Student Midwives? is there a tribe?

[fourgrtkidos]

Hey, is there a student midvives tribe anyone can link me to? :throb Michelle

[Levatrice]

:notes:

[Apricot]

:lurk:

[bradley method mom]

:love :wink

[homemademomma]

no, im pretty sure there isnt a student mw tribe, but there should be! go start one! :p

[blissful_maia]

Yeah, let's start one. If I knew how, I would do it! But, I don't.

I'm sure we could all use some encouragement and love sometimes.

[MidwifeChristina]

:eyes

[doulamomof3]

Hey, a student midwifery tripe would be very awesome! I start my trainings in January, and I'm soooo excited!

I can't wait to get to know you other midwife, doulas, and birth supporters here! :throb

[blissful_maia]

So where are you lovely womyn in your studies? Where do you live and what type of program are you in? What is the scope of practice for midwives in your area?

I live in Canada, I'm taking the B.HSc. in Midwifery program in Northern Ontario. It's a really small class, about 12 English-speaking and 5 French-speaking womyn, and there are three schools that offer it in Ontario.

I am in my first year. Our program is a direct-entry program, and it has 1.5 years of University courses, and then 2.5 years of practical placements/tutorials/exams. We are guaranteed funding for our new registrant's years when we graduate.

Midwives in Ontario have full scope, can do all delivery-related things except a C/S. We mostly care for low-risk womyn but can collaborate with OB-gyns/GPs if necessary. Midwives work independently from the hospital system, and can attend home/hospital/birth centre births fully funded by our public health care system.

Looking forward to hearing back!

Blessings,Sabrina

[loveslabor]

deleted

[fourgrtkidos]

Hi,

I tried to start one in the tribal forum, but no one came over.... so is it okay to stay here?

My name is Michelle. I am a RN.... and now a midwifery student. I am in a direct entry program in Florida and I will not be a CNM..... I want to be non-meducal after 10 years of hospital nursing. I am a first year student and will graduate in 2008.

Later-
Michelle :throb

[UmmSamiyah]

I am not a mid-wifery student yet, I am still trying to get my BSN . But my SIL knows I am trying to go to Mid-wifery school and while she was watching this show (i can't think of the name) she heard of this midwifery school that is free called international something by a woman who is/was a midwife. Has anyone heard of it? The only midwifery schools I know of are either Ivy-League (haha right :lol ) or too far to travel to. We are thinking of moving back to mass so I was considering (not seriously) an online midwifery school. help. ;)

[homemademomma]

i just this weekend graduated from the florida school of traditional midwifery. i am still finishing up my numbers, but it feels good to be done with this part of it! my graduation ceremony was so great, i cried so hard. i never cry so it was a big deal for me. i am filling out my narm application right now too. direct entry midwives in florida are independant practitioners, but are law is very strict about what we can and cannot do (for example we cannot attend twin or breech deliveries unless a doctor signs off on it, which would never happen, and we are supposed to take bp every 15 minutes during second stage. that type of thing- very specific and annoying.) also birth centers are required to have a physician sign their protocols, but not home birth midwives, so that is wierd. also direct entry midwivec in florida do not have hospital priveledges, and we cannot attend VBACS legally (although many mw do). midwifery (home, bc and hospital) is reimbursed by medicaid and all insurance, so that is good.
i have been reading and thinking and talking alot about the way i have been taught to attend births- very hands on, lots of "coaching" (like telling women to change position, verbal encouragement etc), controlled delivery, checking for cord, cord traction, etc. and i have come to find that i really believe that midwives do ALOT more than they need to, either because it is how we have been taught, or because we need to feel needed. like most mw i know dont "let" dads catch on their own, because we need to "protect" the moms perineum. also lots of mw like to do a lot of "helping" with the initial latch on, and just generally interfere with the natural process of things. and things like checking for the cord are sooooo not evidence based- and clamping on the perineum is kind of a ridiculous idea when you really think about it- unless the baby has serious variables during 2nd stage, and/or dystocia type signs, chances are that the baby has plenty of cord to get out of the body, and clamping is a dangerous thing to do.

but we also have to take into consideration our law- no mw i know takes bp every 15 minutes while mom is pushing, but we do lots of other things because our law tells us we have to, or just becuase that was how we are taught. we are supposed to be guardians of normal birth, but i feel like we (and i am sooooooguilty of this) let our egos get in the way and try to feel important by catching and managing the 3rd stage, when really it would be best just to sit in the corner and watch, and step in if something needs to be done, like the baby isnt coming out or mom is bleeding.

okay, im starting to lose my thread of sense-making. but do you see what i am trying to get at? im just frustrated with how much my generation of midwives and our teachers tend to interfere when things are normal.

