Tools of My Trade #6

Oh, the Hose!
I definitely have a love hate relationship with this hose!  I absolutely love our birth pools, they are amazing for women in labor, and fantastic for birth.  I do not, however, enjoy the management of the hose.  Our pools are stand alone, with no internal plumbing.  This is good for the prevention of bacterial growth and the ability to clean them properly between each woman.  It is not good for those of us that have to drain and then re-fill the pools.  This particular hose is the "dirty" hose and is used to drain the water out, so it is connected to a lovely sump pump.  Now, don't be fooled by the mild look of the hose and pump.  The sump pump can be temperamental and moody, the hose itself loves to get tangled in your feet and legs, all in all it is a tricky business....especially at 0200 in the morning!

Moments

There are moments; moments that envelope, define and articulate this work.....

Discovering the first "clip-clop, clip-clop" of a tiny heartbeat.
Words shared to build a relationship.
The glorious, squishy rolling of a babe in the womb.
The reach of a hand, looking for comfort.
Ripples made from the breathing of a woman in the water of the birth pool.
Tears of hard work and joy glistening in the eye lashes.
The soft, fresh curve of a baby's ear.
The look of awe in the faces of new parents as they embrace thier baby.
Wide, surprised eyes as a woman feels the first latch of her baby.
Laughter shared over the happiness and discovery of the new "normal". 
Being witness to the growing confidence in new parents....


Listening to, and supporting a woman through postpartum depression.
Being present and available through the struggles of loss.
Discussions about difficult findings.


All of these moments and many, many more are the vocabulary of midwifery.....

Tools of My Trade #5

A Baby Scale
Here we have a few things...all important to my trade.  A baby scale, a baby hat, our pretty personal birth certificate, a baby stethoscope and thermometer.  You can also see our "NST machine" the electronic fetal monitor...that we never use in labor, only during pregnancy and infrequently at that.  Some nice lotion for our hands, since we wash, wash, wash them all the time.  The last baby that I caught, weighed in at 8#13oz of deliciousness!

Tools of My Trade #4

The Birth Room
Since I work in a birth center, we have "set up" rooms, there are three in total.  This room is called the Tent room and was inspired by the book The Red Tent.  One of the biggest tools in each room is the pool, I love our birth pools.  (they are AquaDoulas)  We keep them filled and ready, so that whenever a Mama comes in, it will be ready for her.  Each room also has a bed...very few births actually happen in the bed, but they are where the new families get to know each other afterwards.  Sometimes, when the center is empty, late at night, I can go into a room and feel the echoes of the births that have past.  It fills me with a warm glow, I like knowing this and connecting with this current.  These walls are rich with history.

Tools of my Trade #3

Speculums, Clamps, Tenaculums, Scissors
These instruments are hard and cold, shiny and clanky.  These instruments are also tools of my trade.  As a clinician, I appreciate them...use them for pap smears, rupture of membrane evaluations, placement of IUD's...all valuable and necessary tasks.  As a woman, I strongly dislike them, they are harsh, invasive and downright uncomfortable.  So, I am left as a female clinician, attempting to make them as palatable as possible.  I use them with respect and always, always, always with permission.

Tools of My Trade, #2

Baby Blankets
These baby blankets have helped to welcome countless a new babe to the world.
They are warm, fluffy and soft.  Many of them have been brought in, from home, by our own
nurses, midwives and other staff.  They have been well loved and cared for.  Others have
been purchased especially for the center.  These blankets are kept, folded, between two
heating pads.  As the birth time approaches, we turn on the pads, and thus have warm,
soft and fluffy blankets for the babes.  All of our babes are kept skin to skin with thier
mothers, so these baby blankets are placed over the babe and mother together.
Enveloping them in warmth and freshness.

Tools of My Trade, #1

Way "back in the day" before I started my journey
to midwifery, I was known to play and work with photography. Somehow, along the
way, I misplaced the photography bug. I had been concerned that it was gone
forever. However, much to my happy surprise, it has begun to re-surface. I am
going to be trying out an inspiration through the pages of this blog. The
inspiration is this....a photo essay, of sorts, to highlight some of the Tools
of My Trade. I decided to start the essay of with one of the tools that I always
have with me, ready and willing to serve my Mama's and their families, My
Hands....

These hands caress, stroke and sometimes cajole

These hands inspect, delve and palpate

These hands are sometimes soft and other times are hard

These hands support and elevate

These hands act as guides...to babies on their way out, to women as they become mothers

These hands repair and cultivate

With these hands, I honor and act with grace, for all the women....