This was yet another special birth! Heather Munoz, CPM (center), was surrounded by best friends and birth workers as she gave birth to her fifth child. From left to right: Celesta Bargatze, CPM, Tara Garner (doula, birth photographer), Elise Buckner (apprenticing midwife), and Mary Anne Richardson, CPM. All of the midwives in this photograph have been trained by Mary Anne Richardson. Thanks to her, we have been able to gain the necessary skills to attend women in birth.
In a world of devastating realities facing mothers and their babies, we are doing our best to make a difference. This begins in the U.S., which recently plummeted from 50th to 60th place among the developed world for maternal mortality. It begins by believing that black lives matter, that hispanic lives matter, that asian lives matter, and that white lives matter--all the same--and providing education, care and support without discrimination for laboring mothers in our own city. It grows to encompass the international regions where we work. The same midwives, doulas and educators listed above utilize their expertise in cross-cultural service around the world. We cannot change every birth outcome for every mom. But we can change the way mothers are prioritized and treated in pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. Our own community can stand as an example of what is possible with the cooperation of midwives, doulas and educators who are not competing with one another, but serving side-by-side striving for the dignity and quality of life, precious, new life. Thank you LORD!
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