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Tribe for Midwifery Students 2008!!

74K views 2K replies 133 participants last post by  maxmama 
#1 ·
Our other thread was really getting long and I thought maybe it'd be good to start a new one... appropriately on New Years Day 2008!

This year will be full of wonder for all of us, Dear Ones- I can just feel it!

May your studies progress most appropriately to completion with ease, may your eyes see clearly, may your hands touch gently, may your trust in birth bring comfort and support to the women, babies, and families you will touch this year.


J.
 
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#1,754 ·
Thank you for the clarification! AAMI was my first choice, but financially not feasible. MTB seemed like self-study with some accountability which I need. If I had a baby that slept EVER I could actually get more into it and form a more concrete opinion of the course.
 
#1,755 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by hotwings640 View Post
I think you could set up a really good independent study program. Do you have any students close by that you could maybe even set up a study group with?
Yep, luckily enough. I'm going to try and get a bi-monthly group together after the holidays. I've been thinking about it for a while- just need to get it together.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MamaRabbit View Post
To set up your own study program, I'd recommend Becoming a Midwife by Steiger. It's an older book but after looking through it a lot, if I weren't doing school, I would use her setup for self study. Very thorough!
Thanks! I'll get that book- It sounds like it'll be a great help!
 
#1,756 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by MamaRabbit View Post
Ugh. I had a HORRIBLE doula birth last night. So thankful I could call the friend that was at my twin birth so I could decompress a little bit. I just HATE hospital birth even more now.
I know I said it yesterday, but my power cut out in a storm, so I'll say it again :
 
#1,757 ·
Thanks majik!

I"ve been processing it a lot. I went to playgroup today and all the moms were so excited to see me and ask about the birth when they heard I'd been there. How do you say, it was the most awful birth I've seen in 3 years of doing this. Abuse, lies, iatrogenic, etc..

So I said, well it was pretty traumatic and she has a lot of physical and emotional healing to deal with so for now just support her and when she's ready to tell her story she will because it's not my story to tell.

One of the moms at playgroup used CNMs with her first birth and is due in 3 weeks with her second and loves to give me "educational opportunities" as she calls them for me to practice on her. So today she already knew baby position and said, I don't know you tell me and let me palpate and find heart tones. Her tummy is tight and is all baby and if my guess is right, it a BIG BOY as her girl was very big and this is the biggest one I've ever palpated. Fun stuff to make up for a crap birth.
 
#1,758 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by MamaRabbit View Post
Thanks majik!

I"ve been processing it a lot. I went to playgroup today and all the moms were so excited to see me and ask about the birth when they heard I'd been there. How do you say, it was the most awful birth I've seen in 3 years of doing this. Abuse, lies, iatrogenic, etc..

So I said, well it was pretty traumatic and she has a lot of physical and emotional healing to deal with so for now just support her and when she's ready to tell her story she will because it's not my story to tell.

One of the moms at playgroup used CNMs with her first birth and is due in 3 weeks with her second and loves to give me "educational opportunities" as she calls them for me to practice on her. So today she already knew baby position and said, I don't know you tell me and let me palpate and find heart tones. Her tummy is tight and is all baby and if my guess is right, it a BIG BOY as her girl was very big and this is the biggest one I've ever palpated. Fun stuff to make up for a crap birth.

***Hugs*** I'm so there with you! My last doula birth was HORRIBLE! I can't wait for my next birth. I need to keep reminding myself I do this so that won't happen as much as possible, nad at least mom had support and someone to care about her durring this ordeal.
 
#1,761 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by 636Jen View Post
Michelle, that's so great!! How exciting. We are really busy too. I'm leaving for Florida on the 26th so I hope our clients give birth before I leave! I think we have 5-6 more due right now. I haven't studied this whole month. I'm falling behind but I'm not worried about it. I'm learning so much more by doing the hands on stuff...more than I think I would get out of doing Q and As.


Hope you have fun in FL. We are having great weather right now
: I think the hands on stuff is awesome so don't worry if you fall behind in the books. You can always catch up on that stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MamaRabbit View Post
Fun stuff to make up for a crap birth.
: That is great she lets you practice. Sorry the birth was so crappy


Quote:

Originally Posted by MamaRabbit View Post
ooooh, guess what guess what... today I got the big news I've been waiting months for...

:I've been accepted to Bumi Sehat!
:

I'll be doing a short-term apprenticeship with them next June/July.

For those new here... Yayasan Bumi Sehat.
OMG that is so cool! I wish you the best of luck with it.

So ladies after much soul searching and an upcoming job loss, I have decided to apply for FSTM in August 2009. I will officially be a midwifery student in 8 months. I am so so nervous and so so excited and so so sad all at the same time. I need to talk this through so feel free to skip it if you don't feel like reading my though process


DH and I decided to TTC this month because it felt like we were ready and we really wanted to have another so that when I went back to school in 2011, the new baby would be 2 and DS would be 4. Well during my 2WW, I found out my job will be cut very soon. DH and I discussed for many hours what the options were and we decided if I wasn't pregnant, I should head back to school.

