Thank You Madrone!
We can’t thank our midwives Olympia and Caroline enough for helping our baby Finn out into the world! We live in
Petrolia and wanted to have our baby in our home so we started looking for midwives who would be willing to do a
rural birth. Through the entire pregnancy they supported our desire to have our baby at home and helped us have a
healthy pregnancy so we could make our desire a reality. For the birth they brought with them incredible labor support
skills and very proficient medical knowledge. We were so confidant in their ability as birth attendants and comfortable
in our own home that it allowed us to open up to the experience and have natural loving birth. They were also able to
provide all of the postpartum care that we needed. Finn didn’t even leave our yurt for the first two weeks of his life.
We can’t imagine what our birth would have been like without them.

The First In a Series of Open Discussion Forums:

The Pros and Cons of Circumcision

Where: The Stork’s Nest (Mckinleyville Totem Pole Shopping Center)

When: Friday, August 19^th

6pm-9pm

Discussion begins at 6

Presenting: Art & Belly Casts by Linda Willcut-Tallman

Since Tanya is taking an extended maternity leave and Kathleen is about to go off on hers, Calista and I have decided to bring on a new midwife.  We are very excited to introduce Olympia Franklin-McCutchan!

In addition to being a great midwife and a native to Petrolia, she is Tanya’s sister-in-law.  We think that you will like her every bit as much as we do.

Here’s a little bit about her:

Olympia Franklin-McCutchan L.M., C.P.M
I began my study of Women’s health by mentoring young women as they entered into adolescence. It was in 2005 that I was further introduced to the midwifery model of care and fell deeply and passionately inspired. For the following two years I apprenticed with a Granny-midwife in Bristol, Vermont. I was an active participant with the Vermont Midwives Alliance and attended study groups as well.

In 2008, I attended a 14-month program at Maternidad La Luz, a very busy bi-lingual birth center on the border of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. During my time as a student midwife at the center, I cared for a variety of low and medium risk clients.

I am a Wilderness First Responder, Reiki 1 certified and a student herbalist. In total, I have attended more than 120 births. I carry current IV, CPR and Neonatal Resuscitation certification. I am a California Licensed Midwife and a Certified Professional Midwife.  Returning to my childhood home of Humboldt County, I have been joined by a variety of midwives, in caring for clients throughout the whole county.

In January 2011, I experienced a very powerful change in my role as a midwife, when I entered into motherhood, birthing our daughter, Vasilisa, in our own home. I am guided by my mixture of experiences as a community midwife, with a strong sense of grounding, commitment, open communication, and deep trust in the processes of life. I see the family as a whole and the woman as a whole, knowing that there are depths to each being that cannot be seen on the surface. I am honored to bear witness and help hold the sacredness of this passage.

Here we are all together at the Mother's Day picnic!

What a beautiful day we had for the Natural Birth Fair!  The sun came out in full force, and it was warm!

We enjoyed seeing lots of old friends.  Time goes by so quickly that babies we haven’t seen in a while have sprouted up into big kids.  It’s so good to stay in touch.

Thanks to everyone who came out and celebrated Mother’s Day with us!  And a special thanks to Kathleen who did most of the work to put this together.

A couple of clowns came over from Dell'Arte.

and a juggler!

Kathleen worked so hard to pull of this great event!

Moms and babies!

We enjoyed lots of great workshops!

Join us Sunday, May 8 to celebrate mothers!

We will be at Redwood Park in Arcata from 11-4.

There will be talks, food, entertainment and lots of natural birth loving families.

During my first pregnancy, my partner and I knew we wanted a homebirth with the assistance of skilled midwives.  Yet we also wanted to broaden our prenatal perspective, so we chose also to receive care at our local clinic.  (Parallel care.)  At the clinc, we would wait, wait some more,  then be checked, tested, analyzed and sent away.

What a difference a little Love and tea can make.

From the moment I stepped into their office, I felt comfortable, empowered and at home.  After “shopping around” for midwives, what really struck me as different from the rest, was their unwavering presence.

They were each so nurturing, open, wise, and compassionately curious about how I was processing ALL aspects of my pregnancy.  My health, baby’s health, questions I had, home life, nutrition, life choices, partner relationships, sex, and all things concerning birth and postnatal support.  My partner and I both LOVED that they consistently checked in with him as well, and he felt supported by them equally.

In the end, due to placenta previa, I had to have a scheduled cesarean birth, followed by a rough and extended healing process.  And even though we ended up not needing their assistance during the birth, they stood by us like rocks during our 3 month recovery and were there for me in ways I can’t truly explain.  I was primed for postpartum depression, and in many ways felt very down.  But I attribute their love, friendship, and unconditional support as the guiding force that helped me steer clear of that.

Hiring them is worth every penny for just pre/post natal care alone.  A lovingly supported birth is just a bonus!

Zion

-SarahSita, Joshua and Zion

This was Rachel’s second homebirth, but first waterbirth.  Rachel was amazing.  She was able to receive Layla into her own hands with grace and ease.  We were blessed to be witness to such a sacred event.

It's a girl!

Rachel catching her sweet baby Layla!

Bryson and Rachel

It’s great to see Ben and Melanie with their growing son, Kona, having fun at the beach.