My first influences along this line were family; my mother and my aunt had homebirths. However, I didn’t think of midwifery as my life’s calling at that point. In fact, I didn’t really even consider homebirth as an option with my first child. As a result, I had a lot of interventions that I later found out were unnecessary. One such needless intervention was being given a drug that was not supposed to be used any longer in childbirth, as it could cause cerebral palsy.

Another factor in my trek towards midwifery came with a friend’s pregnancy, and with her asking me to attend Bradley classes with her. We knew someone who was trained in the method developed by Dr. Robert Bradley. This teacher loaned us many books to read. My friend tentatively looked through them and thought they were a good idea. I devoured them and continued to borrow more.

Another step along my path to midwifery came from attending another hospital birth with this Bradley teacher. The laboring mom was treated with disrespect and her wishes were ignored. The obstetrician was negligent in some of her duties, which resulted in the baby being born into a trashcan. I was enraged by those events, and my outrage spurred me on to pursue midwifery.

The state that I lived in made it very difficult to become a midwife. However, that didn’t stop me. I researched homebirth and midwifery independently for several years. Then I had an unexpected move to Texas, so I looked into midwifery here. In a number of ways, it was much easier to become a midwife in Texas. Not necessarily easy, just easier. So eventually I got enrolled in a program, and six months later started an apprenticeship part-time.  I recently turned 30 and am looking at the last year of my schooling. 

The title of my article is about choosing—present tense—to be a midwife. Even now it continues to be a choice. It’s a clear choice to make, but it’s not always easy. When my grandmother suggests that I should get a job with insurance, I choose to be a midwife. When I have trouble finding good, reliable babysitters, I choose to be a midwife. When I have to wake my children at 2am to take them to a babysitter, I choose to be a midwife.

Every now and then an easier job pops up, one that is better paying or offers a better schedule. Sure, it can be tempting; I might consider it briefly. But deep down I know that is not what I am meant to do.

So far I have listed mostly the downside of midwifery. So you may be asking, “Why do you even want to do this?” Days like today explain why.

Today, I caught a beautiful baby girl. Her mom had a pretty easy labor. She didn’t need IV’s, drugs, induction, or C-section. So she didn’t get those things. I helped her achieve that. Today, I caught a beautiful baby girl. The baby didn’t have any trauma or any drugs. So she nursed immediately. She didn’t get unnecessary injections of Vitamin K or Hepatitis B vaccine. She was very alert. She was handled gently by people who loved her, rather than being scrubbed vigorously by a stranger (nurse) routinely performing a task. This is why I am choosing to be a midwife.

But today I also saw this same family bullied by a hospital after it became necessary to transport the mother because of postpartum complications. Today I witnessed these educated, loving parents being treated as if they were ignorant, or worse, a threat to their own child. Hospital staff did not like it at all when they would not admit their perfectly healthy baby into the hospital. Eventually, the mother received the medical attention she had come for, but while she was being treated, her husband continued to be harassed with the threat of being “reported” to Child Protective Services if he did not immediately comply with their wishes.

This father only wanted what was best for his baby. His baby was not sick. Yet because he would not give into the hospital’s demands to admit his baby, he was threatened with security guards and Child Protective Services. I stood by the father’s side. I supported him and helped him through this ordeal. Child Protective Services was called in, but the CPS worker agreed that the father had done nothing wrong. Instead of scolding these parents and their midwives, he explained to the hospital staff that the parents were within their rights, and that the midwives had done nothing wrong.

Days like today—both the positive and negative experiences—are a very large part of the reason I am choosing to be a midwife.