[vermontana]

UmmSamiyah: The show is on Disc. Health Channel and it is called HOuse of Babies. The midwife is Shari Daniels, the school is the International School of Midwifery. Her website is 4midwife.com (I think). Where in 'way upstate NY" are you? I am in the North Country. Are you dead set on a school, or have you considered apprenticeship?

[Levatrice]

I'm Amy, a 4th year senior apprentice in the Dallas area. I did the Association of Texas Midwives program and now I am working on my clinicals. Things have been slow going since I had a (high needs) baby in 2003. I am just now getting back to where I feel like pushing on. I have a great preceptor, she's one of my best friends and she caught my last baby. She's TOTALLY cool with the limitations having kids puts on me, she has 4 of her own. And we're very much aligned professionally. I hope to partner with her when I finish.

I'll admit to feeling like it's taking me forever. I have watched people who started after me finish way before me and that gets frustrating. I feel like I will never finish certain aspects of my clinical requirements. Prenatals are no problem but postnatals are not as easy to get.

Anyway, that's where I am!

Amy

[ebony]

homemademomma, that's a very interesting commentary. I, too, wonder about some of this stuff and it's unfortunate that the laws tie the midwife's hands in so many ways.

For the momma in upstate NY, I went the Ivy League route for the BSN/MSN program and I dropped out after 5 months. I thought the program and the instructors were horrible. Maybe the name will open doors but I don't know how competent you will be after you graduate. As a matter of fact, my midwife in NYC also went to the same school and she said when she graduated she had to go to Africa and Mexcio and only then did she learn to be a midwife. She felt like she didn't learn much of anything at the school and it was a waste of money.

I've recently decided to go back to "school" but I really want the apprenticeship route. Now, I'm just trying to figure out how to make that happen while being a single mom AND having a paying job! :nut

[blissful_maia]

Wow, it's so awesome to talk to you all you ladies who are doing midwifery school in the US. It's such a different experience than the program here in Canada! It's also nice to see that you are all going through triumphs and struggles, as am I.

Are there any midwifery student mamas from Canada?

:throb

[fourgrtkidos]

Congratulations Homemademamma!!!! I wanted to go to your graduation..... hurricane Wilma..... but I heard it was beautiful. It will be nice to be there one day. Saw you today during K 's "exam" I love your haircut.

I am already feeling tired and discouraged, which isn't where I should be in my first semester. But, the same things Homemademama brought up have been weighing on me heavily since I started.

Talk later, when I can make myself cheery.
~Michelle :down

[cathicog]

Can I join the club? i have attended a few births since 1986( while going to school to get a BS and being a single parent), and have had the opportunity and loved it, of going to the Farm for Midwife Assistant I,II, and Advanced, over the course of the last 3 years. We just moved to Knoxville from Southside VA, and I am trying to find the midwives in the area to see who needs some assistance. I have been mostly self educated, since there was no one who was less than 3 hrs from me that I could apprentice with. So, I learn whereever I can, and from whomever I can, including docs in the hospital, and other midwives. Because of what I have seen in the hospital, I am rather hands-off, even by midwifery standards, and I explain that to the client. I do a lot of listening and can often tell where a woman is by her breathing, and how she is dealing with the surges....it gets real interesting sometimes,especially with doula clients! :)

[fourgrtkidos]

hi, Cathi! :wave

[UmmSamiyah]

UmmSamiyah: The show is on Disc. Health Channel and it is called HOuse of Babies. The midwife is Shari Daniels, the school is the International School of Midwifery. Her website is 4midwife.com (I think). Where in 'way upstate NY" are you? I am in the North Country. Are you dead set on a school, or have you considered apprenticeship?


