MOV Birth

10/28/2025

One of the most beautiful illustrations of placental circulation I've seen so far! As someone that loves art, especially line drawings and concept illustration, this is worth staring at!

This is a gorgeous example of how maternal blood bathes the intervillous space to reach fetal circulation, and how the fetal circulation is still separate from the maternal blood (when mom and baby are healthy and when no one tugs on the placenta) but dips down into this space to transmit oxygen, nutrients, and toxins.

The uteroplacental circulation is unique: it is in essence two distinct circulatory systems in parallel (foetoplacental and maternoplacental). At term, it receives about 800ml/min of blood flow, or something like 14-15% of the total cardiac output. The maternoplacental circulatory system is also uni...

10/25/2025

If you don't want the labs, the IVs, the medications, the checks, the routines, the pings... you must live a life that supports a non-medical and non-clinical approach.
Midwifery is really diluted with obstetric perspective and intervention...
Some of this is because aspiring midwives begin midwifery as a career choice rather than a community service and are going through training that teaches clinical care, not midwifery heArt. But we also must accept that we arrived at this place together.
Birthing women and families have been asking for intervention by way of FEAR for a long time, especially since they let doctors and hospitals take control of birth in the early 1900s. While at the same time, their lives became more processed and physically easier, leading to the sedentary and low nutrient lives many women in “developed” nations are leading today.
If you don't want to eat well...
If you don't want to move well...
If you don't want to hydrate well...
If you don't want to schedule well...
If you don't want supported well...
If you don't want to prepare well...
If you don't want to think or believe well...
If you don't want to take responsibility...
If you don't live well...
You are far more likely to need a clinical and medical approach, and then you may be at the mercy of clinically-minded practitioners.
If you’re planning home birth, you’re planning birth in a low-resource setting. If your midwifery team is non-medical (i.e. no IVs, no medications...etc.), then you must live a life that supports this low-intervention approach to maintain it.
Non-medical midwifery is my passion, but this approach is only appropriate for mothers and families that live a holistic life that supports this low-intervention approach.
If you want this non-medical approach… you need to eat nutrient-dense food, hydrate well, move your body, balance your schedule, follow wise counsel, and have relationships that burst with support through love (not fear)…
And this kind of life should be occurring well before conception for the chance at the most optimal outcomes.

10/17/2025

I see these reports quite often now and sometimes get asked if I offer this service... there just doesn't seem to be congruence with long-term lab results and this is an interesting report explaining some of the concerns of this method of wellness testing

Electrodermal screening” (“EDS”) devices are claimed to use galvanic skin responses to identify health problems and corrective actions. Thousands are being used to persuade people to buy dietary supplements, diet programs, and other offerings. This ...

10/11/2025

Autumn life as a rural midwife in 2025...
The week at MOV Birth:
Postpartum visits after a transport
A very early miscarriage
Many prenatal visits, measuring and wrapping bellies, drawing babies, reassuring mothers, guiding families in informed decision making.
A birth I almost missed because the mom just couldn't tell if she was really laboring until her water broke with pea soup meconium... baby sounded great when my daughter and I got there 5 minutes after and mom could barely talk because her ctx finally got into a rhythm and were intense. Thankfully, because there was no way we were making it anywhere. Baby was born 15 minutes later and looking lovely. Minimal blood loss and a happy family sipping tea in the living room a few hours later.
Prodromal labor and eager moms awaiting their birth season.
Caring for a mid-pregnancy still birth due to expected placental abruption and a family that can finally start to heal as they breathe after months of anticipation of what is to come.
Many messages and phone calls and visits for follow up care, inquiries about births in May and June 2026 as I plan my next year, and women receiving blood work and GI Maps, and Functional Wellness Counseling to improve health and fertility for current and future pregnancies.
Praise Yahweh for the strength to endure as the Holy Spirit is ALWAYS present and accessible with Jesus. Praise Him for my daughter who is such a light in my life and has a strength she doesn't yet quite understand. Praise Him for the families I serve. Praise Him for His care when the road is easy and when the road is hard. Praise Him for these beautiful autumn days where all life is precious and no day should be taken for granted. Praise Yahweh for His gift of rest and healing.

