Midwife under supervision
Saturday begins a part of my education that I have waited 17 years for. Ever since my daughter was born I have wanted to be a midwife. I have worked towards achieving the goal here on Nantucket by working on my education. I have been chipping away at the MEAC academic requirements under the supervision of Sybille Andersen and have been attending births both in the hospital as a doula and at home as an assistant to Sybille Andersen. The clinical requirement is harder to accomplish on Nantucket in a timely manner simply because of the number of women having babies every year. Last year on Nantucket there were a total of about 140 babies born. Only a fraction of those where babies born at home. In order for me to gain the experience I will need to ultimately offer midwifery care for home births I need to travel to an area where I can gain experience in a more timely manner. Saturday I will be headed to Better Birth, a birth center in Utah that offers prenatal care and births at the birth center or at home.
The first week I will be there I will be attending intensive workshops to teach prenatal care, charting, suturing, cervical dilation checks, IVs, catheterization, Neonatal Resuscitation, and newborn exams. During the following 3 weeks that I am at Better Birth I will work as a midwife under supervision. 45 women are due during this time. will attend prenatal visits, attend births at home and in the birth center, work with 4 midwives, and learn from the women and midwives I am working for.
Many women here have asked if when I come back I will be a midwife. The answer is not yet. I have to complete the academic portion as well as continue to gain experience. This summer I will be taking chemistry and microbiology at Cape Cod Community College, continue to work on the classes I am taking through The National College of Midwifery and will continue to work as a doula and with Sybille. Once I have complete the academic and clinical experience I will have to sit for the NARM exam. Once I have successfully completed the exam I will be able to work as a Certified Professional Midwife. That means I will be able to offer prenatal, well woman, and home birth services on Nantucket.
My time in Utah is one big step towards my goal. I am excited to be able to take this step at this point in my life. I am leaving with the support of my family who will celebrate Caillean’s birthday, receive her college acceptance letters and decide where she will be attending college in the fall while I am away. I will miss baseball try outs and the joy of being a mother. I can only take this step because of them. I am so grateful for their continued support of my dream career. I am also beyond grateful for the friends that have offered to help. After Caillean set up the YouCaring site many friends donated and continue to donate towards the expenses associated with being in school. Friends have helped fill in the necessary but less glamourous roles of being a mom like driving the kids home after school. They have offered to have their number on hand for dinners, play dates with the kids, and someone to call just in case. A dear friend even offered to install my bees! That means the world to me. To have the support of this island community makes this step possible. I promise to take what I learn and bring it back to Nantucket to offer families another option for prenatal care and home birth.