Midwife 2.0
I posted this on Instagram along with my stats for the 2022 year. Partially as an explanation for such good statistics because they are so unusual and partially as a way to communicate with the variety of folks who follow me, from local birth professionals and clients and to those on the national level what has shifted in my career over the last year. I recorded a podcast on how I have shifted my business model to better support myself and family. You can listen here:
A note on stats this year. My transfer rate and cesarean for the year aren’t the typical, a lot of it is because I attended half the amount of births in 2022 as I have in years past. As midwives we plan our lives out 10 months in advance and 2021 was a hard year for me. Like a lot of midwives, I was edging into burn out after working as a homebirth provider during a pandemic. I was going back and forth on whether to close my practice. I started interviewing for jobs while trying to figure out if I could work for a company and still take on clients. It’s in my heart to be a midwife and I love what I do but the on call lifestyle and the toll on my family is a lot. In the fall of 2021 I also lost my dad and my mom had the first of two heart attacks. After all of this and a lot of back and forth I dedicated myself to keeping my practice going but on a reduced client load. Which brings us into 2022. It’s been an amazing year with amazing clients and colleagues. Whether you know it or not every single birth was healing for me. I feel like I have way more balance in my life and am a lot less stressed. I have started training a student to build better, more sustainable midwifery. I started mentoring other midwives in how to run their practices in better, sustainable ways. I’m stepping into a new, fuller role in midwifery in 2023 and I’m so glad to still be here.
Because I have shifted my practice to a smaller model and take a couple months off I do fill up fast. If you’re a repeat client or hoping to work with me please reach out as soon as you know you’re pregnant. That doesn’t mean I won’t have space if you are looking to switch providers later in care, sometimes due dates line up just right that I can fit people in. I hope each of you have a great 2023!