Image credit: knowyourmidwife.com
In November, The North American Registry of Midwives accepted my application into the PEP program.
That should really have about eleventy-one exclamation points behind it. After all, it is the ripening of a long-blossoming fruit. The result of a dream hatched over seven years ago, when my youngest was just a baby. I called the midwife who had walked with me during my last two pregnancies, Merrie, and asked to meet with her in order to discuss becoming a midwife. In her wisdom, I remember that she said to me, “You don’t want to be a midwife,” and proceeded to tell me all the reasons why it was not something to just walk into.
It was at that meeting when I first heard the word, “doula.” A what-a? Her assistant at the time was one, and Merrie encouraged me to meet with her. She assured me that if I could hack it as a doula, then midwifery might become an option later. That is how I was born into the life of a birth professional. I took my training in the fall of 2007, when my youngest was only two months old. A lovely babysitter came with me, and I nursed him through sessions, and she played with him in between. I worked slowly through my training, taking the maximum amount of time CAPPA gave me to finish my certification, but it was worth it.
Through it, I gained experience outside my comfort zones. I learned that I can live on call, and work around my family.
Soon, it wasn’t enough. I wanted to teach. So, I trained through CAPPA (of course), under Desirre Andrews (who was a doula, lactation educator, and a dually-certified childbirth educator at the time), to become a childbirth educator. Teaching has always been at the heart of who I am. I often find myself teaching, even when it isn’t wanted or needed–a character trait I hope is being shaped into a far better tool than it has been in the past. At this point, it became obvious that I needed a place to teach, but not having a regular income, nor a family budget to pay for a place, I sought help from Desirre again. She had a lovely office and classroom space, and was wanting an educator to help her as she began to assist a midwife (the same one mentioned above, in fact). I approached her, and asked that she become my professional mentor, and allow me to work with her to grow, teach, learn, and have space and time to build Birth In Joy into whatever it needed to become.
I haven’t looked back since. It has been a wonderful working relationship, and I have been blessed with a treasured friend whom I feel is my “big sister.” Working with her has challenged my perceptions, my biases, my experience, my emotions, my mind, my heart, and my very character.
Soon, even that was no longer enough for me. I have always taken a light client load, because my family needed me to. So, I knew I wasn’t beginning to burn out. Far from it! My passion and love for this work has only grown, over the years. Thanks mostly to my fabulous, beautiful clients and students, who have shown me quite a cross-section of birthing women and the strength they each have in common. What a world we live in, and what a privilege to have walked with so many through such a sacred, intimate time in their lives!
Desirre declared to me, when she started assisting Merrie, that she only wanted to gain insight and skills she could use as a doula. She wasn’t going to become a midwife.
Ahem.
She is now a Certified Professional Midwife, registered in the state of Colorado. Ahhhh, life. We never really know, do we?
Except that I do know. Midwifery has always been my goal. My dream. What I want to be when I grow up.
So, as soon as Desirre became a preceptor with NARM this past September, I started my paperwork. Phase 1 has been accepted by NARM, and I am working on both Phase 2 and the 43 pages of skills I must master and prove. (No, shaking chicken bones and chanting are not on the skills exam. Just so you know.)
So it begins.
My journey to becoming a midwife. “With woman.”
I didn’t know I was ready until one day, I was.
What is your passion? What dreams are you pursuing?
Grace & Peace,
Tiffany
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