[quantumleap]

<p>I think we're all too busy to be on here very much, but thought I'd start a 2013 thread just in case! I'm a Canadian currently studying in Texas, at MLL. It's been a bit insane, but I'm glad to be here (although, I can't imagine ever wanting to live here long-term! oh, the dust, the lack of green, the barren, and did I mention the dust?!). Thinking of sitting NARM in Feb, but it's not needed to practice in Canada, so I'm on the fence. There's time yet, to decide, I guess. I'm here until the end of Sept 2014. </p>
<p>How are you all balancing family and study/clinical? Any tips? What educational route are you going? What are you loving, and what are you frustrated by? Anyone else in Texas dealing with the new laws?</p>
<p>Happy baby catching! </p>

 

[CherDoulaK]

<p>Hey! I had wanted to go to Maternidad La Luz, it was one of my options! I would love to hear more about your experience there.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I've started studying with Via Vita Midwifery School, a distance course. I'm going to The Farm this Summer for their Neonatal Resuscitation training so that I can hopefully assist a Midwife while I'm studying. I'm still at the very beginning of the coursework, but really like it so far.</p>

 

[jazzybaby9]

<p>Hi! I've been studying through AAMI for almost 3 years now. Had an apprenticeship for 8 months, but wasn't attending enough births so I decided to move on... possibly starting a new apprenticeship this summer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I took an A&P course at Birthingway College in Portland, I liked it there. I also applied to both Nizhoni in San Diego and a birth center south of here... I turned down both ideas since I'm really trying to find something that works for me here in Colorado.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We shall see.</p>

 

[innanmore]

<p>I'll be a new student midwife as of this week. I want to be a CPM. I'm deciding between WomanCraft and AAMI right now. I might try to do both since WomanCraft is only a year. I just can't seem to find enough info on AAMI's curriculum and program structure for my liking, so I think I'm going with WomanCraft for now. The added bonus is I'll get to participate in their local classes as well as by distance.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I'm planning to start working as a doula while on the path to becoming a midwife. I'll be training with a group in NYC next month and begin volunteering, then attend trainings with the International Center for Traditional Childbearing and toLabor later in the year. Maybe excessive, but I really want to learn and benefit from the different approaches.</p>

 

[ldserrano]

<p>Hey! I live in El Paso I just discovered Maternidad La Luz last week when I finally surrendered to my call to midwifery.  Unfortunately, hubby and I are sitting under a huge pile of student loans and we have two little boys, 3yrs and 10 mos, plus we both have to work to keep a roof over our head.  I've decided in about 3 years (hopefully less) I will be ready to enroll there..meanwhile I plan on learning spanish and taking the required anatomy and physiology course.  I wish there were some way I could get my foot in the door early and volunteer one day a week or something.</p>

 

[quantumleap]

<p>You can come do an observational 24 hour shift!  </p>

 

[swelldoula]

<p>Hi All,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I just stumbled onto this thread and wanted to introduce myself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I've been apprenticing with a home birth licensed midwife in Arizona for about 9 months now. In Arizona, we don't use the NARM guidelines for becoming a CPM (although that will probably change soon), so I am working toward the state's requirements to become a licensed midwife and also doing the NARM PEP. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The midwife I work with has a pretty low key solo practice, so I do about 1 - 2 births per month, plus all the prenatal and postnatal appointments we have. That's pretty much all I can handle right now though! I have three kids (8, 4, and 1) and a busy schedule as it is.</p>
<p>Before I started apprenticing, I worked as a doula for a few years. I'm really loving home birth and I'm hoping to be certified within the next 3 to 5 years. </p>

 

[ldserrano]

Hey quantumleap, I'm coming in on friday to do the observational shift! Super excited!! Any idea of what to expect??

 

[ashleyhowd]

<p>I'm not enrolled in anything yet, but planning to enroll at a midwifery school soon. I'm still comparing things so I'm doing self study in the mean time. I know I'm going to become a doula and CPM, and currently have no desire to become a nurse to become a CNM. BUT I'm not sure how I'll feel in the future. Depending on how legislature goes in Michigan in the next few years I may <em>have to </em>become a CNM to practice legally. I'm contemplating taking a nursing class (or at least sitting in on one) at my local college to see what I think. Does anyone know if you can be certified as a CNM and a CPM at the same time?</p>

 

[quantumleap]

<p>No way! Fun! I'm not on, but I'm in to do an on-call appointment first thing in the morning, and then I'm working triage in the evening (gotta work off some of that tuition!). Bring scrubs, waaaaaay more food than you think you should eat, a book, and don't expect to sleep. </p>

 

[element2012]

<p>Swelldoula, I am super interested in apprenticing too!  Can you tell me how did you go about finding a home birth midwife to apprentice under?  Do you pay them to teach you? What should I be looking for/asking? Thanks!</p>

 

[JamieCatheryn]

<p>Anybody study to become a midwife in a place where there aren't any? Well my area has one lovely traditional midwife who hosts births at her place, she's unlicensed and uncertified, but very experienced. I'm considering doing a self study of all the textbooks and ask to assist her for a year or two then looking into additional training and maybe some time at a birth clinic oversees. I might not get a proper preceptor until several years into things : /</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Also in rural areas with few birth resources, what's the demand for homebirth midwives like? Almost nobody sees it as an option, but those few who do don't have many people to choose from.</p>

