busy bee

I've been home over a week now and I'm just getting to the laundry.

This past week has been great and filled with the anticipation of birth, reuniting with sister midwives, and lots of work, yoga, and study dates via skype.

I've been ridiculously productive. Such a relief after the stress of my past sessions. I will i will i will manage my time better.

Mind you what I've been working on is fun and creative so its been easy. making charts. intrapartum, birth, immediate postpartum and beyond. newborn exam. I'm in the midst of beginning a major research project so in the intro stages of writing up a research proposal. Very excited. I think it is part of why I am so motivated.

We also finished the Eats on Feets FAQ this past week. A major accomplishment. I am so proud out it.   It's not on the website yet, but you can check it out in its pre-published form. Shell and Maria have put so much of themselves into that document, I feel honoured to have been part of it at all.

I think what has got me so excited is for my study group. We've made some adjustments to the format and are going to be including skills days, and one emergency skills class a month. Very excited to have that routine practice.

This week we are having the placenta liberation classes at my place! I'll report more on that soon! hopefully filled with photos.

Everything is coming together and it is making life quite enjoyable.

DOR : MANA stats

So this is a hot topic of sorts.

I want to know your views on the MANA stats project.

The Midwives Alliance's Statistics Project (MANAstats) collects data on birth and associated perinatal care and outcomes, focusing on out-of-hospital births attended by midwives. This data set is intended to support research on midwifery practice and normal birth with the goal of improving care of women and babies and increasing the choices available to childbearing families.

The project, in essence is attempting to compile a large database of midwifery outcomes.

There are several fundamental flaws I see initially in the reporting:

• First, where are the checks and balances? What are the controls in place to verify the accuracy of what is being reported?
• It is great that we can have provide our clients with our personal statistics and to see how we are practicing, but I am not certain how easily our outcomes can be manipulated. I realise that this is a difficult issue, as it is fairly accusatory and perhaps pessimistic. Not having faith in thy sister midwife to report honestly. But the question must be raised.  

• Secondly, why is this information not made public? In order to gain access to the entire database, you must first, be a researcher, submit a research proposal (that must be approved) and then pay $50 to gain access to the stats.
• I see this as a significant issue. Why the need privacy and control over access? Is it for protection? Is it to prevent any anti-midwifery studies using "our" stats? Shouldn't our data speak for itself, and if there are problems, should they not be free and open to criticism so that we can better our trade? 

These are just a few of the glaring incongruities of this project with the concept of statistics.

I would like to start an open discussion on this topic.

Are you as a midwife or student midwife contributing to this database?
Are you gaining any benefits?
Do you support this collection?
Do you think its beneficial?
Do you agree with my criticisms?

Just a list of possible questions to respond to.

Placenta Liberation Front

I'm getting excited.

I'm home from school in a few days and this past week has flown by.

Today we spent the day in "Heidi's Kitchen" cooking up a fierce meal. Filled with popovers and smoothies,  pilaf and greens, tempeh and tofu, thai peanut and coconut sauce followed with pumpkin and blueberry pies! oh my! pretty wonderful.

I'm looking forward to getting back home though.

I'm inspired for my student group, filled with ideas. Excited to see our clients and the upcoming births. Meet new babies and new families. I have ideas that I hope Shell and Mani are open to (hint hint) and i'm anxious to get back to my garden and rabbits :)

One of the events I am most looking forward to is attending Shell's Placenta Liberation Front class.
If you haven't heard about it, check out her blog and try and get into what is sure to be more classes.

I have been privileged to have learned from Shell first hand and over the past 18 months have encapsulated about a dozen placentas for new mothers.

I find this practice or craft an art, a meditation.

Although there has been little to no quantifiable studies conducted on the benefits of placentophagy on postpartum mood disorders and healing, the anecdotal evidence I have seen myself is overwhelming.

Encapsulating placenta is so much more than processing an organ into a powder and pill. You are taking a vital and life giving organ and infusing it with love and energy.

How I have learned from Shell until now, has been very organic and fluid. Osmosis-like.  I'm looking forward to hearing what more she has to say, from beginning to end. You can never learn too much.

I'm also looking forward to meeting new placenta crafters.

I think it is beautiful that so many women will have the opportunity to learn and that so many more will have the benefit of their placenta gifted to them.


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OK off to study for a quiz tomorrow and prepare for my NNR class!


 xoxo

To Surrender and Accept

So one week complete.

This is the first session of my second semester.

I don't want to be negative, but things didn't exactly go so smashing and I don't see any sense in lying about it.

Thus far this has been the tamest session out here, with only one real exam at the end of next week. A few assignments due and a presentation. This should be a relief, and in all honestly this past week has been a vacation compared to life in Phoenix. Unfortunately, school has been a bit disconcerting. My tuition is significantly more than I had anticipated ($600) and my cohesion with the group is less than desirable.

I feel isolated and defensive. That may just me being sensitive and/or negative, but I have felt the need to defend my statements on more than one occasion and have been met with an equally defensive response to comments of mine.

I'm questioning if I am that just that poor of a communicator. This is important. I know that I do lack a certain amount of tact when I speak and this has been a reoccurring challenge throughout my life.

This is important, because as a midwife I need to be able to communicate with clients openly and honestly, with sincerity. I must not be convoluted, anxious or convey meanings that I do not intend. In particular, I must not be challenging.

My resolution of the year is to surrender judgment and embrace acceptance.

I think before I direct that resolve outwardly, I need to focus on myself for awhile.


In more fabulous news I found a copy of The VBAC Experience (written by my grandmother midwife Lynn Baptisti Richards) at the rare-book bookstore, savoured fresh chocolate walnut fudge from the local trading post and delighted in finding the best ever tea, Punjana, at Reni's.

Really. Life Is Good.