International Day of the midwife

Happy International Day of the Midwife!

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say this day comes with deep weight.  I know for me, I feel a wave of mixed emotions whenever May 5th comes around.  (And this year, might I add, the irony of the last few days regarding the threat to reproductive health rights and privacy just before International Day of the Midwife does not escape me.) 

Being a midwife is a ride into different portals of the universe; a bumpy ride where we often find ourselves questioning our sanity, feeling disturbed by the passengers sitting across from us, sometimes colliding into immovable objects, and even wishing we could literally jump out of the window and be done with the ride.  It’s also a magical trip with incredible views, truly beautiful company, and inexplicable joy along the way—I swear the universe is a sight to behold through the eyes of a midwife…

There will be many other days ahead for me to share more about the challenges and heaviness to being a midwife.  

But today I want to share a little piece of joy.  I am opening my own private practice here in Renton, Washington!

After a long year of patient and gentle recovery since taking a sabbatical, I have found myself with renewed hope and anticipation for what my work in midwifery may look like.  And with a pair of wobbly legs, I feel like a baby midwife again…rising to the conviction and passion I’ve had my whole life for reproductive healthcare and justice. 

I’m not going to lie: I don’t see the same starry-eyed midwife that I was a few years ago when I look in the mirror.  I have a healthy serving of skepticism sitting in my stomach and a crown of self-respect teeter-tottering on my head.  Radical self-love as a BIPOC midwife means evolution and adaptation, I am learning.  

And so here I am, evolving and open to change, welcoming this part of the ride.  I don’t know what this will look like and do not pretend to have control over it.  But I trust the people I will meet along the way and look forward to whatever magic they will share with me—we do this life in a village, after all; and midwifery is no exception.  

And on that note, I’d like to announce my practice, Village Midwifery & Family Care, will be officially open on June 21st, 2022! 

Happy day to ALL midwives today—may the magic of your work sparkle over your tired body and warm you the way it did when you first found yourself on this ride.