The Midwife Method

We are SO excited to invite you to a film screening of the new documentary 'A Midwife Solution' followed by a community dialogue and Q&A panel with a variety of local experts and community members.

This event will take place on September 8th from 12-2 pm at Asheville Brewing Company.

This hard hitting short documentary tells the story of the underground Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) in North Carolina and explores the reasons why legislation to license and integrate CPMs is such a critical step toward improving health outcomes in our state.

The film is absolutely beautiful and we are so excited to show it to you, but most importantly, we are looking forward to the chance to gather as many members of the birth community possible together, to have a meaningful discussion about access to community birth choices and smooth, safe and respectful transports to hospitals, when the need arises.

We can't state enough how valuable it will be to have your presence at this event 🙂

So please, bring your family and friends to enjoy an afternoon together learning, connecting and growing towards expanding birth choices for all.

Doulas, midwives, OBGYNS, nurses, lactation consultants, chiropractors, public health officials, pelvic floor therapists, families and consumers of midwifery care - let us all come together to help address the perinatal health crisis that North Carolina is facing.

Tickets are $15, you can purchase them here. This vintage movie theater serves pizza and beer so feel free to come a little early to mingle and order food.

Ticket proceeds from the screening will benefit the legislative work being done to license and integrate CPMs in North Carolina!

If you can not be present at the event and want to support the legislative efforts for CPMs in NC, please consider making a donation.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Taylor Broussard, Justine Clegg, and Avril Bowens

NCforCPMS

Today, I am moved to tears of gratitude, and in celebration of the courage and fierceness of all the women who have come before me to fight for any and all aspects of women's and all people's rights and equality in this and every other country around the world.

I acknowledge that this fight has not only been one of triumph but one of loss. One that took from the very people who fought in tangible and intangible ways. On their lives and livelihoods, on their emotions and body, on their families. I also acknowledge all the victims that this legacy has left behind. The people who suffered in the hands of change.

Birth was taken from women and handed to the self proclaimed male obstetrician, who has historically, made countless mistakes that has caused women and baby's to suffer and die in their care.

Although the profession (OBGYN's) has made a comeback, so far as female providers go, they are still educated in a masculine profession AND through the lens of DISEASE rather than through the actuality of birth being a normal physiological process. OBGYN's are surgeons, so it is only normal that their profession seeks to assist through surgical and medicalized means. However, most birthing people, surrounded by a team of experts in enhancing physiology AND in an environment carefully designed to do the same, need the assistance of surgery, to birth a baby.

What is needed, is a team of providers (midwives) and a healthcare system that works to support and enhance that inherent physiology to express at it's highest potential. That means supporting the totality of the birthing person or woman. The minds, the hearts, the emotional and physical body and the social structures we all live in.

We have a LOT of work to do in this regard. In my lifetime, I seek to see a MIDWIFE LED maternity health care system where every single person has access to the Midwife Model of Care AND to collaborative care with our surgical colleagues, when the need arises. In this way, we will truly provide the best quality of care and reach the best outcomes possible for women and baby's while reducing healthcare costs for those paying for services. and a more humanized and balanced birth for the next generation.

This is the spoke of the wheel that I have dedicated my life's work towards. A fight worth fighting and one that still has so far to go and I honor all those who speak and fight for all the other important battles that need to be fought on our way towards a more equitable world.🙏❤

I've been working on this baby and 5 other programs for the last year and a half...while doing all the other things in my life and healing from past experiences and my big accident.

I'm proud of what I created and am excited to finally be birthing my creations into the world!

Pregnant and wanting to learn about how nutrition can support a healthy pregnancy, prevent complications and help grow a healthy baby?

Optimal Pregnancy Nutrition is on sale now until midnight!

If you feel called to share with your family and friends, please do!!

It's such vital information that is so often neglected in pregnancy care. The body is made beautiful and incredible and all it needs to operate in smooth working order is attention to nutrition AND the mind and spirit.

Have a beautiful day and feel free to check it out!

Optimal Nutrition Learn to nourish yourself and your baby with optimal nutrition from whole real foods to help prevent pregnancy complications and grow a healthy baby!

There is a great REMEMBERING in process in our culture and in the course of humanity.

We are warriors of deep surrender
We are warriors of remembering
We are warriors of letting go
We are warriors of spirit and body and soul and babies and birthing.

And on this journey through pregnancy, you will uncover the deepest truths and the deepest strengths within yourself.

Digging in to your vulnerabilities, your perceived weaknesses, you will uncover a spring of unfathomable LOVE.

You will uncover the essence of what it is to truly LIVE!
What it is to truly BE gloriously PREGNANT!
What it is to truly BIRTH with PRESENCE!

