*(pronounced mid-"whiff"-ery; not mid-"wife"-ery.)
That's right, folks. October 5-11. Go hug a midwife.
For those of you interested, here's a
brief history of nurse-midwifery in the United States. When I graduated from my program at Georgetown, we had a "blessing of the hands" ceremony. The graduating students formed a circle inside a larger circle of midwives already in practice. Each was paired off with a member of the profession who would welcome them to midwifery. There was a silver bowl of holy water (Georgetown is a Catholic university) and a silver ladle used to bless each of our hands as we embarked upon our careers of service to women and children.
The midwife I was paired with was Kitty Ernst, the current president of the American College of Nurse-Midwives. It's funny because she's probably shorter than 5 feet and I had to bend my head down to hear her. The ladle that was used had special significance in the history of nurse-midwives because it was a wedding gift given to Hattie Hemschemeyer (read about her in the history) and was passed from her to Kitty Ernst as a symbol of gratitude for what she had done to carry nurse-midwifery into the 21st century. Very cool.
Me and Kitty... I have my knees bent almost to a 90 degree angle in the picture below so I could be a comparable height. She actually only came up to just above my elbow. An awesome lady. When she was holding my hands in hers for the ceremony, I could tell from her touch that she is an amazing midwife. There is a presence some people can convey through touch, and she definitely had that presence.
My fellow graduates are now working as midwives too. I love swapping stories with them and commiserating about the insecurities and frustrations of working as new-grad midwives. I feel so blessed to be a part of this profession and am grateful that I went to the program I did, and met so many wonderful women in the process!
I celebrate that I am one of over 7000 Certified Nurse Midwives in practice today, and hope that number continues to grow.
13 comments:
it will grow! I take my comprehensive exam on monday and then boards as soon as possible after that!!! Wish me luck!
you look SO BEAUTIFUL! wowza.
have you read, "a midwife's tale" by laurel thatcher ulrich? so interesting. nonfiction - takes place in early new england.
not yet... I've heard it's good. I need to start making a list of all the books I want to read.
P.S. You're the beautiful one, what with that sexy afro.
I so enjoyed reading about our favorite midwife this morning and you do look very beautiful! I love your hair that way:)
What an honorable profession to be in. We have a history of midwives on both sides of our family and feel honored to have another one join us SOON:) We wish we could give our favorite one a huge hug...but instead we will give your sweetheart a big snuggly hug for you tonight.
Savannah just said, "tell hers we love her!"
xoxoxo
P.S. Was that not your razor?
I have hugged a midwife this week, have you? (I was with Jamie in UT this past weekend.)
Nope, not my razor. Turns out mine was in a bag with my hairdryer all along.
Jamie you are amazing!!! I know you are wonderful at what you do too!!!
I found your blog! I love it :-) So interesting! Well, I hope I gett to see you sometime & meet your soon-to-be husband. Happy Midwifery week!
Jamie,
I just read your last two entrys. I knew our society was degenerating, but I didn't realize how young these problems begin. I'm some what sheltered with no kids in school yet, and any run in with the general populous being at the park or grocery store. I'll tell you this much...I'm grateful for upstanding individuals like you who may have some positive influence on these young girls/women, and I definietly need to have some serious conversations with my boys earlier than I thought. Yikes! Happy National Midwifery Week to you! (Better late than never). I greatly respect the profession.
I love your blog, very fun and very informative! Thanks for finding us, now we can keep in touch better!
Happy National Midwifery Week right back. I loved reading about your ceremony and history. It's a great legacy.
In every picture you look quite tall. How tall are you?
Oh Jamie I miss you!! YOU get married so so so soon! Kevin is so the luckiest man in the world
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