I would love to do an apprenticeship. Right now I am involved with a new group (we don't have a name yet) but we are a birthing resource center. If I could find someone who would let me apprentice I would be so happy :love. Anyways, I am in Binghamton,NY I don't know where North Country is.

the Ivy- way wasn't great?? :blush Ah man! I don't have my heart set on any school. Just any that will let me in!! :wink

[homemademomma]

Congratulations Homemademamma!!!! I wanted to go to your graduation..... hurricane Wilma..... but I heard it was beautiful. It will be nice to be there one day. Saw you today during K 's "exam" I love your haircut.

I am already feeling tired and discouraged, which isn't where I should be in my first semester. But, the same things Homemademama brought up have been weighing on me heavily since I started.

Talk later, when I can make myself cheery.
~Michelle :down

thanks, i just got it cut the other day. it is NORMAL to be discouraged, midwifery school is sooooo much work. you can do it, though. just read and learn and read and learn and talk talk talk, and listen to and respect the midwives you work with. even the midwives with styles totally different from ours, even the midwives who are invasive, they all have sooooooooo much to teach us. have you been to any births? i swear, every time i see a new baby be born, i cry. it makes all the struggles of school and the particular cattiness and dis-orginziation of our school worth it.

and ill tell it doesnt get any easier! my life is soo carefree and stressless (um yea right, but comparatively it is) since i stopped classes. but i have been doing the total midwife thing for a few months now- meaning not jus coming to clinic/births, but doing all the charting, labs, follow ups, phone calls, triaging, etc etc- like i am responsible to make sure everything gets followed up on. yikes! it is a lot of work but exhilerating, not like school which sometimes feels like drudgery. i still have to practice under someone else's style, but it feels goooooooooooooooooooooooooood. i dont even care if i get to catch a baby at a birth (although i love it!)- thats so not what mw is about.


anyway, what was my point?????

[Roma]

:notes:

[UmmSamiyah]

So has anyone heard of the International School of Midwifery? :confused: :scratch

[gracious]

Hi ladies!!
I'm just begining my own journey of becoming a midwife (actually I should be finishing my scholorship paper right now instead of typing here!) I'm real excited :D
Anyway, I just wanted to say that the school that I am going through is the Michigan school of Traditional Midwifery (http://www.traditonalmidwife.com) When done you can use your credits to go towards NARM certification. So far it looks really really good, and it's all at home stuff.
Have any of you heard of it? Any good things? or even bad things?! :mischief
Excited to get to know you who are already on this path!!! :D

[fourgrtkidos]

A heads up....for anyone needing school money. Write Sumasil Foundation
they send you an application and you provide tax returns, school acceptance letter and write an essay, etc.... they give up to $3,000.00 a year per individual. It can be a online school, seminar, college, vocational /trade school, whatever..........

Sumasil Foundation
PO Box 758
Stillwater, MN
55082

[Plaid Leopard]

Hi-

I began an apprenticeship a few years ago, with the midwife that caught my second baby. I attended quite a few prenatals and learned basic skills like charting, taking blood pressure, checking fetal position and heartrate, and a little about homeopathy and natural remedies. I was fortunate to attend 8 births as well, and to be able to help the new mothers to get started with breastfeeding. Then we moved to Germany and I am just "waiting" to resume my studies, somewhere, someday...

I have decided to become a doula and childbirth educator in the meantime, and will attend the Paramana Doula course with Michel Odent in February, in addition to doing an online certification course.

2 years ago I attended the Midwifery Today conference in Paris and learned a lot, and met some wonderful midwives. I am so eager/impatiant to resume my studies but I don't know when I will be able to.

[jlpetitte]

Can I still jump into this group :innocent ? I am working on eventually becoming a Nurse-Midwife. I apprenticed a CNM with a homebirth practice for about 3 years and now I just started as a birth assistant at a freestanding birth center which I am very excited about :bgbounce ! I just started my nursing clinicals, so I will be an RN in about 3 semesters. Once I get that done, I will probably take a few years off to have my own children and get some more experience. Then, I plan on attending Frontier.

I look forward to learning from all of you :love .

[havecutekids]

Hi! I am hoping to be a midwife someday, but my hometown midwife is at her max with 2 apprentices right now, so I am looking for someone not too far from Dayton, Ohio to get some experience with. I am a doula, LLL leader, birthrite international leader, and mom of 3 boys.