10/10/2025

The amount of mothers I serve that want to be induced at home will never cease to amaze me. It is so common for the conversation around induction to be one that portrays doctors and hospitals as impatient and pushy for intervention... but experience shows me, the request to "get things going" often comes from the mothers... but good nutrition, rest, movement, and love are rarely the way a mother wants to support spontaneous labor.
Mothers are as eager to avoid going over their 40-week date as anyone... some, the moment they hit 37 weeks - some theoretical safety window - start taking all sorts of herbs or using various forms of at home treatments...
But... AN INDUCTION IS AN INDUCTION
While we can't guarantee ideal experiences without induction, we certainly see more complications with induction.... yes, even at home with herbs and breast pumps and old fashioned impatience.
I'm telling you mothers... be steadfast in your patience for the Lord's timing of your baby's birth. Particularly if you've had a challenging pregnancy that has made it difficult for you to consume all the nutrients you need. An early baby after a low-nourished pregnancy is not going to have the resilience of a baby that has been given a few more weeks in a nutrient-dense, low stress, environment.
Your body also needs time to have adequate rest and nourishment to manage the energy of labor (especially when its forced with medications.... OR HERBS). Even a day or two early can bring a long drawn-out labor, or a rapid overwhelming labor... a baby that doesn't breathe or breastfeed as well, and a mom that bleeds too much.
A day inside the belly is like a week outside the belly for your baby's developmental needs, and it is a rare thing for induction of ANY KIND to actually be the safer or more wise option... and in that case, a hospital is usually the wiser place to be.

09/22/2025

The way your baby is positioned really does matter... a few of these positions absolutely cannot continue vaginally without intention and body support... so, the idea is to prevent them from happening in the first place. When you see a baby in a less than optimal position, we balance mom's ability to make space in her body with knowing that most babies in a vertical alignment will come out.

It is GOOD to move your body, stay off your sacrum... vary your position, stretch, and be intentional with your physical health in pregnancy... and beyond!

⬆️⬇️ Fetal Positions ➡️↘️
By

09/21/2025

Drawing babies and seeing this image of a mother imagining her little one is always beautiful.
I often wonder, are we supposed to have these images before birth? I don't know, to be honest.
But His creation is so, so good and the drawing is not even close to as awesome as the first moment these mothers have their babies in their arms.
It won't be long, mother.

09/20/2025

You don't have to fear wisdom.
You don't have to fear your birth.
You don't have to fear your future.
Having the peace of Jesus doesn't mean ignoring information and guidance. It does mean keeping it in its place.
As midwives, we have a unique opportunity to share wisdom with mothers and families that can change generations.
Discussing long-term health is crucial to this.
Supporting variations is crucial to this.
These two approaches don't clash… they mesh.
If all we are focused on – yes, even at home – is a live mother and a live baby in the bassinet, we are missing our responsibilities as mothers, as support people, and as practitioners.
They key here, midwives and mothers, is to not let fear be the Shepherd’s staff.
If we see symptoms of imbalance, and labs to confirm it, we have communication and tools to make changes and seek support. If these are indications that long-term health may be compromised, even if it may not dramatically affect the current birth, it is vital for our children and our grandchildren that we make changes to recognize and support long-term health. Some of these imbalances seen as “normal variations” can actually become optimized when we stop ignoring these indications of imbalance, even if… especially if… the bigger picture is long-term.
Like:
We can see borderline anemia and treat it with lifestyle changes.
We can see babies in "normal" varied positions and know that they usually work it out... and also know ways of helping this mom feel more comfortable during pregnancy and birth and reducing tension for a baby to help support breastfeeding.
This birth, and this motherbaby’s journey, isn’t over after the baby is out of the womb.
What we need to become attuned to is the holistic approach of what we CAN do for this journey, what NEEDS to wait until after postpartum, and what we MUST surrender to outside of our circle of influence.
This is a BEGINNING.
How are you stepping into your role as a mother and how are you supporting the mothers and babies in the first part of this transformation?

