A note from Shannon:
I am often asked “What made you become a midwife?” From the time I was a little girl I had an obsession with pregnant bellies and newborn babies. Playing house for me was always being the “Dr.” and delivering the babies, or playing the role of the mother of a newborn baby. I had always dreamed of seeing a baby born, but it wasn’t until I was a mother of three that I finally had the opportunity to see that dream fulfilled.
As I saw that precious little baby emerge I started to cry. I had always felt a giant hole in my heart that nothing seemed to fill, and at that moment I became sure of my calling.
Being a midwife is my passion. I think sometimes I am just as excited as my clients for their labor to start. Even when I get that call at 3 am I feel the excitement of a new adventure. The beauty of birth at home is that each experience in unique. It is not a medical event; it is a once in a lifetime event for each family. One of my favorite things is the way a woman’s labor is incorporated into the normal flow of her day…Seeing her read a book to her toddler and pause for a contraction, or baking a birthday cake with her children to celebrate after the baby arrives. I always feel so blessed to be included in your family’s life, spending time with your children and getting to know your extended family. What a beautiful way to teach your children that birth is a normal, natural event.
I know that my clients worry about calling me to come in the middle of the night or taking me away from my family on a special occasion or holiday. I won’t lie…it can get crazy sometimes. Like being a parent, being a midwife is not always convenient, it often causes sleep deprivation and there are good days and bad days. But also like being a parent there are those moments that take your breath away and make it all worth it. As a midwife it is the moment a beautiful new baby emerges into the world and his daddy starts to cry or when a new mother says “I can’t believe I did it!” Yes, the rewards are definitely worth it. So please don’t ever doubt my commitment to you and your family, I am honored and exited to attend your birth!
Yes I get called away in the middle of a movie or Thanksgiving dinner, I can’t leave town or go on vacation unless I plan it nine months in advance, I sneak out in the middle of the night and sometimes don’t return until the sun is going down the next day. But it is all worth it to know that I made a difference in the life of your family, to see the renewed faith in the ability of your body to bring new life. I love my job, it is my calling.