[fourgrtkidos]

I thought of attending Frontier...... it was the best CNM program I could find. Then I decided to go through as a durect entry Midwife.

Good Luck.

Hi everybody!!!! :love

[durafemina]

hi - I'm popping in here even though I'm not *technically* a student yet - I will attending University in New Zealand in Feb 2006 in the 3 year direct entry Bachelor of Midwifery program.
I'm Canadian, so moving halfway around the world to live my dream is kind of blowing my mind right now (I just got the good news a few days ago)!
I hope we can keep this tribe up - it will be sooo neat to trade experiences as I see there are lots of different pathways being travelled by the women on this thread.

Peace,
dura

[JoyofBirth]

Hi, I'm on sabatical in Dallas-Worth, Texas. I started studying to be a midwife in April 2002. I'm doing the ATM program. I had to take a break to have my baby girl and be with her. SHe just turned one. There were days when I would be gone at a birth for 40-some-odd hours straight. I wanna get done and be certified. I have only 9 more catches to go. And I'm feeling pressured fromt he ATM to finish. The thing is, I don't like to leave my baby. She still nurses a whole lot and won't take a bottle. All that aside, I can't be gone from her for 2 days straight. So what do you other mamas do about long labors? What do you do about your baby?

[5terre]

Has anyone gotten accepted to Frontier with only an Associate's in Nursing (I have an MS in something unrelated). They say that they wil consider that, but just wondering what the odds of actually getting in are.

[DallasCPM]

Hello everyone! I'm another Dallas area student midwife here! I'm a senior apprentice and should be finishing up my clinical requirements early next year. I did the ATM program, but wasn't too thrilled with it... so after I finished it up, I went on to do Ancient Arts. :love

I've also have had the priveledge of having a wonderful preceptor who encourages me to cross-train with other area midwives. Thus far I've been able to work with 5 other D/FW area midwives, in addition to my primary apprenticeship.

Also, I'm currently working on my women's herbal studies with Aviva Romm. :love

[lostintranslation]

I am also in Dallas and just got through reading Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent and am inspired to look into midwifery (something I have never thought of). I was going the ATM route, but have recently heard some not so great things about it :( . Does anyone know of any other program for non-nurses that is less than the 3 year Ancient Arts? The only thing holding me back is the fear of unknown sights and smells. I don't want to invest the money and then not be able to handle it :hide: . Any suggestions for any of this? Also I am wanting to become a doula to put myself through school, but how do you start? How do you get clients if you are coming in from another world?
One more thing, I have heard bad things about the politics within the dallas midwives circle...does anyone know about that? And I have heard that preceptors will not take you on if you have children (I have a 9 month old angel), or are married, and that quite a few of them do not treat their apprentices very respectfully (making them do un called for janitorial work and such :jaw ). Please help :)

[barbara]

Hey great to see a thread here for aspiring midwives. I'm working on the NARM PEP for CPM certification. We have a small study group of 3 student midwives, and I have another apprentic study partner as well. I'm studying alongside of a couple of midwives in the area, and plan to spend a few months hands on at a birth center in Texas or overseas.

gracious ~ I also considered the Michigan Traditional School of Midwifery, and agree that it looks like a great program!! I'm hoping to attend their retreat/workshop next summer.

I'm attending the Midwifery Today conference in Philly this coming March. Anyone else here going?

In trust of Birth,
Barbara

[JenniferH]

I started a tribe over in FYT. See my siggy.

:D

Right now I'm debating on whether or not I should continue with nursing school. Mississippi doesn't require licensure, but midwifery is legal here.

I'd like to start off by teaching some prenatal classes, and I'm hooking up with a local lady who assists with homebirths. She claims she's not a midwife, but I consider her to be one. She's caught lots of babies and has lots of her own to boot.

My biggest concern is should I go to nursing school just to get the RN credential? Will people take me more seriously (as a MW and CBE) if I have that credential. I know it's entirely possible to go through nursing/medical school and not know a thing about birthin' no babies unless you've actually done it yourself.

Academic knowledge can only take you so far, but I'm of the opinion that it's important. AND I can't afford to pay for a MW cert out of pocket, so I really need to go somewhere I can get student loans. I also want the clinical experience.