09/18/2025

Waiting for a positive pregnancy test is too late to make big effects on baby's health, and mom's reaction, to a pregnancy.
However you choose to monitor your pregnancy, your body and baby are already communicating with you that changes are occurring.

If you’ve been tracking your cycle with Basal Body Temperature BBT), you may suspect on day 29 that you’re pregnant, when your temperature remains elevated. Even if you don’t have a balanced cycle, you can be fairly certain that if your BBT remains elevated for 18 days, pregnancy is likely. Or...

09/06/2025

When you don’t feel like taking your 8 prenatal pills… I get it. This is my current supplement routine. My diet isn’t perfect, my gut health isn’t perfect… but I am pretty intentional about the food I put in my body. I significantly limit any added sugar. I vary my grains, and eat them minimally… hopefully they’re sprouted and fermented when I do. I bake sourdough almost every week, but try not to eat it every day and only 1 or ½ of a slice. I try to get 2-3 servings of dark leafy greens. I eat organic when I can. I eat free-range/organic eggs, chicken when I can. I buy grass-fed, grass-finished beef from a family I serve. I pack my lunch and snacks and jars of water and herbal tea when I am on the road (which is most days). I count my hydration every day and use tricks like 3-cup and quart mason jars and timers to help me stay on top of it. I walk, I get sunshine.
But, I drive a lot. I sit more than I want to. Thank you for letting me stretch… encouraging me to stretch… on your floor instead of sitting at a chair when I see you in your home. Thank you for not inundating me with gifts of sugar and carbs (although those are tasty and appreciated, too). I sometimes don’t sleep well, or not at all if I’m at a birth. It isn’t uncommon for my day to start out with a call for a miscarriage, a perfectly normal prenatal, a prenatal with elevated BP, a postpartum with a baby thriving, and then a postpartum with something varied. Not to mention the constant exposure to some kind of sniffles, cold, flu, rash, or infection, despite me asking people to reschedule in these cases. The up and down roller coaster of hormones and an immune system that is always “on” in these situations is very real. The every day intention is vital.
I practice what I “preach.” And I know it can be really hard to stay on top of it. And I know some days I don’t do a lot of it, and I don’t do it all.
These are my current supplements… where I used to take hardly any, and I was doing pretty well… but I did very comprehensive Functional and Nutrient Evaluation after dealing with a taxed immune system after LOTS of covid exposure. And, I switched things up, and am often relooking at what I’m doing and how I’m feeling. I take an herbal blend I made packed with greens and colorful herbs and immune support. Additional immune and liver support with NAC, yellow dock, and others. A spore-based pre and probiotic. Omegas. Vitamin D. Beef Organs, including Thyroid. Extra Magnesium. And, that’s just the supplements in pills. I usually drink some sort of blend with immune-supporting mushroom powders and occasionally added protein powders (usually collagen is my pick). That’s on top of a LOT of vegetables in my diet, whole-food fats like avocados, fish multiple times a week, eggs, a variety of meats, and quite a bit of nuts and seeds.
I wonder what it would have felt like to experience a pregnancy after this much intention… instead of after feeling terrible… I wonder what it would have been like to not have blood sugar issues that made me black out in pregnancy because I had a nutrient-dense diet. I wonder what it would have felt like not to swell in my hands and face and have elevated blood pressure… and be brushed off as “a normal variation because that’s my baseline.” I wonder what it would have felt like not to have perinatal depression. I wonder how the long-term health of my kids would have changed if our genetics started out differently prior to conception.
I want YOU to not have to wonder… to integrate what I have learned over the past 18 years.

09/05/2025

The newborn phase can be overwhelming when things are going smoothly. When your baby has tongue tie and the associated symptoms, it can add a lot of additional stress and heartache. This is why we are here to help! The first step is an assessment by Dr. Huffman and a referral to build your support team which may include a lactation consultant, DO, chiropractor, etc. If you feel something isn't right with your little one's oral function, trust your instinct and get an evaluation. ❤️