I took a HPT this morning and it was negative. I know I still have a chance of being pregnant but I have no symptoms and feel AF is on her way. I'm sad about this because our TTC efforts will now be put on hold for 3 years. I feel we will have more children though. It just won't be how we planned it.

Of course if I do end up being pregnant than we will need to come up with another plan but for now, this is it!

I am so nervous and starting to get those feelings like will I be a good midwife? Will I be able to handle the on call life, etc. Did anyone else feel this way before taking the actual plunge into midwifery? I keep talking to my preceptor about this and she keeps encouraging me to go to school.

Ok I'm done rambling!
 
#1,762 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by CanidFL View Post

So ladies after much soul searching and an upcoming job loss, I have decided to apply for FSTM in August 2009. I will officially be a midwifery student in 8 months. I am so so nervous and so so excited and so so sad all at the same time. I need to talk this through so feel free to skip it if you don't feel like reading my though process


DH and I decided to TTC this month because it felt like we were ready and we really wanted to have another so that when I went back to school in 2011, the new baby would be 2 and DS would be 4. Well during my 2WW, I found out my job will be cut very soon. DH and I discussed for many hours what the options were and we decided if I wasn't pregnant, I should head back to school.

I took a HPT this morning and it was negative. I know I still have a chance of being pregnant but I have no symptoms and feel AF is on her way. I'm sad about this because our TTC efforts will now be put on hold for 3 years. I feel we will have more children though. It just won't be how we planned it.

Of course if I do end up being pregnant than we will need to come up with another plan but for now, this is it!

I am so nervous and starting to get those feelings like will I be a good midwife? Will I be able to handle the on call life, etc. Did anyone else feel this way before taking the actual plunge into midwifery? I keep talking to my preceptor about this and she keeps encouraging me to go to school.

Ok I'm done rambling!

Awww- congrats!!! I hope you really enjoy it!

MR- Cograts! That is SOOOOO exciting!
 
#1,763 ·
Hi everyone! I've been super busy and haven't had much computer time. I've been doing a lot of studying and getting ready for Christmas.

MamaRabbit - I'm so sorry about the horrible birth. That makes me so sad. Yay for the Birth Center though!

As far as the Midwife to Be program goes: I signed up with the program last year. I found it to be poorly set up, not very in depth at all, and a lot of the assignments didn't make any sense. For instance, for the unit studying physiology there was one small chapter to read in Holistic Midwifery about physiology and the rest of the reading assignments were about the different forms of birth control. I didn't find the program to make much sense for me at all. I think you would be better off just reading the list of books on your own. It's definitely cheap and could be a good starting place for some people, I guess. JMHO


I'm doing AAMI now, I'm still in the beginning phase, but I have been extremely impressed so far. I hope that helps!
 
#1,765 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by MamaRabbit View Post
ooooh, guess what guess what... today I got the big news I've been waiting months for...

:I've been accepted to Bumi Sehat!
:

I'll be doing a short-term apprenticeship with them next June/July.

For those new here... Yayasan Bumi Sehat.
congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!
:
:
:
:
:
I'm so jealous! (I still can't work out a practical way to go without dd)

that makes up for the hard birth i guess. maybe there's a way i can try to get in at the same time... that would be awesome!!!
 
#1,766 ·
my next client is coming up to 36 weeks, so I could start being "on call" at any time. though i've no reason to suspect she wont go to at least 40 wks.
this should be an interesting birth; the couple live in a very small hand-made bamboo hut, without hot running water or electricity. I'm going to set up my tent there in a week or so, so that when it's time for the labour, i'll have some private space to retreat to if the labour ends up being protracted and the couple feel like some privacy. also good if the birth ends up being really late at night, then I dont have to drive home at some crazy hour on winging country roads, like the last birth I did that ended at 3am and I had to drive home over an hour after a LOOOOOOONG and tiring labour.
 
#1,767 ·
I'm a beginner looking for guidance.

My DH is military, so we move a lot. We have 3 small kids(and I might be pg again), so any sort of school or intern program are years away.

What should I do to be ready to apprentice in 5-6 yrs? I prefer independant study, but realisticly, externally imposed deadlines keep me moving. ANY ADVICE?
 
#1,768 ·
AAMI? That's why I chose it. Small kids at home. Do it as fast or slow as you like. Extensions for pregnancies. They're on the quarterly system and you can choose to or not submit work each quarter. It's affordable too.
 
#1,769 ·
rebirth - I'm glad it helps. I know that some people are really happy with MTB but it wasn't nearly in depth enough for me at all.