 

[JenVose]

<p>JamieCatheryn - I have considered looking into what it would take to become a midwife with none very close to me (the nearest are an hour and a half to two hours). There's a pretty large community here with two good-sized hospitals in our town (and two in the neighboring town, as well). So lots of potential pregnant ladies. I do know that we had an active doula community at one time, but those have moved on, we have one remaining in town that I know of. Some of those formerly active as doulas in our community now run birthing centers in more distant areas. But I also know that the birthing center I used for my last birth serviced several ladies from my area and further, so I do think there might still be some interest in natural birth, and I know the local La Leche group discussions often end up sharing about the birthing center options, which are further away, so I think there's still some potential.</p>

 

[happydaymomma]

Hey ladies,<br><br>
Thought I'd pop in and introduce myself. I live in Austin, Texas, and am currently studying to be a CPM through the Mercy in Action distance program. I picked this course specifically because it does not have deadlines, and with a husband who travels frequently and two young girls (2 & 5) at home it seemed like the sanest option for all of us <img alt="smile.gif" class="bbcode_smiley" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/smile.gif"><br><br>
So far it's been very slow going - fits and stops with the studying. But it's still moving along and I'm still passionate about it!<br><br>
My parents also live here, so one day soon I hope to find a piece of property where we can all live together to make an apprenticeship more practical, what with the traveling husband and little kids.<br><br>
Also hoping to get to go do some intensive courses sometime in the next year - any suggestions??<br><br>
Cheers!<br>
Annie

 

[phathui5]

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">
<div><span style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;line-height:19.5px;background-color:rgb(249,249,249);">Does anyone know if you can be certified as a CNM and a CPM at the same time?</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<p> </p>
<p>You can. I remember seeing someone in one of the "I am a midwife" videos who was both.</p>

 

[happydaymomma]

Which courses/workshops/conferences/etc. have y'all felt are the most useful when you're first getting started with your studies? I'm not talking about training programs, just shorter stuff. I'm already signed up with the Mercy in Action distance program. I'm just looking for supplemental, more hands on, kind of stuff.<br><br>
I'm really feeling like I want to step up my game with my training. And I want to make myself a good candidate by being as prepared as possible for apprenticeship as soon as I'm ready to take that big step.<br><br>
Also, are any of you doing part time apprenticeships? If so, what does that look like? How did you go about asking for a part time apprenticeship? I'm finding it really hard to talk to most of the midwives I know about such an arrangement.<br><br>
Do you think it would make it easier to get a part time apprenticeship if I took a midwife's assistant course?<br><br>
Any thoughts or suggestions for any of this is great! Thanks for the support!

 

[phathui5]

<p>Are you current with your CPR and NRP cards? Most midwives require that apprentices have those done before starting.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I am hoping to take a Birth Emergency Skills Training workshop in September. I'm pretty excited about that:</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.birthemergency.com/" target="_blank">http://www.birthemergency.com/</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I'm lucky to live in Oregon, where there are lots of local conferences and workshops for midwives, so I attend pretty much every one I can.</p>

 

[happydaymomma]

Yes! I'll start with CPR & NRP. And I'm in Austin Texas, so if anyone knows of anything happening around these parts, I'm glad to know of it.

 

[beckers99]

Glad to find this thread! I'm starting my apprenticeship next week and would love to chat a bit with other midwives-to-be!<br><br>
I had two homebirths with a midwife who is a very good friend. It's really just all her stories that made me want to have my first baby at home. Since then I've become very passionate about natural birth and parenting, and dreamed of becoming a midwife as a sort of "someday in the distance future or maybe just in my dreams"sort of way. I was supporting my sister in law with her first labor (hospital birth) last month and later expressed my frustration to my midwife friend about not having the knowledge to REALLY help her. My friend suggested I look into becoming a midwife.. so fast forward a few weeks, and she has now offered me an apprenticeship and I'm looking into a program to start as soon as possible.<br><br>
I know I got incredibly lucky to find an apprenticeship with a very experienced midwife without even trying! I feel so blessed and grateful and am super stoked to start next week.<br><br>
I'm a little nervous about how I'll balance it all.. my sons are 22 months and 5 months old. My midwife has no problem with me bringing the baby with me to prenatals and even births.. the older one will be staying with my mom whenever necessary. My midwife is always very busy though.. she averages 8 births per month.. so I'm bracing myself for some serious exhaustion coming up! <img alt="wink1.gif" class="bbcode_smiley" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/wink1.gif">

 

[littlebearsmama]

<p>Hi, All!</p>
<p>I'm just beginning my birth work path and pondering which direction to go. Via Vita looks very doable for my family situation and me. It's also affordable. My biggest questions are regarding the new midwifery laws recently passed in Oregon. I understand that not only is the license expensive ($1200 per year), but that it's required that midwives carry insurance which may cost around $15,000 per year for homebirth coverage. For those living in very rural areas, the families desiring home births are small maybe around twenty births per year at a high estimate. Midwives will be forced to pass these expenses on to the families, of course, which may price many out of a home birth. My question is what are CPMs in Oregon doing to keep home births accessible and affordable for those families that want them? I'd love to become a midwife, but the financials for a practice are a bit overwhelming. Thanks for your input!</p>