assistants

2025 Year End Update
by

2025 Year End Update

Dear friends and clients of Gentle Delivery,        

I’m not sure how time passes so quickly: here we find ourselves at the close of yet another year. It’s always good to take a bit of time to reflect over some of the highlights and challenges, and I’m once again grateful for those of you who have invited me to be part of your family’s story in such a special way.

The past year was intentionally a slower one when it comes to the number of babies I was privileged to welcome. I continue to find that life has various seasons, and trying to navigate how to focus more on my own children versus putting more energy into midwifery is a real part of life right now. As my children grow, the need for mom’s focus and presence seems to be more intense (in a different way than during the years when they were all tiny!), which in turn has caused me to pull back from too busy of a midwifery schedule. We also took some time this year for some out-of-the ordinary events such as Joel and I celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary, spending several days at a missions conference in Pittsburgh, a week-long trip to Mexico (visiting missionaries who are part of the ministry Joel works for), several camping/family trips, and then our most recent opportunity: spending 5 weeks in Thailand while Joel attended an international Bible Translation conference and then spent several weeks teaching at a missions training school for young people. This trip was such a rich opportunity and we have returned home with many amazing memories!

When it comes to babies in 2025, there were many sweet little footprints added to the board in the office. While some years include mostly repeat clients, this year I worked with quite a few families for the first time. The smallest baby weighed in at 6#15oz and the largest at 8#15oz, and these newborns ranged from being the first baby in the family to the fifth.

Births weren’t the only aspect of my midwifery work this past year: I also spent time working on renewing my Certified Professional Midwife credential for the 5th time, making this 16 years since I became certified. I was also involved in editing & looking over an exam that another group of midwives is putting together for a certifying agency. This was a great opportunity to brush up on fine details and give input on what is important for newly graduated midwives to be familiar with. I also ended up doing quite a bit of long-distance communication with women who are serving on the mission field or are in areas without midwifery care, so all of these opportunities keep me continually studying and learning so that I can pass on help to others!

As I think about all it takes to provide midwifery care, I want to give a shout-out to the amazing assistants who drop everything at a moment’s notice to come assist me at births! These ladies do so much to make your birth experiences good ones, and I’m thankful to have Lanna, Emily, Janine and others willing to help out. One highlight of this year was when my own daughter Yoanna was invited to join me at a birth. She’s dreamed of training to be an assistant for years, and this was such a delightful experience for her. As we head into the next year, I plan to involve her more, as she has had the opportunity this fall to take a basic Neonatal resuscitation class as well as doing quite a bit of specific study in the field of midwifery. I’ve always hoped that one of my daughter’s might want to join me, and I’m excited about involving her more when it works out.

In closing, just a reminder that you can find quite a few helpful articles and links listed on the Gentle Delivery website, so be sure to check it out. Use the search bar function to look for topics you might need information about, and please feel free to pass these links on to friends! Our summer play date was a huge success, so stay tuned for more of those to happen in 2026 as I hope to get these on a more regular schedule again. If you want to be added to the email list for playgroup invites, send me a message and ask to be added to the list: gentlemidwife@gmail.com. Be sure to add the addresses of any friends who may want to join, as these are not limited to Gentle Delivery clients but are intended to build up the local homebirth community. May each of you have a blessed Christmas season!

~Kelsey Martin/Gentle Delivery Midwifery

by

Updates & Stats from 2023!

As the end of 2023 approaches, it’s once again time to remember the blessings and challenges of another year, and give you all a little update on the work of Gentle Delivery Midwifery. I’m always grateful to look back and remember the families I was privileged to work with and the babies I was able to meet. Thank you for allowing me to be part of your lives in such a special way!

I know many of you find it interesting to hear some of the stats from the year, so here’s a few for those of you who enjoy such things. I’m anticipating at least one more baby for 2023, but as of now the smallest baby was 6# 8oz, and the largest was 10#12oz. Quite a variation of normal, isn’t it?!? Around 60% of these babies were born in water, and ranged from arriving around a week and a half early to 13 days late. Most of the families I worked with this year were new to Gentle Delivery, though I served three families for the 3rd time and one family for the 4th, which is extra special! I was also happy to help a number of families with questions, consults, and involvement during pregnancy and birth both in person and virtually…assisting families in networking with other providers, supporting previous client families that have relocated and providing consult help to families with specific questions or concerns has been an additional focus of my midwifery work this year.

I had a variety of assistants at births depending on location, availability and circumstances. Between Christine, Lanna, Emily and Denae, I was thankful for great addition to the birth teams, and all the help these ladies give. For those delivering in early months of the New Year, I’m excited to introduce you to Natasha Yoder, a midwifery student/assistant who plans to come help me for a few weeks as Christine is expecting a baby of her own in January.

