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It’s Breast Cancer Prevention Month. Midwives care for the whole woman, from pre-conception to well-care post-childbearing. Invasive breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women. It’s sobering to think that, in 2016, there are more than 2.8 million women with a history of breast cancer in the U.S (women currently receiving treatment and women who have […]

When you’re short on time, it helps to think about the big picture and come up with a strategy. You want to avoid eating out, you want food that tastes good, and you want to have food that involves minimal preparation, right? I learned a long time ago that with a little forethought, I could cut a lot of time off of my cooking, save quite a bit of money, and make sure my family ate food they liked.

I’m not much for technology for fun and games (I just don’t have time for it). I’ve never played Candy Crush or Angry Birds or gone Pokemon hunting. But, I do use the technology as a tool to make my real life a lot better, and that, to me, is a great way to use technology.

Often, if we don’t plan, we’ll do the usual fall back of “well, let’s just get take out” and that is (1) expensive (2) often as time-consuming as cooking (3) and usually not very healthy. Enter the Instant Pot.

The vitamins and minerals are easily assimilated by your body because they are from a food source. Seriously, this is powerful stuff.

Did y’all know that June is “National Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Month?” Lucky us! In Virginia, we are blessed with a bountiful assortment of local farms and farmers’ markets, making it easy to find delicious fresh produce. This chart can help you see at a glance which foods are best at certain times of year. […]

Have you ever thought about the environmental impact of your birth choices? How can your provider and your place of birth be a green choice? Midwives Support Natural Options For a Healthy Lifestyle Midwives are likely to encourage you to choose organic or natural foods over highly processed foods. These foods are grown or manufactured in […]

…just having someone else calling the shots on things you may or may not care much about, hands your power over to that person or institution for the things you do very deeply care about.

On the eve of my 50th birthday, I just re-read my baby book. Yep, I know, when was the last time you did that? I figured, hey, I’m going to turn 50 tomorrow, so I thought I’d look at my baby book for a trip down memory lane. A few years ago, I wrote a […]

When I ask someone whether they’ve considered having their baby at home or at a birth center, I often hear them respond with something like, “I decided to have a traditional birth in the hospital.” This generally makes me smile, because giving birth in a hospital is hardly the traditional way to give birth! Traditionally, women have been the healers […]

I was recently at a local birth circle. It was “Meet the Midwives” night, and I was one of the midwives asked to attend and answer questions about midwifery, home birth, and birth center care. One of the attendees asked this question: What’s the difference between the medical model and midwifery model of care?

With a birth center birth, you just show up with your bag of personal items and some snacks and beverages. The midwives take care of everything else. The pool is there. The supplies are there. And, there are backup supplies, in case you have a long birth and run out of something.

I had a beautiful, wonderful home birth, with all of my older children, my mother, and my husband in attendance. Afterwards, my midwife whispered in my ear, “See, your body knows just what to do.” She was absolutely right, and it transformed my life.

First it was the breastfeeding and the cloth diapers. Then it was becoming a La Leche League Leader. Then it was the babywearing. But this? This??? They just couldn’t wrap their minds around this.

…asking a midwife why you would also need a doula is like asking a schoolteacher why you would also need books. No, you wouldn’t absolutely have to have books in order to learn. You could use the Internet. You could listen to stories your teacher recites from memory. But, you would be limited to your teacher’s perspective.

“…laying a foundation of knowledge and healthy attitudes about birth will go a long way towards making it a positive experience for the sibling, as well as easing the transition from expectant to new family.”

You spend months thinking about preparing for your birth, but not much time is usually spent thinking about those first few days and weeks after baby arrives. Of course, most people have a pretty good stash of baby clothes, diapers, and fairly useless baby gadgets (thanks to the baby shower), but there are a few […]

I posted this question on Facebook: “People ask us what to bring to their birth center birth or to have at their home birth. What is the one thing at your birth that helped you the most?” The women who responded had a wide variety of answers, but there were some common themes. 1. The […]

You spent 9 months taking care of yourself so you could grow a healthy baby. You ate all the right things, took all of your supplements, etc. Why is it that as soon as baby is born, it seems like all of that stops? Does taking care of a baby mean you can’t take care […]