Essay written about my favorite book on childbirth

Ina May Gaskin has been called “the mother of all midwives” since reintroducing midwifery into the mainstream in the late 1960's and to her I owe my career, my passion and the health of my future children. I read Spiritual Midwifery for the first time just a couple of years ago and since then I have referred to it and referenced it more times than I can count. I have shared it with more than a few expectant mothers and have even read stories from it to my husband.
I always knew in my heart that pregnancy, labor and birth was supposed to be the way Ina May teaches it to be but until I reached a certain point in my life, I was unequipped to process and relay the information. When I reached that point and my admiration for pregnant mothers turned from admiration to devotion, I found myself at a local bookstore and was a bit disappointed to find that there were no books on midwifery. I asked for a handful of books to be ordered and the first one to arrive was Spiritual Midwifery. My mind was open for learning and I drank every word of it with complete fascination. I'm not sure if I had already decided that “mommas” were going to become the focus of my life's work, but if I hadn't already, Ina May had sealed the deal.
The book was interesting to read and once I adjusted my lexicon to the colloquialisms of the hippie culture of the mid 1970's (not a far reach) I started to transport my mind to the cabins in the woods of Tennessee and I found that it was not hard to imagine myself there. Midwives are tender and compassionate by nature and above everything they have a complete faith in the female body's ability to birth her babies. The strength of that belief, which I believe was already inside me, welled to the surface and remains just as important to me today.
While the difference in the culture of the 1970's seems to differ greatly from the culture of today, the similarities are abounding. As long as there are wars and prejudice and people oppressed, there will always be people willing to fight for the causes they hold dear to their heart. The spirit of the hippies from the 1970's is still alive today in the war protesters, the human rights organizations, and the women who are demanding that they be able to birth their babies in the safest and healthiest way they know. In their home or in the hospital, Ina May taught me that my number one duty is to fight so that women have their babies the way they want to, not the way the insurance agencies or CDC or the AAP wants them to. She helped me remember that women have been doing this successfully for thousands of years, with the support of the people that love them and the women that have compassion for them, not vacuum extractors and abdominal surgery.
I have since read many different books about childbirth and raising children, and while I have learned so much from each and every one, the stories told by the women in Spiritual Midwifery and even Ina Mays Guide to Childbirth have touched me to my core. The stories are real, told by real women who had real wonderful life-altering births. I could never forget them, I will never forget them. They will remain my driving force behind my desire to bring Dar a Luz to this area and my driving force behind my goal to become a midwife and bring this opportunity to every woman that wants it, because she, as a woman, is entitled to it.

Silver Spoon Disease aka IGNORANCE

The most absurd thing happened to me at work yesterday, but before I talk about that, look for these subjects coming soon: *The wedding *My life's work/goal *DaL.

Okay, I have to preface this by stating that I work in a very fancy restaurant run by a man with a very "big" name in this area and I loathe him. This blog is not about him. Because the restaurant serves mainly the wealthy people, business has not much suffered given the failing economy. Which I, of course, hate. Working at this restaurant makes be feel like a whore for money. It sounds terrible, but simply stated, I have a job that I hate because I make good money. I have definitely been struggling with my previously strong principles on this one.

Anyway, last night I had a table of three people consisting of what I can only assume to be a husband and wife, and a friend. They were nice enough and began with cocktails and oysters. They were friendly to me which is always a plus as this is not the case as often as one would think. Things were going smoothly and it seemed as though they were enjoying their cocktails and conversation. Until the entrees were served. At this point, the obvious thought in one's head would be that perhaps the fish was undercooked or the vegetables were cold. OhNo, according to this man, there was TOO MUCH FOOD on his plate!

I have to admit that I was aghast and fumbled for words. I did not know what to do. Certainly from a servers point of view, if there was not enough food, I could bring more, or if the food was cold I could heat it up, but I can certainly not take food off the table. But from my point of view, how absurd to complain that there is too much food sitting in front of you. I even said to the man, "With all due respect, sir, some people would feel that is not enough." I know that as a professional, passing value judgements on the the person who is essentially paying me, is unacceptable. But as a person who recognizes the value of a dollar and a good meal, I just had to say it. He even looked as though he would consider my point for a moment, but his silver spoon training reasserted itself into his hypothalamus and kicked out any consideration.

Now I am not talking about the starving children in Ethiopia or the pestilence in India, although equally as important, I am talking about the fact that my refrigerator is nearly empty, and certainly not filled with the healthy and fresh food I would like to feed my family with. I am talking about the dishwashers who get paid minimum wage and watch half pieces of new york strips and ahi tuna slide right into the garbage can. I am talking about the college students I work with who really don't have any idea where their next meal is coming from.