 Besides staying busy helping with babies arriving in other families, we were grateful to welcome another baby of our own. Shekinah Glory joined our family on March 24, after a short but intense labor. She was also born in the water, and her sisters were present along with our midwife and birth team. Nursing was quite the journey once again, and we ended up making the drive to Albany, NY to have Dr. Kotlow revise her tongue & lip ties with laser. After a few intense weeks of monitoring weight gain, pumping/feeding, and all the stress this adds to the initial adjustments, we were SO thankful to have the procedure work effectively. She has since gained weight quickly, absolutely loves nursing, and refuses to take either a pacifier or bottle!  Thankfully she has plenty of older siblings who are always happy to have a turn helping with baby sister, and now that she is 8 months old it feels like we are finally figuring out a rhythm to family life once again. I think we learn more with each new baby, and this time we purposefully booked a long break from births in order to have the much-needed time to recover, adjust and enjoy the newborn stage without extra pressure or demands.

Continuing education classes were another focus for this year: attending the GOLD midwifery conference virtually was helpful, and I was especially happy to once again take the Breech Without Borders intensive class. This includes online lectures as well as over 8 hours of in-person instruction and training, and is so valuable in enabling families to have more options when it comes to safe breech birth. Though I’m still happy if babies want to come head first instead of making me put these skills into practice too often.

I can’t finish without once again expressing my thanks to my own husband and children who truly make my midwifery involvement a family ministry. Whether it’s changing plans at a moment’s notice, babysitting, holding schedules loosely, taking care of supper prep or all the other factors, it has been a blessing to have their support and encouragement. It can sometimes feel like a constant juggling act to balance midwifery with the family, church and ministry responsibilities that our family is involved in!  My oldest daughter has been an amazing help this fall, coming along to babysit Shekinah during births so baby could nurse as needed while I could continue to focus on providing care.

As we head into 2024, it looks like there may be some changes on the horizon. While none of our plans have been finalized, it’s possible that our family may relocate to the Philipsburg area sometime this next summer. This has the potential of changing some of my availability, though at this point I would still consider State College to be within my care radius. Keep tabs on the website or Facebook page, as I’ll make sure to post updates if this happens! I’m hoping to see more of you this next year, too, as my goal is to resume seasonal playdates beginning this winter, so stay tuned for an announcement. 

Blessings to each of you in the New Year!   ~Kelsey Martin @ Gentle Delivery Midwifery

End of Year Update for 2020!
by

End of Year Update for 2020!

Some highlights of the year!

Dear friends and clients of Gentle Delivery,                                                

      As 2020 comes to a close, I am reminded of the fact that we really do not know what the next day or year will hold. Last year at this time our family was anticipating the arrival of our fifth child, little knowing how many strange twists and turns the New Year would bring to everyone all over the world. I am grateful to rest in the confidence that nothing takes God by surprise, and that He cares about the details of our lives, which provides strength & courage to press ahead into the future!

       After adding baby Tirzah to our family last December, I enjoyed a lengthy maternity leave, and felt so blessed and cared for during those first postpartum weeks. Thanks to many of you for your part in this! It’s true that you learn some things by experience that you couldn’t learn through academic study, and I am more committed than ever to encouraging moms to get adequate rest, adjust expectations, and take the time to really recuperate during those first postpartum weeks. It really is worth it! This baby has been our most contented, too, and while there are many things that probably play into this, one key factor that seemed to make a difference was the addition of infant probiotics into her daily routine from the very beginning. If you have struggled with fussiness in your baby, please take a minute to check out the blog post I wrote where I detailed this information—I really want to see more families benefit from my own challenging experiences!

            As you can imagine, the COVID pandemic has affected midwifery in more ways than one. After the initial quarantine I have been doing prenatal and postpartum care visits for local clients in their homes, as it reduces the exposure for those coming in and out of my home office. I’ve also had more inquiries into homebirth this year than ever before, as many families are concerned about hospital restrictions and germ exposure. Between this added level of interest in midwifery care and my added family responsibilities, I have needed to limit the distance I can travel for births, which has meant turning down requests in outlying areas even for a few clients I’ve worked with before.  

