10/05/2025
The power and beautiful simplicity of breath. Response, informing and being held with love.
A sweet early morning call, most of the night in our own beds, a rare gift for midwives. We had known when we cozied into our beds that evening that this first time family was entering labor.
The call informed us that these waves of womb embraces are powerful and brilliant in their length. The drive was some distance so prepared a quick quart of nourishment tea, while shifting clothes.
My car was slightly under the weather when I entered and tried to rally it for the long drive. A midwives dilemma to figure out what amazing neighbor would like to be awoken at 5 am to help. A bit of quick internet research and the car dilemma was solved and my dear neighbors sleep was not disturbed:)
Distance driving is a balance of supporting and loving this family while you journey and figuring out if this is a morning to deepen your understanding of something you are called too through a podcast or listen to a wonderful book. Music has not returned to my life yet ,since Jazmon’s transition to my ancestor, and I honor this pause for right now.
I get a bit of an update as some of our circle of support arrives at this families home. Just as I slip into the driveway, the wombs waters release and new sensations emerge. Entering the home, labor is unfolding in the water, a beautiful dance of ‘call and response’ from uterine hugs, baby surging downward and breath. Outside the tub are this person's beloveds, (their partner and also this person's own mama). There is a circle of love held, hands clasped, gentle words occasionally whispered and eyes softly gazing. What is perfect for this labor and this dyad, is breathing the baby down, letting the uterus and baby work in tandem while breath is used to navigate the waves of labor and birth.
Soon there are smiles across the room as baby begins to show their hair floating in the water and after a few more uterine embraces there is a baby swimming in the water for beloveds to pick-up and embrace with love.
As this delightful new life is being lifted out of the water by their parents, we get a glimpse of something unique and that lets us know there will be a shift in our immediate postpartum plans. Baby lets us know they have beautifully transitioned to this outer womb we call earth. Pink in color, moving and a beautiful l***y voice expressing. There is also a uniqueness that will greatly benefit from modern day medicine to support this baby’s fuller potential.
We quickly respond to the immediate need to protect what we have noticed for baby, while gently informing this brand new expanded family of baby’s vitality and showing them how baby is thriving along with what would be helpful for baby in this immediate postpartum time.
With parents' consent we notify EMS that their help would be appreciated. We cozy in this family, skin to skin with baby, and support them in relishing these minutes of meeting their beautiful baby. Inhaling their baby’s scent, discovering all the wonder and beauty of their sweet little one. We responded to this family's questions of what would happen in the short term and long terms. We answer what we could and helped them to understand that further assessment and evaluation will give them so much more information about next steps. Also sharing information we know about what we are seeing, supporting them in preparing for a number of people responding with EMS and lots of initial activity when we arrive at the hospital.
Midwife Emily traveled along in the ambulance to care for mama and baby while enroute to the hospital and the rest of the team gathered gear and restored the home to a welcoming nest, then we traveled to join everyone in the hospital.
The reception at the hospital was so supportive of this family's wishes and desires surrounding care for their baby. Mama was not admitted, however given a bed in the same room and we provided the immediate postpartum care in the hospital for the first several hours. The specialist in the hospital informed the parents more fully of what was visualized and that a slow transport to a larger children's hospital would be the most helpful for baby. At this larger hospital a team of specialists could support baby with assessment, evaluation and surgery. Slow transports means that there is not an emergency and there is time to carefully prepare a wonderful team to accompany baby to this larger hospital.
We stayed with the family through their baby’s transport; explored deeply, care for this family in the next few weeks; co-created a list of helpful things to bring to this larger hospital; helped them dress and oh so gently supported these fresh, brand new parents, enter an experience they had not imagined . We all embraced and held each other in love and compassion.
These amazing parents love their baby fiercely and are informing themselves each step of the way, asking wonderful questions and taking time to consider what is right for their family and their baby. Baby is amazing and held with so much love in a wide circle of family and community.
There was so much to unpack and reflect upon in the time since this experience. So much gratitude for each and every person who creates Willow River Midwifery. We all bring unique gifts and strengths along with open loving hearts and compassion. Gratitude for our collective practice passion for learning, we long to build our knowledge and understanding and most often our deepest learning and expansion of wisdom comes from the very families we serve. Gratitude for our commitment to practice and repeat skills that are rarely used so that we can respond from cellular memory when that rare moment when that skill set is needed. Gratitude for the advanced modern medicine can bring to support healing and possibilities for little ones entering the world when there is an expressed need for this care. Gratitude for the mentors in my own lineage of learning, whether during my years as a NICU/ICU nurse, my beloved apprentice midwife mentor; the elder midwives and colleagues I have had the privilege of learning from here in the state or abroad.
We are honored to have been invited to support this beautiful family. 💜💙💙💜
