Getting in the Door

          My fascination with childbirth started long before understanding what it meant to be a midwife.  I would say midwifery is more than just helping women empower themselves, It is a philosophy and way of thinking.  The obvious view that separates it from the traditional medical model is that midwives think pregnancy is a natural and normal process.  The midwifery model of care supports a woman during pregnancy as an active partner in her care and encourages her to be the decision-maker.  Myself being a women, I am all for individual decision making especially when it comes to my body.  However, this is not the only factor I considered while making the BIG decision to return to school.  Like all women, once you become a wife and a mother your decisions are not your own.  You have a family to consider and your decisions impact everyone.  It obviously wasn't the potential all nighters catching babies or long work days of seeing 20 plus women on a daily bases that got me filling out my application to graduate school.  It was this idea that as a Navajo women, wife, mother, daughter, sister, and nurse I had something to offer. 
          I wont go into my childhood, but I will say this.  Life is not easy, people let you down, but its during those times that life is taking a turn for the worst you might find yourself.  What I found in my darkest times was hope and strength.  Now I'm not going to lie to you and say each time I was in the dumps I saw the silver lining, but after a few years when I stopped feeling sorry for myself and I really saw what was going on I started to get a sense of what I was made of.  I don't consider myself the smartest lady in the world,   I just don't give up very easly. 
          Growing up I seemed to get the sense that women have not always been treated fairly.  I mean even in my own home I saw the differences. My brother got to tell me to clean up his messes.  My father got the biggest portions of food at the dinner table.  These are small childhood memories, but once I got married and had children there was more.  The amazing part was it was coming from other women and not necessarily the male species.  I was being judged on how I mothered my children, what kind of wife I was, how well behaved my kids were or weren't.  Then I got to thinking about all the issues women face in this world, depression, suicide, sexual abuse, drug abuse, and the list goes on and on and on.  I mean no wonder we have these issues we get judged all the time about what we are doing or not doing.  We are not valued enough as a person.  Now some might say depression and suicide could be brought on by unstable family structures and personal choices, but the bigger picture is these women who suffer from these problems have been beat down enough to think they are not worthy of love, respect, and trust. 
          Midwifery is more than about birthing babies, its about helping women find their worth in many shapes and forms.  Midwives have a long history of supporting women and families when no one wanted the job.  Midwives provide information and options to empower women to be the authority of her own body so that she may make her own choices.   If women are the heart of a family and the cornerstone to healthy families, why not nurture them and support them in their choices.  This is why I decided to return to school.  You will find that many midwives have a strong commitment to women and their families.  The work is hard and at times thankless, but women who choose to take on this journey do have a greater purpose. 
That greater purpose has brought me here.....