I kinda feel like I'm in a catch 22 situation. I can't get the experience because I don't HAVE any experience.

Something deep in my gut tells me that spending upwards of $5K to finish an associates degree (in addition to the massive student loans I have from previous college) is just not a financially prudent decision. Especially when I can assist and observe a local midwife-in-training in action, learn by reading and doing, and teach others what I've learned.

I really thought I knew that I wanted to be a nurse and now I'm just not so sure. If I get into nursing school I'll have to go full steam ahead full time and that wouldn't leave much room for jetting out in the middle of the night to catch a baby after I take care of household and family obligations.

Boy this has turned into a book, but it's helped me to get my feelings and misgivings down in writing.

I have more to say but I'm sure none of you want to hear it after reading that diatribe. :lol

[DallasCPM]

I have heard bad things about the politics within the dallas midwives circle...does anyone know about that? And I have heard that preceptors will not take you on if you have children (I have a 9 month old angel), or are married, and that quite a few of them do not treat their apprentices very respectfully (making them do un called for janitorial work and such

lostintranslation...
Personally, I've never had any problems with any of the Dallas/Fort Worth midwives. There is a North Texas Midwives group that meets monthly, if you ever want to come to a meeting, just PM me for the details.

I have a 20 month old and a 3 year old (as well as a 10 year old step-son who visits us), am married and my preceptor midwife treats me like an equal.

I've also apprenticed with 5 other DFW midwives, and it's been a wonderful experience. I had two potential preceptors tell me that they didn't like to take on apprentices with children under 3 years old, due to the demands of their practice. But then again, later when they NEEDED an apprentice, they offered me a spot. (I already had a solid apprenticeship at that time, and declined that offer, however).

Preceptors are people, too. There are some that don't think visible tattos are appropriate for a midwife/apprentice. Some that are die-hard, bible-belt Christians. Some want you to be the individual that you are, and some want you to portray the image that they've built their practice on - as you, as their apprentice, reflect on their business. Honestly, there are preceptors that I love, and some that I like, but wouldn't want to apprentice under, iykwim. But that's a great thing about DFW. We have tons of midwives to choose from.

HTH. PM me if you ever want to chat more.

[fourgrtkidos]

YEAY!!

Winter break is over, school starts back next week and I have been to my first "official" birth as a student!!! (I have seen many as a nurse)

I love this MIDWIFERY THING!!!

[TrinitysMama]

Another DFW senior apprentice here. I've been in since 2003. Right now, I'm kind of taking a break from everything, but it looks like I'm getting sucked back in. We just took on a close friend of mine as a client, so that will be fun and exciting!

I do think that the politics around here are an issue. I think that on my side of the metroplex, it's a little more prevalent than on livelybaby and sheena's side of town. It's mostly a matter everyone being in everyone else's personal business.

I work with the midwife who delivered my daughter and she and I are close friends as well. She treats me as a partner, rather than a subordinate and has always been respectful. She's been great. I love her to pieces. She has joined up with another practice, so it's not just the two of us anymore. I'm having second thoughts about working with a large practice now. It's not what I want when I'm a midwife. I have a 3 year old daughter and not all midwives are understanding about students with children. Some are very vocal about how they do not believe that students should join the program until their children are at least in school.

There are good preceptors and bad ones. There are respectful preceptors who treat you as an equal and there are some who treat you as an indentured servant. Some are open-minded and some (a lot) are extremely conservative.

I'm not a fan of the ATM program. The rules change arbitrarily and the course requirements have changed since I joined almost 3 years ago. If I had it to do all over again, I would have gone with another program, though I don't know which one. As far as my apprenticeship goes, I love my preceptor but it's so hard to deal with all of the politics. I would love to go to Casa de Nacimiento to complete the rest of my apprenticeship and just get it out of the way.

When I first joined the program, there were a lot of students in my original class who planned to go that route. As the course requirements changed, it made it more difficult for ATM students to complete their training there. Extra births were added, as were extra continuity requirements - something that's hard to get as Casa unless you are there for about a year. Not exactly feasible for someone with a young family who lives on the other side of the state. I've been in long enough that I have most of my continuities, I just need the remainder of my catches.

I love midwifery and would love to finish and get my training behind me. I feel that it is my calling and something that I need to do. I just wish there was a better way to do it.