"The Farm" midwifery workshop

This month I was asked to help with the midwifery workshop that they hold at "The Farm" in Summertown, TN.  I am having my baby in a cabin in the woods there and my midwife lives on the 3000 acres of land in this small community.

Ina May Gaskin

I was excited to be the pregnant model for a number of young women training to be the next midwives of our world. Birth is truly taking a beautiful path back to the way God intended it to be, spiritual, non invasive, incredibly connecting and natural.  So many women are working to change the way we bring these fresh and pure spirits into the world.

They came from all around; California, Florida, NYC, even as far as London.  All these girls came here to Tennessee to train under Mrs. Ina May Gaskin.  It was so wonderful to walk in the clinic and see all these female faces on the floor checking each other's pulses and blood pressure.  I don't have a community here and I haven't found my own group of women to connect with since I moved here so I really embraced the feminine energy and empowerment I felt being in this room...boy, do I miss my yoga girls, and ruff house girls, and the females in my family back home...Ina May walked up to me and we had an instant connection.  She asked about my pregnancy and we talked about some of her experiences, she is very engaging and touchy, just how I like it.

Pinard Horn

Fetal Stethoscope

I had many women touching my belly and feeling for the baby, listening to the heartbeat with a fetal stethoscope or pinard horn only.
The beauty of this is that there is no intervention, nothing creates any stress to the growing baby.  Dobblers and Ultrasounds send penetrating sound waves through the uterus to outline the baby and to listen to her heartbeat, often the baby will try to move out of the way of the waves because it is stressing for her, ultrasounds have also been linked to causing brain damage and even cancer in infants, natural pregnancy mentor, The fetal stethoscope is long enough that I was able to hear the heartbeat and it sounded perfect and clear. Just to hear this first sound of life has made me so protective, I don't want anything harming or stressing her in any way. I am willing to take on all I need to to keep her as safe as possible.  With touch alone we were able to feel the babies positioning from head to toe, and if she happened to be breech, with touch and communication the midwives at The Farm have been able to turn babies in the womb before birth.  I am so thankful that I am so close to this place with these brilliant ladies who work with the flow of nature while I bring my baby to this world.

I Loved the connection and respect that all the training midwives gave me at the workshop, I left with a burst of energy that I haven't felt for a long time. Women have such a great power when in groups together and I am understanding more and more the need for women empowerment in my life. Not saying that JJ doesn't fill me with incredible energy of unconditional Love, cause he does, but his energy is different than the feminine energy I receive when in large groups of women.

This education and experience I received has sparked another interest in me to seek out some training in the field of natural childbirth, whether becoming a doula or a midwife myself I am inspired and would Love to help women bring their babies into this world the natural way.