The fact that this man complained about the excessive amount of food on his plate and never considered any of these facts is completely, in my book, ignorant. He knows very well that tomorrow he and his wife will go to an equally nice restaurant, have equally as quality gin in their martinis, and have an equally as quality dish set in front of them.

The kicker is: he refused to take any of it home with him.

Amendment to the Blogstitution

Amendment #1

Okay, I get it. This blog is for me, not for you.

Amendment #2

We got the house! I am way excited! I am already dreaming of birthing my babies there. The living room is perfect for a tub. I am happy to finally check something off the "to do list". No, not happy, relieved. Finally the pressures are starting to even themselves out. The house is gorgeous and the second I have pictures I will post them. You will be jealous.

Amendment #3

Not only did the dog eat my favorite earrings, he also ate my favorite pair of heels and a pair of skate shoes.

We are fairly sure that he is acting out because we have been so busy lately that his regular walks have not been so regular. This is something we have agreed to remedy. I hope that we can maintain our diplomacy when we have real children;)

So needless to mention that I am in a spectacular mood right now which kind of makes me vibe on the "peaks and valleys" we experience in our lives. I have been feeling exceptionally frustrated lately due to the high levels of stress I have been experiencing/ inflicting upon myself. It has been odd. I have felt in the last couple of weeks more out of control than I have ever felt. I have heard my self complaining and I have really questioned myself and my decisions.

But no more. Life is stressful. Yes, this is the most stress I have ever felt, but it's over. Well, mostly over. Then more will come. Alas.

Next on the list:
Wedding (that's a big one)
New job (a big one too)
Getting ready to move (GULP!)

Oh, one more thing, and this is my big thing lately:

GREEN IS NOT THE NEW BLACK! SOCIAL AWARENESS IS NOT A FASHION TREND!

Thank you.

Greetings and Salutations

Hi! I feel compelled to start this blog the way I'm sure many others before me have and many after will also, by saying that I never thought that I would blog. I had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that anyone, save my mother, would have any interest in what I was doing. How arrogant! But that was before I had anything interesting to say. Or at least until I found people equally as crazy as me that would listen. So here I am, feeling a desperate desire to write about things I am passionate about and report to people that don't know me from Adam, or Eve, all about my life and the craziness that occurs within it.


A quick introduction for those unlucky Internet travellers that are unfortunate enough to stumble upon my ramblings: I am originally from Northwest Ohio. I find the area quite pleasurable, but I do HATE cold weather and if I learned anything from my brief time spent in South Florida, it was that waking up n the morning to 90+ degrees and 70% humidity is desirable for me. OH, and that old people really do drive slow, not just that young people drive really fast, making the old people look slow.


I am currently betrothed to a wonderful man, who has many adorable OCDish tendencies that I did NOT know about when we were just dating, but I love him anyway. He is a physical therapist assistant and and licensed massage therapist, and I believe that massage is his gift. He heals people, or he at least comes very close. (And no, I don't get massages whenever I want. We still have to work, and eat and sleep.......) We have a dog named Max and he ate most of my earrings. I love him anyway.


We are currently elbow deep into buying our first home and I am very excited but I wish it would be over with. Planning a wedding, buying a home and surviving summer classes is not fun and I don't want to do it anymore! (More on that later) The home is very beautiful and I think it is well worth every penny. Not to mention the all new, top of the line kitchen appliances. Oh yeah, I cook. Well. And with these appliances, I may never come out of the kitchen.


The wedding is in September and I also can't wait for that to be over. This may come as a shock to you, but I am not one of those fairy tail, I'm the princess do what I say, spend a bunch of money on me, type of girls. In fact the unofficial theme of my wedding is "I don't care". I just want the party at the end. Not the reception, the party. I will definitely post pictures.


Oh that reminds me. I don't believe in "Internet speak" or "text talk". I will never TTYL, or ROTFLMAO, and I will DEF never post PIX. If you catch me doing this, 20 lashes will be acceptable. I will use proper punctuation, grammar, and syntax. As far as I know. As much as I love the Internet for the vast amount of knowledge I may gain from it, I think is is partly responsible for bastardizing the English language and is doing nothing but making our children stupider. Err, dumber. I mean, more dumb.


I come from a large family and I am the oldest of five girls. My sisters are my life. Don't mess with a Marten. You WILL get punked. My mommy counts as a Marten girl, so don't mess with her either. More on her later. She gets her own post.


I am currently in nursing school, because I don't want to be a nurse. I want to be a midwife. I think is would be wise to mention here that I am very crunchy. Sometimes a little too crunchy for people. Also, another post. Suffice it to say, though, that anything having to do with natural, healthy birth, and responsible, involved parenting is right up my alley.


Speaking of school, Anatomy and Physiology, henceforth referred to as A&P, is a very hard class and studying really helps that ole' grade point average.


To be continued......