When it was National Midwifery Week

There's a wonderful post from Natural BirthWorks that highlights the beauty of Midwifery

What is a Midwife? A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, birth & postpartum. That is the technical definition but what it really is and means to us Midwives is totally different.

Let's elaborate on what we mean. For starters we become Midwives because we are passionate in supporting pregnancy and birthing people. That's an obvious one but it's because we understand that pregnancy and birth is an astronomical event in one's life that can directly affect them in the years to come. We further feel it's our duty and goal to ensure these families have education, options and the ability to voice questions, concerns & choices. This is why when you meet a Midwife, she will often tell you Midwifery is her whole life. This is because it literally is. Her weekly schedule revolves around her clients, birth and classes. Scheduling time off or vacations have to be done months sometimes up to a year in advance. Special events are sometimes missed, our families miss us at family gatherings and on top of this we deal with the backlash of not being present or missing these events. We chose this path knowing we would need to be selfless and completely open to the unpredictability of the profession. This is what we try to remind people around us when we have to reschedule, change plans or when we just can't commit. It's a lifestyle and a sacrifice that only a special type of person can handle.

We do it with joy, happiness, and honor. We respect the privilege of caring on one of the oldest known professions.