Informed WHAT? Oh yeah...informed CONSENT.

Information + consent

Here's the information, don't ask questions, sign here to consent to x, y, z. Let's just get this done so we can move on.

Questions? Don't really have time so I'll use language that is above your fluency or I'll tap into my coercive language toolkit and make you feel silly and irresponsible for even asking or I'll use my body language to communicate my annoyance in having to practice by my own profession's stated patient rights.

It's like a slap in the face to what birthing folks are asking for and to the profession's own meaning and intention of informed consent which is as follows;

1) to receive information about the risks, benefits, options, and costs of treatment plan including doing nothing.
2) your right to make decisions about your healthcare and have those decisions respected.

Now let's explore informed choice...information + choice. When we use the word choice, we invite the client / patient into participating in their own care. We invite a conversation about what the information is, what the choices are and how to incorporate patient preferences into a co-created care plan.

Let's move towards....INFORMED CHOICE!!

Come learn with us :)

How are you celebrating your beautiful, extra-ordinary, miraculous, pregnant body?

Each and everyday, our pregnant body's stretch and grow in new ways to accommodate the little miracles growing inside.

There are so many ways to offer your body love and gratitude through pregnancy, what are some of the ways you like to do this?

Connection Time:

Smile to your body and give thanks for all that it is doing to support your pregnancy. Literally say the words "Thank you so much for all the seen and unseen ways you work to support my pregnancy and my baby:)"

Place your hands on your belly and breathe several deep belly breaths, noticing your hands moving in and out with your inhalations and exhalations...while saying hello to your little one. Imagine your baby being surrounded in a soft, loving light...gently moving around your baby and the waters of your womb.

Take a moment to notice a response in your body, your heart, your mind or awareness. Is there a kick? A movement? A thought that comes to mind? An idea, a sense or a feeling? Connect to that play.

Sending intentional love and gratitude into your body and baby, relaxes you into your calm nervous system, improves blood flow, reduces stress, and expands your capacity to love self and others.

Only takes a few minutes. Repeat often and enjoy!

☀️ I remind myself of this as often as possible. ☀️

And often, when I think of it, I realize that I've been clenching my jaw.

The POWER in taking a moment to breathe and relax the jaw and allow my tongue to drop away from the roof of my mouth:

🌺 Sends a biochemical message to the parasympathetic nervous system (Sooth and Relax) to relax. Your system gets flooded with relaxing chemicals and engages our creativity.

🌸 Sends a message to the brain to open our awareness. To open to what is. To open to new possibilities. To open to what we are experiencing and in doing so, we can be fully present and access our "solution brain".

🌼 Sends a message to our pelvic floor to relax (super important during labor and birthing and s*x).

🌿 When we consciously relax our jaw, we regain our own power and control.

💨 Combine with 1-2 minutes of breath work (heart breathing or belly breathing) and sink deeply and quickly into the body. This will increase the positive effects mentioned above 👌

A lot of the time when people find themselves unconsciously clenching their jaw and grinding their teeth, it's linked to stress and anxiety in their daily lives. 🍂

When I remember, and decide to consciously breathe deeply with a relaxed jaw, I can't help but feel a whole lot better, even if I felt alright to begin with! Physically relaxing releases tension you don't know you're carrying, inviting in new space for enjoyment in your day. 🌻

The power we can tap into, in resistance.
Resistance is an energy that we all engage in, in various moments of our lives and one that can be used for massive expansion.

When we take an inventory of what we are resisting whether it is physical, emotional, professional, social, or spiritual, we increase our awareness and understanding of the fear that is driving that resistance within us.

By becoming aware of our resistance, we can consciously walk into that fear, name it, recognize it, allow it to speak and in that allowance, the coil of resistance and all the potentiality it holds can be released and we can spring into immense expansion exponentially.

What are you resisting today?
Pregnancy itself is a process of letting go and surrendering to the many resistances that are in play. Our bodies resist the expansion to some degree...our cells multiply, our tissues stretch into the accommodation of growing and nurturing an entire new soul!

Our identities resist the change of allowing for a new identity, one of being a parent, whether it is your first or tenth child and as we surrender into the process, the expansion of love is limitless.
Resistance can be found in our relationships as they shift and change.

I invite you to make an inventory of all that you are resisting in this moment. To allow the fear to speak so that the coil can be released and you can be catapulted into expansion!