We had a horrible ice storm on Thursday. We lost power Thursday night and it's been out since. They are saying it probably won't be back on until Friday or so. There were so many trees down and power lines destroyed. It's absolutely crazy. We've been doing ok. We have a wood stove so we're warm and we can get water from my mom's hand pump. Inconvienent, but we're pretty well off. I brought the kids to a city that has electricity to get a bit of a break. We're at the library so I thought I could catch up here. It's the worst storm New England has seen in over 30 years.

The good thing is I've had a bunch of study time! We had family staying with us since they didn't have heat. They were helping out a lot with the chores and my dh was home helping too. House work has never gotten done so quickly! I was having lots of fun doing cross-word puzzles in teh Birthsong Midwifery Workbook!

Canid - yay for starting school! I wish you peace about your decision. I know it's hard to decide when to have another baby. It does sound like a good time to start school though.

Majik - yay for a client being due soon! I'm really starting to itch to go to a birth. It's been since August for me. I probably won't have another until February...
 
#1,770 ·
omgosh! I'm glad you're ok. You sound very fortunate, having your basic needs met at least, and also having help from family!

I'm itching for another birth too. My next for sure birth will probably also be in Feb, as a doula. But I should be at others before as a BA in training (I hope!)
 
#1,771 ·
My name is Hayley. I am a birth doula and aspiring midwife. I'm planning to go to the Midwifery Today Conference in Eugene, OR in March. I'm wondering if any of you are going or know someone who is or know someone who lives in Eugene who I could stay with while I'm there for the conference. I'd love to share a hotel with anyone interested or even crash on someone's couch. I really just need a place to sleep.
I've got everything else figured out i.e. paying for the conference, meals, airfare (free airmiles from a friend), transportation (bus). I just don't have a lot of money, like most of us, so I wanted to at least share a room with someone. Let me know if you know of anything or want to share a room! I'm clean, sweet, and won't bother you...Thanks for reading/considering.
:
 
#1,772 ·
cfidd- I was thinking of you when I was hearing on the news about the storm. It's good to hear you're warm and safe!

I'm really excited... this morning I attended my first repeat client as BA... and it gets better! Today's baby was born one year to the day after his big sister.
And to top it off, mom pushed for two pushes this time instead of 3 hours and didn't need stitches this time. It was just awesome.
: This is my 4th birth this month (well, since 11/27) and I have 4 more to go... busy busy!

: Stay warm all!
 
#1,773 ·
: yeah Michelle!!! How cool! I bet the mom was so thrilled with that birth. Well, you are certainly living up to your name!


MotherBirthDoula, I am going to the conference in March too! I can't wait. There are so many awesome classes and I love connecting with other midwives. I feel so recharged and peaceful when I'm at a conference.... so many like-minded people all in one room! It's refreshing!

We've secured our group of 4 but if something changes, I'll let you know. Hope to get to meet you there!

 
#1,776 ·
time4another, I live in SW NH. We got hit pretty badly, but east of us got hit even worse. We got our power back Tuesday night. The Eastern half of my town still doesn't have their power back. The positive side to all this is I really needed to defrost and clean my freezers, but kept putting it off since they were still full. Well, I got that all taken care of.
We were able to save all our meat (we buy in bulk from a farmer.) I lost a lot of bread and veggies and convenience foods, but it was minimal compared to what it could have been. It's really sad and scary to me how reliant we all are on electricity. I'm just really grateful that we have heat (wood stove and passive solar when the sun shines.) My mom has a hand pump on her well so we were able to drive over and get water. We were pretty well off compared to a lot of people. The town just west of me wasn't hit at all. It was weird how it did hit in pockets...

I had fun studying by candle light - I felt connected to the midwives of the past.
If found that not having electricity for 5 days was actually a positive thing for my family. We played a lot of games with our kids, took a much needed break from watching movies, etc.

Anyway, this is totally off topic so I'll stop.

I've been reading a lot and finishing up my initial assignments w/AAMI so I can move onto the next phase in January. I really can't believe that Christmas will be here so soon. I need to get my rear-end in gear...

I hope you are all well and warm!
 
#1,777 ·
mammarabbit- CONGRATULATIONS!!! I am considering coming July and staying for 6 months. I would really like to come in June but the clinic seems to be very busy and full that month already. I may try to come to Bali but not start volunteering until July. We'll see! So exciting for you to be there. It is awesome. I would love to be there with you, too!

majik- why can your DH not come? they are very accommodating about families.
 
#1,778 ·
I did it. I'm officially a student midwife. I'm starting AAMI. I don't know why, but committing to something like this is a really big deal for me. I'm terrified of failure, so I'm sure I'll be here a lot looking for support!!

I hope you ladies have all recovered from the storm. I hear there's more coming!
 
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