State College

2018 End-of-year Note
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2018 End-of-year Note

Recent & current clients received this letter in December. I’m posting it here to keep readers and followers current with Gentle Delivery as we head into a New Year:

Dear past & present clients of Gentle Delivery,

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Many of my #bornathome babies from 2018!

As the year draws to a close, I want to express my appreciation to each of you for allowing me to work beside you as you have welcomed new members to your family, or are anticipating new arrivals. It is such a privilege to be included in these beautiful times of life, and I am grateful to each of you for your continued trust and friendship.

In 2018 we welcomed many more boys than girls, with the smallest arrival being 7#1oz, and the biggest being 9#12oz. An interesting note is that about 75% of our babies were born in water this year! Lynelle continued to assist me with births this year, until she welcomed her own little boy in September. Since she has been taking a break, I’ve been grateful for the help of several other ladies including Kristina (who has been working with a local doula agency for some time) and Hannah, a midwifery student from the Lewisburg area. My latest birth was assisted by Rose, a long-time friend and soon-to-be licensed CNM!

I also continue to appreciate the help of my back-up midwife, Rose Marie. Having her available to cover when there is a special occasion, or being able to travel knowing that clients have someone local to call in case of emergency is a gift I don’t take for granted!

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Thankful to have such an array of great assistants and back-ups!

Another new feature that I was excited to add this year was connecting with an actual insurance biller who specializes in billing for midwifery care. This will hopefully result in better coverage and faster payment for those wishing to utilize insurance. More info is available at Napier Midwifery Billing.

I’ve enjoyed seeing many of you at the playdates we held every few months! This has been a great way to connect other local homebirth-minded mamas, and will hopefully help to build relationships in the community. I hope to facilitate more of these throughout 2019, so stay tuned for details.

My own family continues to keep me busy, with my oldest two being in 1st & 2nd grade. They attend a small co-op type school each morning, and I’ve enjoyed spending time helping out with some classes there, too. The two preschoolers are trying their best to catch up to their older siblings! We enjoyed several family trips this year, and are trying to treasure this time while our children are little. My husband, Joel, continues to work full time for All-Nations Bible Translation, and he’s been busy this fall finishing up his graduate work online. I am thankful for his support and help in making midwifery work feasible, as without his flexible work schedule and willingness to babysit, there would be no way I could keep up with midwifery responsibilities!

I’m looking forward to meeting a number of new babies already in the new year, and it looks like 2019 will be a busy one! May your new year be blessed, and thanks again for your interest in midwifery and home birth options in Centre County and beyond!

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The Martin Family – Fall 2018

2016 Highlights for Gentle Delivery
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2016 Highlights for Gentle Delivery

What a year 2016 turned out to be! I’m very thankful for the many clients I was privileged to work with, and for the many special memories that were made. When it comes to births, 2016 was extremely unpredictable, and I’ll be thankful if 2017 isn’t quite as adventurous. We had one very early baby, one very late baby, a set of twins, a baby that came so fast we didn’t make it in time (!), and about everything in between. 🙂

A few highlights and items of interest from the past year:

– Great birth team and back-up midwife:

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Rose Marie, Lynelle & Myself with twins!

I was grateful to have the ongoing help of my current student, Lynelle Martin, as well as the help, support and back-up services of Midwife Rose Marie Spicher. These ladies are great to work with! Since relocating to PA several years ago, I have really missed the network of midwives that I used to assist and work with, and Rose Marie has been such a blessing to fill this niche. I’m grateful to know that clients are in caring, capable hands during the times I need to be off-call or out of town.

 

– Opportunities to further my education: Attending one day of Midwifery Today’s International Conference in Harrisburg, PA was a great way to meet up with other

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Bridge Certificate 

midwives, listen to lectures on issues and complications during labor, and make new friends in the midwifery world. I also had the opportunity to attend the Midwives Alliance of PA Educational Retreat, where we spent two days learning about a variety of subjects such as congenital heart defect screening, perinatal mood disorders, atypical findings in newborn exams, and more. Updating my Neonatal Resuscitation Certification and CPR at the local Mt. Nittany hospital is always a great way to get better acquainted with the closest hospital in my area, and I enjoy the learning opportunities these occasions afford. Finally, towards the end of the year, I submitted the needed proof of 50 hours of continuing education credits in certain areas (pertaining specifically to emergency and complications during labor and immediate postpartum) and applied for and received my “Midwifery Bridge Certificate”. This ensures that my education and training as a Certified Professional Midwife are also up to the standards set forth by the International Confederation of Midwives to ensure competent and qualified care for women.

– Addition of CCHD screening at postpartum home visits: 

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Trying out the Pulse Oximeter

One new requirement for midwives providing out-of-hospital births in PA is that of submitting Critical Congenital Heart Disease screening result along with newborn blood screening test. This year Gentle Delivery added a Pulse Oximeter to our kit, and we’ve been successfully performing this test on all of our babies since this fall. We’re happy to be able to try to offer our moms and babies a full range of services-did you know that free hearing screenings are also now available for our clients?

