This seems like a straightforward question – what happens at my pregnancy visits – but I spend a lot of time talking about the current and upcoming visit’s components. Common questions include: When can I find out the gender of my baby? When is my next ultrasound? When do I have to take that glucose…
Author: amidwifenation
Gift Ideas for Student Midwives
This past week, we chatted gifts for midwives or birth workers and the post was (unexpectedly) quite popular! I’ve received some really touching cards and gifts over the past ten years from families, mamas and friends. Each has been a treasure to me and I know I’ll still have each of those treasures when I’m…
Gift Ideas for Midwives or Birth Workers
This post has been in the docket for a while. I have randomly added to the list for over a year but think it’s about time to share. Holidays are on the way and you may want to shower your favorite midwife, birth worker, doula, OB/GYN or labor and delivery nurse with one of these…
20 Tips for Mamas During Pregnancy
I’m finishing up this post sitting outside at sunset because the weather is finally cooling off in Virginia! Hallelujah! My husband told me the other day that my personality shines in the fall and winter – is that the opposite of hibernation? Either way, I am loving the cooler temperatures and looking forward to sweater…
Happy Midwifery Week!
In honor of the week, here are some of the best posts on the blog about all things midwifery. To each of you that are a midwife, this is the most wonderful and difficult calling of a lifetime (other than marriage and parenting IMO!). Thank you for doing what you do. Thank you for the…
Abby’s Second Birth Story!
Hello friends! Today we get to share in the sweetest birth story of my dear friend. Abby shared her first birth story a while back. If you missed it, she had a planned cesarean section for breech position. Well, she went on to have an awesome vaginal birth after cesarean – commonly known as a…
20 Tips for Midwives or Midwife Students (or any birth worker!)
Does anyone feel this way sometimes?! I used to think about this meme a lot while I was active duty! But Happy Thursday to you! We are suffering from a Disney World hangover and at house but loving all the memories we made. And the littlest one and I have been sick for a few…
10 Tips for Traveling While Pregnant
Whew…we just came back from a week at DisneyWorld! It was a blast but traveling while 29 weeks pregnant is no easy feat. Each pregnancy I’ve gotten better at managing the expected discomforts of the gravid (pregnant) belly and body. But it doesn’t make it any easier. Try these tips the next time you’re headed…
Recap from the 2022 Postpartum Support International Conference
In July, I went to the Postpartum Support International Conference in New Orleans, LA. My friend Tina from my DNP program tagged along and we had a lot of fun exploring New Orleans between the various lectures we attended. In retrospect, the conference isn’t geared towards providers and there really weren’t a lot of obstetric…
Help Alabama Open a Birth Center!
It’s advocacy day at AMN for the state of Alabama. Alabama is historically a hard state for midwifery. Stringent regulations have prevented licensure, practice and birth for many decades. But, there is light on the horizon. Dr. Stephanie Mitchell is a doctoral prepared certified nurse midwife that moved to Gainesville, AL to open up the…
“You’re cleared for exercise.” Now what?
Today we have a guest post from Megan, a physical therapist passionate about women’s health, pregnancy and postpartum care. I reached out to see if she would share some general background and knowledge about physical therapy in pregnancy and postpartum periods. She’s happy to chat more in person if you have additional questions and concerns…
The BEST Contraception and Family Planning Shared Decision-Making Tool
Disclaimer: Best is my opinion. But I have spent hundreds of hours reading about contraception and contraceptive counseling. And many of those hours have been spent pouring over existing contraceptive tools. I came to a point in my DNP program where my faculty advisor told me “Well, you’re just going to have to make a…
7 Newsletters You Should Subscribe To…
Hello and happy week! I am recovering from conference fatigue but loved all the new information and resources I picked up at the Postpartum Support International conference in New Orleans last week. I always make a list of things to look up and new resources people recommend at each conference – the list from last…
Why I’m Planning a Home Birth
Yep, you read that correctly. I’m planning a home birth! In retrospect, the first birth should have been a home birth. The husband wasn’t on board with that idea and I knew I would labor at home most of the labor. The second birth could have been a home birth too…and I try not to…
Update Your Discharge Teaching (Part 2)
Happy week! Is the summer flying by for anyone else? I looked at the calendar and it’s nearly JULY. Seriously ya’ll, where does the time fly? I’m excited about next month though – I’m headed to my first conference in a few years (the postpartum support international conference in New Orleans!) If you’re going to…
Update Your Discharge Teaching (Part 1)
Total truth: I am missing some Alaska this week. So please bear with me while we look at some pretty glaciers 🙂 I came off a 24 hour shift today and am plain old tired. There were lots of babies and some crazy triage calls…i.e. can you take oxycodone for a migraine in the 3rd…
New Tools and Tool Updates!
Hello hello! Today was a milestone. I submitted what I think is the LAST edited version of a manuscript that will hopefully be published in the fall (fingers crossed!). And my littles napped long enough for me to put the final touches on the 38 and 39-40 week templates. And then I was able to…
International Day to End Obstetric Fistula
Happy Monday to you! I’m celebrating turning 36 years old as well – which oddly enough, seems to be the most uneventful and peaceful birthday I have ever had! Does that happen as you get older? I even made my own birthday cake – more as an activity for the kids than anything else –…
Behind the scenes lately…
Hey friends! Wow. If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been in the past 6 weeks, I’ll tell ya. It has all to do with this little one! We’re expecting baby #4 in the fall and goodness, gracious me – I have never been so nauseous my entire life. Does nausea get worse the more times…
The State of Midwifery Sneak Peeks…
Happy day to you! If you’re a long time reader of the blog, usually spring time means a series on the state of midwifery. This year I opted to skip the series because we’re still in the throes of a pandemic. There have been some great changes in how prenatal care was delivered – enter…