            One fun aspect of care this year has been the large amount of repeat clients I’ve been privileged to serve! It was really special to catch my first “fourth baby” for a family, and have the opportunity to see babies that I have caught in years past welcoming baby siblings. With one more 2020 baby left to go, the current stats for the biggest baby this year was 8#14oz, and the smallest was 5#14oz. The earliest baby came around 2 weeks early, and the latest was almost 2 weeks late, which goes to show that there is much variation in the range of “normal”. Assisting my back-up midwife with the home delivery of twins was another extra-special experience this year! Speaking of my back-up midwife, I am grateful to have the assistance of RoseMarie Spicher to care for clients when I am unavailable, and I’ve been glad to have a working relationship with a community of midwives in the general area who have all needed to pull together to cover for each other at times due to COVID exposure or for other reasons. I’m also excited to be working regularly again with Lynelle, as she plans to attend births as my assistant this next year after taking some time off to welcome her own baby this past summer.       

            Heading into 2021, I’m anticipating meeting many sweet babies, and I’m enjoying making new connections with many families who are choosing midwifery care and homebirth options for the first time. I continue to feel a sense of gratefulness towards each of you for giving me the privilege of working with your family as you journey through this intimate season of life. It truly is a gift to witness the miracle of birth and the wonder of that first cry, and the wonder of that moment never grows old!

            As I close, I also want to thank my family for their support as I do this work, and in particular thank my husband as he quickly and competently cares for our home and children during my random absences. It takes a special family to deal with the unpredictable aspects of having a midwife for a wife and mother, and I’m grateful for all they do behind the scenes to make this option available to the families I serve. It’s a joint effort, and I could not do what I do without Joel’s encouragement and work behind the scenes.

            May God bless you and your family throughout this next year!

           ~Kelsey Martin/Gentle Delivery Midwifery

Be sure to regularly check out this blog and the facebook page to stay updated on current news, helpful information, health suggestions, birth stories, and announcement of special events. I’m really hoping that playdates can resume again sometime in 2021!

Random Life Happenings…
by

Random Life Happenings…

Well, my hopes to keep up with blogging a post at least once a month fell to the wayside this summer! My big plans and ideas came to a rather screeching halt when we found out that we have another little one on the way…soon after that discovery I was sick enough with morning sickness that I found it hard to keep anything up besides the bare minimum! I’m very grateful to be past the 1st trimester by now, and we’re anticipating our new arrival to make his/her appearance come early March. This news does, of course, have ramifications for midwifery-at this point I am taking clients until the beginning of February, and will then take time off until May. For updates on my client schedule for the next months, feel free to check out the “current availability” tab.

We had a fun family trip out to KS for my sister’s wedding at the beginning of July. All of my immediate family (along with much of my extended family) lives in the central KS area, so it was good to reconnect with family and friends again. Making memories by taking horseback rides, going fishing, eating donuts with Grandpa, visiting the zoo, and in general being spoiled by all the grandparents, uncles and aunties made for a lovely time as far as the children were concerned! 🙂

Family Photo at Aunt Charis' wedding

Family Photo at Aunt Charis’ wedding

Two baby girls made their appearance in June, with both of them ending in lovely births. It’s always a special privilege to be involved when a baby makes it’s arrival…those first moments of a family being together for the first time, savoring the new baby looks, smells and cuddles are all so amazing and unique to each individual, and it makes me so grateful to be able to be a part of it!

Little baby K, and my sweet assistant Beth, who also helped me with the delivery of baby K's big sister!

Little baby K, and my sweet assistant Beth, who also helped me with the delivery of baby K’s big sister!

My little guy delighted to hold baby C. when she came for a visit!

My little guy delighted to hold baby C. when she came for a visit!

Another new development that has occurred recently is taking on a new student here at Gentle Delivery Childbirth Services.  At some point in the near future, I’d love to tell you more about Emily, but I’ll just give you a little teaser for now. 🙂 Those of you who are current clients will likely be meeting her in some of your upcoming visits, and from the interaction we’ve had so far, I think you’ll thoroughly enjoy her and her passion for serving mamas and babies in this special time of life. Emily is just getting started in her training, and I’m excited about having a steady assistant to help me out with visits and births during the months ahead!

September brought with it two little fellows, who both interestingly enough, decided to make their arrivals on Saturday nights! They both seem to be thriving, and if they continue at the present rate, won’t be little fellows for long! For both of these births, I had the assistance of Gretchen D, a midwife/assistant who lives nearby.

Baby R with Gretchen and myself

Baby R with Gretchen and myself

and here with baby L!

and here with baby L!

Hopefully it won’t be quite so long until next time…but there’s a little peek into my life the past while…and here’s a peek into what is to come, as birth kits are prepared for the upcoming fall babies!

Birth kits ready to be delivered to families at their home visits!

Birth kits ready to be delivered to families at their home visits!

Have a lovely fall, and thanks for your continued interest in the work here. If you haven’t already done so, feel free to take a peek at our facebook page: facebook.com/gentledelivery. And keep posted on the blog for new pages coming soon!