The rhythmic contraction and expansion is played out physically in the laboring and birthing process. Complete surrender occurs at some point where the body, mind, and spirit open fully to allowing for the birth of a babe.
Freedom is found in surrender. Trust is found in surrender. Love is found in surrender! It's a beautiful process!

mindset

Life is an incredible gift and being a midwife may simply be one of the most enriching and awe-inspiring calls to service possible! I have been blessed to be a part of the birthing of brand new babies, witnessing their first breaths and the coming together of families. I have been charged with holding the space and keeping mothers, birthing people and babies safe during this rite of passage.

Is it easy to be a midwife...hell no!! Is it soul sustaining and so full of purpose...100% yes. Would I ever do anything different? I've tried...lol...but my very essence IS a midwife and healer. It is what I have been put in this world to do, it is my souls work.

And I've got work to do to birth BIG visions!! One's that empower and support and guide pregnant people and families into health and sovereignty.

Who wouldn't want to re-create new kind of maternity 'healthy' care system that actual makes a positive impact in the lives of the individuals and families it serves? One where women, pregnant folks have a voice? Where they are equal partners in their own care? Where support, guidance and education is provided to help pregnant people have the healthiest and happiest pregnancy and birth experiences possible. Where environments and practices are created that actual support and enhance the physiological processes thus reducing unnecessary interventions.

I believe in my vision and how changing the way maternity healthy care is provided has the possibility to change the fabric of society and shift resources back into the hands who need them most to promote healthy families and communities.

We can improve outcomes, while saving healthcare dollars, while educating our clients and families into health practices that promote wellness when we bring a balanced approach to the table.

I do seem to consistently choose BIG battles, that's because I am a visionary. One's that seem unsurmountable (just like giving birth can feel sometimes) and my biggest superpower I bring to the table over and over...is my ability to continue to see the GOLDEN outline around any cloud and keep chasing my visions regardless of the obstacles that stand in my way.

To move from the darkness or a place of struggle to the light and one of creativity and solution. Is anyone's or any one's life easy peasy with no ups and downs or challenges? Is pregnancy all rainbows and butterflies (well...there are certainly a lot!) or does it come with innate challenges?

Nothing is easy. No one path is easy. Of course not. Life is rich with all kinds of experiences and feelings.

To reflect on this gorgeous picture I took of a recent sunset...What is your golden lining in the clouds? How do you move from a place of darkness to one of light? What guides you back to peace?

A midwife is NOT a doula nor a doctor and a doula IS NOT a midwife.

I want to bust up the myth that doulas and midwives are the same or midwives and doctors are the same.

This could not be further from the truth!

Midwives are in fact the bridge between doulas and doctors, between ancient wisdom and science, between being capable of holding the space for a women or birthing person to unfold and find their power and guiding them to it, between normal physiology and pathology, and midwives are capable of allowing the uncontrollable act of giving birth in a safe, supportive and physiological enhancing environment.

Midwives are medically trained AND infused with ancient wisdom. They know how to apply medical interventions when necessary and refrain from stepping in and interfering in the process the rest of the time. In fact, they know how to enhance all the multifaceted processes that are unfolding through pregnancy, labor, birth and the postpartum.

Midwives have the capability to provide the same standard of care (including most of the modern medical interventions with the exception of surgery) that doctors provide and society expects AND at the same time provide truly holistic care that tends to and nurtures the physical, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of health while at the same time...encouraging women and pregnant folks to be full participants in their healthcare.

They infuse the people they work with, with confidence and trust in themselves, their bodies and their babies because midwives trust women, trust the process, and trust themselves.

Midwives literally are the only care providers capable of SETTING YOU UP TO SUCCEED!!

They have extensive and holistic medical training which includes academic and hands-on clinical experience which takes years to complete. Doulas go to a weekend long training and attend three births prior to certification. They provide physical, emotional and informational support (primarily during labor) and are an incredible member of the professional maternity healthcare team.

So...go find yourself a midwife in your home community and if you can't find one...we've got you covered!

I am so grateful to all you midwives out there sitting at the feet of birthing women and people.

💥 May you be safe from persecution

💥 May your hands always know how to care, to heal, to hold, to serve and to receive.

💥 May you have the stamina to serve many generations being fully engaged in your own self care to avoid burnout :)

💥 May you be offered praise and gratitude for your continuous and tireless service.

💥 And when you are broken, and your own life overwhelms, May you be cared for by your co.munity in the same way you offer your care.

With so much love and gratitude my heart, I give thanks for the midwives...past, current and those who will come after us.

❤❤❤

Happy Spring! You remember that expression..."Bloom where you are Planted?

It really use to annoy and trigger me. I felt that the "soil" I had been placed in was inhabitable for my spirit, my profession, my passion and life to grow within.

And in many ways that was true for a long time which made it difficult for me on so many levels.

