fulfill my vision.
Connection
After the many hours at the birth center after a long day in the clinic and after resting from attending the labors of the women served I recalled a journal entry I made in Cultural Competency in Midwifery Care: Understanding Difference, Power, & Privilege after reading Barnes-Josiah, D.L. (2004) Undoing Racism in Public Health: A Blueprint for Action in Urban MCH. Omaha, NE: CityMatCH at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. I wrote, "Having an entire organization to change would seem incredibly daunting but with the steps outlined in Undoing Racism in Public Health: A Blueprint for Action any organization can move toward improving the health of oppressed populations in their care. I intend to keep the document to refer to when I have realized my dream of open a wellness sanctuary in my community." I plan to serve women in all stages of life. My audience is girls preparing for menarche through post-menopausal women seeking wellness not treating disease. Our focus will be prevention not treatment. The birth sanctuary and prenatal services will only be a part of the normal lifecycles we educate about and guide our clients to holistic self-care. I also committed that "As with all populations we will serve the teen mothers will be given the quality of the Midwives Model of Care. I believe this to be the very best quality of maternity care for all women and so teen mothers should not be excluded from its benefits." I am hopeful that I will find a way to make this vision a reality.
References
Bombeck, E. (2003). Eat less cottage cheese and more ice cream: Thoughts on life from Erma Bombeck. Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel Pub.
Barnes-Josiah, D.L. (2004) Undoing Racism in Public Health: A Blueprint for Action in Urban MCH. Omaha, NE: CityMatCH at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Bombeck, E. (2003). Eat less cottage cheese and more ice cream: Thoughts on life from Erma Bombeck. Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel Pub.
Barnes-Josiah, D.L. (2004) Undoing Racism in Public Health: A Blueprint for Action in Urban MCH. Omaha, NE: CityMatCH at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
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