by Carmen Southall-Wamhoff

Your own introspection:  Please use the following questions as guides to create a well felt out journal/exploration paper on complex birth.  We expect that this paper will be as long as YOU need it to be as it is for you!

Where does all of this leave you? What questions about complex birth do you need to continue exploring? What do you feel more confident about? Who in your community (local or non-local) can you go to when you run into these things if you need more support? What needs to change in your community to better support people having complex births?

On an internal level; how are you doing? Is complex birth overwhelming or can you see how it might also be a variation of normal? What do you see in your own beliefs and consciousness that could use a shift around these topics? 

Our goal is not to encourage people to go out there and attend breech or twin birth without confidence or training; HOWEVER, as a one-day independent midwife, can you see the politics/fear/rules and regs that will keep most midwives from even considering such a thing? That said…don’t be a martyr! But “complex birth” skills will die a death unless the women ask us to keep them on so that they have choices.

Where do I fall when it comes to complex birth (twin,breech). I have completed NRP and must complete BLS every 3 months due to my job. So this keeps my skills up with newborn cpr. I will be completing Breech without Borders next month so having this class right before was great.  I have been practicing with my pelvis and baby. I always stay humble and never take anything for granted with births. I always remember Karen Strange saying “feel the room take a breath stay calm”. There is a great OB/GYN who my preceptor has a great relationship with and I plan on making sure I get to know this  doctor as well. My preceptor is also getting her WHNP so that will be another option for support for a complex birth. In our community we need more midwives who do breech/twin births, hopefully that will change. I wanna be the one who helps make that change.

I am doing well and I feel prepared in case of a complex birth. Since I have been in this class the last 3 clients of my preceptor had babies breech at 37 weeks. She asked if I was trying to get a breech before the April breech workshop here in St. Louis Mo which we are attending together. But all babies were born vertex but I got good at baby mapping during this time. I see this as a variation of normal and will continue to learn all I can so that I can help families have options. I know rules and laws exist but I also wanna be part of the change in that as well for midwives in my state.