 

– First Public Event: “Birth Expo 2016” & “Why Not Home?” Film Screening 

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Celebrating Birth Expo 2016

We are attempting to help educate the public on the full variety of choices they have locally when it comes to birth-this includes support (such as doulas), care providers (CNM’s, CPM’s and OBGYN’s), choice of birth location, and resources that help them to succeed in parenting (such as breastfeeding and babywearing). With these thoughts in mind, Gentle Delivery hosted the first “Birth Expo” for Centre County in July 2016. We were very excited about the support of over 30 businesses and birth professionals that came together for the day, and we’ve received alot of positive feedback from parents who found out about resources they didn’t know were available in this area. Viewing the new film “Why Not Home?” also provided a way for more families to hear about the option of home and midwife-attended birth. The big question now is whether to host something similar in 2017…if we did, would you be interested in helping to make it happen? Please contact me with your interest!

– New Resources in the Library

The library in the prenatal office continues to grow, with more books and resources added in 2016. Some of my personal favorites include “Redeeming Childbirth” by Angie Tolpin and “Your Best Birth” by Rikki Lake. Check out the list of Recommended Reading  to see all of the titles available for clients to check out.

– Gift bag for Newly Expectant Moms 

Helping moms to connect with local support services and resources is something we are passionate about! Due to being located in a university town, many of the families we interact with don’t have any family or previous connections in the area. One way we have attempted to help with this is by giving each family who comes in for an initial interview a free bag full of samples from natural-minded companies, coupons, and lots of cards, brochures and information from many area birth professionals and mommy/baby-centered support groups and businesses. If you or your business would like to be included in this welcome bag, send us an email or message and let us know!

– Our own special gift to new babies… instagramcapture_ee2d01d4-3eb4-45ec-8440-8612375dcf01

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And while not necessarily “important” news, we’ve had fun giving our babies in 2016 special onesies to commemorate their big event! I have fun taking the time to make each of these little shirts for our babies, and clients in 2017 can also look forward to this little “thank you” gift that we pass on to our families.  img_0348

Thank you for allowing us to serve you all in 2016, and blessings to each of you as you head into the new year! Remember, too, to follow this blog for future updates, “like” us on Facebook to receive current info and informative articles (Gentle Delivery), and watch for our photos of new arrivals on Instagram @gentlemidwife . We’d love to keep in touch!

 

 

 

An invitation to attend…
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An invitation to attend…

Gentle Delivery Childbirth Services first Celebrating Birth Expo!

Ever since relocating to State College, I’ve wondered what could be done to help moms in this area become more aware of their birth options and support services available to them. Many of the families I work with have moved here in relation to work or studies at Penn State University,  they don’t have family or friends nearby, and aren’t sure how to connect with or find out about the resources that this area has to offer. It’s my hope that this event will enable these moms to be introduced to area doulas, childbirth educators, midwives, lactation consultants, massage therapists, chiropractors, and more…and help to raise awareness of the availability of midwifery care and homebirth through the screening of the new film “Why Not Home?”.

Collages2I would love to see you there! Please help us to spread the word by inviting your friends and family to attend. Perhaps you’re looking for a fun activity to do with your mommy friends…or perhaps you’d like to know more about working with midwives…or perhaps you’re interested in promoting birth options in this area…or perhaps your a new mom or expecting mom, and you want to learn more about what this area has to offer…whatever the case, this event should be a great experience-and there will be chances to win great prizes and sample products at the vendor displays! Come and spend the morning with us!

To find out more about the sponsors helping to make this event possible, check out the website page here. And to RSVP for your free spot, check out the Eventbrite page. Feel free to invite your friends using the Facebook event page.

Feel free to check out the trailer for “Why Not Home?” here.  Here’s a quote from the director of the film, which will give you some background on what the film is all about:

I grew up hearing the story of the doctor and the surgical procedure that saved my life and my mother’s (I was breech, delivered by cesarean section). I never considered that I might give birth outside of a hospital–until I got pregnant.

At that time I had been a nurse for five years and a nurse practitioner for three. Home birth wasn’t part of my culture and wasn’t something my training had directly addressed. Prompted by a colleague’s experience, I started researching, asking questions, and considering my options in and out of the hospital. It was based on that research that I decided I wanted to pursue a home birth. As a low risk mom, it seemed I had the best chance of a safe and uncomplicated natural birth in my own home surrounded by people I knew and trusted. Some of my family and colleagues disagreed.

The decision wasn’t easy to talk about. It’s such an emotionally charged topic. Everyone has an opinion and a story to tell.

Since then I’ve met more health care providers, doctors, nurses, and midwives, who chose to give birth at home. These are not the women most Americans picture when they imagine a home birth mom. These professionals have direct and sometimes daily experience with the risks inherent in birth. Like all women, they wanted a safe birth, yet unlike 99% of women in the US, they chose to give birth at home. This is their story.

Too often polarization occurs on the topic of home birth. By focusing on hospital birth providers who choose home birth, I hope to bring a voice of moderation to the discussion. Together, we can move toward real improvements to maternity care in hospitals and at home.

What if the choice of where to give birth wasn’t limited by cost or insurance coverage, fear or misinformation? What would change if families had access to the care provider of their choice in the setting that best fits their unique needs and values? It’s worth at least asking, “Why not home?” 

This looks like it will be an exciting day, and I hope to see you there!