But later, I realized the expression has nothing to do with outward circumstance and everything to do with our own, private, inner world.

🦋 So yes, my all means bloom where you are planted!
🦋 Bloom within yourself in a real way.
🦋 Gaze upon yourself, at all times, with the adoring eyes of your beloved.

Direct that divine gaze towards and into yourself. You are your own beloved!!
YOU are who you came here to be...to love and to hold, in sickness and in health, in light AND in darkness.

Enjoy the coming of the light and know that you CAN bloom, right here, right now, and in who you are. ❤️

Celebrate the entirety of who you are!

It doesn't mean at all that we can not change our outer circumstances to better serve our lives, goals, self and family and in fact, when you can ally with yourself...it is certainly more likely that solutions will appear :)

Keep your eyes p*eled!

So much love to you all today. So much gratitude for you all today and everyday.

Oh, and this is my beautiful, beloved daughter Amara shining in her radiance this day and all days.

                     

VULNERABILITY forges deep CONNECTIONs with self, others, and our innate human experience.

It opens up our hearts and expands possibilities, awareness and perception.

Vulnerability is a courageous act of showing and revealing who we really are.
We enter into an entirely different space of holding and honoring ourselves and others and find truth, clarity, compassion, understanding, and empathy there.

Can you speak to the strengths you have found in yourself or life situations when you dared to be vulnerable?

Vulnerability is an innate part of pregnancy, birth and parenting...it helps us reach out to our community and say "Here I am, can we do this together?"

Vulnerability shows the world who we are and is a gift to share :)

I have personally realized that when I risked true vulnerability...that was the fertilizer for growth ❤️

The Magical - Mystical - Physiologically Impressive Placenta!

I seriously love this organ that both mother or pregnant person and baby build together.

It's literally is an extension of the baby's body, reaching out through the salty waters fo the womb to make contact with it's parent.

The placenta is soooo much more than we know it to be. It is not only the grand central station where all thing Mother or Pregnant Person meet with all things Baby.

The physical, the emotional, the social and the spiritual. It modulates every level of connection between parent and baby!

With it's innate and complex wisdom, it filters the baby's experience of the world it lives in each and every minute of the day.

Celebrate your Placentas!!
Give thanks for the incredibly complex job they do to support you babe 😊

This moment * baby in arms * heart full * body exalted * time standing still..

The whole of the world, seeded in the womb, grown within the darkness, brought into the light, and into loving arms.

Silence wraps the family and tucks them in together...breathing each other in...knowing and belonging and commitment to living and loving and supporting and growing and contributing positively to this world.

Beautiful photo

Your AMAZING BODY!! Interested in. reading a full account of the changes that are happening in each and every part of your physical body? Check out our guide on just that!

It will definitely give you a deep understanding of everything that is happening why those changes can cause some of the pesky symptoms you may be experiencing such as nausea and vomiting, heartburn, fatigue, back ache and the list goes on.

Knowing just how much work your body is doing for you and your baby also deepens your connection, gratitude and appreciation for your body. We all love to be recognized and appreciated :)

And finally, it helps you understand why it is so important to provide your body with the rest, nutrition, and movement it needs to Thrive through Pregnancy.

Thriving through Pregnancy is a cohesive process that anyone can learn. It takes courage, conviction, persistence, knowledge and a commitment to being the primary care provider for your baby, yourself and your family. Taking charge of your health and the health of your family is a powerful statement of self and family LOVE!

🌸 Is it easy? No!
🌸 Is it worth it? Yes!
🌸 Does it require self growth? Yes!
🌸 Is growth easy? No!
🌸 Is the transformation within yourself and your life worth it? Absolutely!

You are the only person who can take care of your body which just happens to be your baby's entire universe! The daily choices you make today, affect your baby's future. I invite you to step into the empowering process of a conscious pregnancy, one designed by you on your own terms!

R-E-S-I-L-I-E-N-C-E!!! you all! That is where you at and it is not what you may think it is.

It has been though that resilience is about being flexible and have the ability to 'bounce back' but it is not! It can not be about bouncing back because there IS no going back...there is only the relentless river moving us forward.

Resilience is:

🐛 being flexible yet strong!
🐛 having the courage to accept what is
🐛 having the knowing that what is or what has been has nothing to do with what is to come or what is possible
🌸 having the confidence (which is simply trust in yourself) you need to move forward
🦋 JUMPING into your FUTURE as you choose to confidently DESIGN it!

In what way is pregnancy calling you to be resilient today?

How are you designing your pregnancy on your own terms?

What is the future you are courageously accepting and creating for your self?

Comment below so we can all help hold each others visions!!

With RESILIENCE!