Passages Gentle Birth Care, LLC

08/06/2025

Too cute 😉

09/12/2022

"They tell us how to grow a baby. What to eat.
What not to eat. What vitamins to take and what bras to buy. Allll the prenatal yoga moves to do.

But they forget to tell us how to put ourselves back together once that baby is born.
They forget to tell us how we might feel like we’re drifting.
Afloat. Alone. On a life raft with leaky breasts and sore stitches and a tiny little being dependent upon us for survival.
They forget to tell us how weird and wild it feels to have loose organs shifting about inside of us. How there will be so much softness still.

I get it. You don’t want to startle us. You don’t want us to be scared about what’s ahead.
But….a little heads up would be helpful
We’re brave enough for the truth.
And those things you find so scary- loose skin and leaky breasts and big feelings- we might just be bold enough to welcome them.
To see the beauty there.

So here’s the truth mama-
Your pelvic floor will probably need work and attention. You’ll have to put in some effort to regain that muscle strength, no matter how gentle your birth. Your breasts and belly will probably never be the same. Love them anyway. Love than more than before!! Celebrate them! Buy bras that make you feel sexy. Then move on.

Your identity and sense of self will change radically. Buckle up for the ride. You’ve got this. Your partnership and friendships and general relationship with the outside world might feel foreign for awhile. Or forever. Those relationships might crack and break under the weight of new parenthood. Live your truth. Leave the rest behind. In love.

The whole world might feel shaken up.
You’ll probably feel shaky and raw
That’s normal (they just forgot to tell you.)

You’re new here. In this skin. In this role. In this love. You’ll find your way. You’ll find your rhythm. It will all fall into place- with time.
Until then- breathe.
As deeply as you can.
Drink your tea before it gets cold.
If you can.
Rest -
whenever you can.
And love on your new self.
As deeply as you can."

❤️

03/07/2022

Time is running out - > please let the legislature hear from you this morning (email: NOON TODAY is the deadline) or sign up to speak at Wednesday's subcommittee hearing to defend your right to plan an out-of-hospital birth for your babies with a trained and licensed attendant. The problem is not your midwife, or the birth center, the problem lies in the interface between your birthing location and your nearest hospital in the event of an urgent need for medical care. This isn't true for ALL areas in SC, but it IS for several and that puts mothers and babies at risk! The so-called amendments to our bill S379 that were presented by ACOG last week suggest that licensed midwives should have a consulting relationship with a practicing OB who can admit their client in need of a transfer, with limits on distance and transport time, knowing fullwell that no SC obstetrician will engage in such a relationship and that limits on time and distance would exclude a great many of our clients from planning a home birth with a licensed midwife. Please speak up - thank you !

ALERT!! TIME SENSITIVE: YOU can tell the House Medical Subcommittee why safe midwifery is important to you. A short statements is the best. Send pictures of your children and don’t forget to add your location. TOMORROW AT NOON IS THE DEADLINE (to send to the committee). Send to 3M1Health@schouse.gov
These amendments would limit out-of-hospital births to areas that are within a few miles of major hospitals and then only if the midwife has contracts with a hospital OB. The letter says birth centers are limited, but this is a midwife bill so we don’t know how DHEC would interpret it, plus rural areas need more birth centers. Submit your testimony to the committee by noon on Monday.
You can also sign up to provide oral testimony via Microsoft Teams, email 3M1Health@schouse.gov by Monday, March 7, 2022 @ 12:00 noon to receive a Microsoft Teams invitation the day before the meeting.
This meeting will be streamed online at https://scstatehouse.gov/video/schedule.phpor in person at Blatt building room 427. Signup to speak in person 15 minutes before the meeting which begins at 9:00 on Wednesday, March 9th.
EMAIL ALL OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS: chart@sc.rr.com, ChrisHart , Wendybrawley , KrystleMatthews , Joe Bustos , Jmbustos , jermaineJohnson@schouse.gov, info@johnsonforsc.com
CALL THEM AND LEAVE A MESSAGE: “Yes to S.379. No to the amendments”
Sub-Committee Chairman: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?code=0770454453
Members: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?code=0943181705 https://www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?code=0278409057 https://www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?code=0187499978 https://www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?code=1694886161
Chairman of the Full Committee: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?code=0879545349
Link to the Bill: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess124_2021-2022/bills/379.htm

03/06/2021

Here's hoping we (midwives and mamas) will finally make some serious inroads !!
Will you help?
-> Let the legislators know how important midwifery care is to you. Get a quick email out this weekend, Monday at the latest - because this bill is coming up NEXT WEEK ~ !
Instructions below - THANK YOU !

Do you want the midwifery services to be protected in SC! This week’s VOTE is for the Midwife Practice Act Subcommittee, Tuesday March 9
The MPA creates a Board of Midwifery so that experts in the field of midwifery are making decisions for the profession instead of DHEC.

SUBJECT: “YES to H.3510 Midwife Practice Act”
“I want Licensed Midwifery protected in SC because….. (short paragraph or a few sentences)”

Rep. J. Anne Parks, Chair
AnneParks@schouse.gov, anneparks@embarqmail.com
m: 864-229-3206 o: 864-993-8161 statehouse (803) 734-3069 864-223-3193 (home)

Rep. Jerry T. Carter
jcarter4duke@bellsouth.net, JerryCarter@schouse.gov,
(803) 212-6908, 864-207-0493 (home), 864-207-0493 (home),

Rep. Wendell G. Gilliard
WendellGilliard@schouse.gov, wgilly@bellsouth.net,
(803) 212-6793, 843-402-9710 843-209-3123

Rep. Leon Howard
LeonHoward@schouse.gov, puffhowards@bellsouth.net,
(803) 734-3046, 803-237-6119, 803-254-9468

Rep. Deon T. Tedder
(843) 732-6353, (803) 212-6721 843-577-5530
Tedderdt@gmail.com, DeonTedder@schouse.gov,

https://www.facebook.com/deonteddersc https://www.deontedder.com/

G. Murrell Smith, Jr. (Sumter), MurrellSmith@schouse.gov, murrell@leeandmoise.com,
(803) 734-3042

AnneParks@schouse.gov, anneparks@embarqmail.com, AnneParks@schouse.gov, jcarter4duke@bellsouth.net, JerryCarter@schouse.gov, WendellGilliard@schouse.gov, wgilly@bellsouth.net, LeonHoward@schouse.gov, puffhowards@bellsouth.net, DeonTedder@schouse.gov, tedderdt@gmail.com, MurrellSmith@schouse.gov, murrell@leeandmoise.com

The Bill: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess124_2021-2022/bills/3510.htm

03/05/2020

Time for a post

Having a planned home birth is amazing. The female human body has evolved to be able to give birth. Women deserve safe, empowered birth.

01/17/2020

Making baby inroads :)

Midwives in S.C. rally for equal hospital access for their mothers

10/27/2019

The realities of motherhood so lovingly depicted