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Rebekah Hawkins

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Jolene Cook

Mynnde Corey

 

JOLENE COOK

"For the birth of my fourth child, I felt extremely prepared. I had given birth three times already, twice in my own home, and had successfully gotten through an extended pushing session to birth my 10 pound son. I had read over a dozen midwifery books and I had scoured the internet over the last five years for community with other home birthing mothers. So, with a clear vision in my mind of the birth I wanted to experience this time around I set out to find the perfect match in a Midwifery practice.

There is a long list of questions that are always asked of midwives when they are being interviewed by an expecting couple, easily found with any internet search. The trouble is that sometimes the most important things are near impossible to ask a person before you choose them to attend your birth. I did ask all those standard questions, and got fabulous answers that met or exceeded all my expectations. But Sacred Birth Midwifery was the perfect match for me because the midwives possessed an incredible skill that I never would have realized was so important. They were somehow able to walk the tightrope of understanding me, both as a woman and as a PREGNANT woman. Seeing before them a woman who knew exactly what kind of birth experience she desired and yet, continually understanding how to support me through frustration, utter joy, confusion, and all the rest of the ups and downs that come with pregnancy.

I think the main strength of Sacred Birth was that while they trusted me fully to I know my own body, they also were quietly confident in their knowledge of the pregnant woman: from every angle, through all its possible twists and turns. At the birth and before, Tanya knew enough to stand back and let things happen - but only to stand far enough back to catch me when I started to fall! When doubt crept in, when I couldn't quite remember how awesome my body is. she knew what to tell me and how to make me understand.

The pregnancy was easy by all standards, and I looked forward to my midwife visits so much- I felt supported and loved each time- and that is saying a lot because I can be exceptionally slow to warm up to people! Every aspect was handled with both professionalism and compassion, a rare combination these days for certain. One way that Tanya showed her confidence was evident in the planning stages of my second trimester. After three births I know that I truly love to be surrounded by my closest friends during labor and birth. This means quite a full house, and some midwives are less than supportive of this choice. It was easy to see that Tanya trusted both my judgment and her own ability to maintain safety and control in the birth environment, never intimidated by the escalating amount of estrogen in the room!

My fourth birth was spectacular; MacEwan was born into the water. And I, surrounded by immense love and strength became a mother all over again. In the weeks afterward, though my recovery was absolutely by the book, Tanya and Kirsten called, visited and even checked in with my husband and friends to be sure all was going well. I felt that my birth experience wasn't over until I said I was ready. The pictures of that birth will always bring me back to a time in my life when I got to feel the true meaning of the word midwife: With Woman. "

 
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