Midwives Rising!: Midwifery Classes

Each One, Teach One

Teaching and passing on knowledge is an important part of the midwife calling. The practice of midwifery and the access to knowledge of woman-care should be readily available to all who seek it.

At Midwives Rising! Shell deeply supports this philosophy in a variety of ways and most every week of the month you will find students attending classes, helping with office work, volunteering and assisting with our moms at prenatals appointments.

Many, if not most of our classes are also open to the general public.

Jamie practicing her phlebotomy skills

It is important that the students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it. ~Jacob Bronowski~

Apprenticeship: A private midwifery education tract. Positions are available at a variety of levels for those who intend to practice midwifery. New students are occasionally accepted. Students have access to private instruction and clinical experience as well as to the public classes that Shell hosts or teaches throughout the year.

Visiting Instructors: Midwives Rising! Hosts sister-midwives and others who teach and instruct on a variety of subjects.

Volunteer Work: We are always looking for a few good bodies to help with various activities.

Classes and Events: Change and rotate throughout the year.

A few of my youngest "assistants"

Sample of classes:

Suturing
General Midwifery Study Group
CPR
Fertility and Women’s cycles
Emergency Assessment and/or Management
Basic Prenatal Skills
Physical Exam
Newborn Exam
Sustainable gardening
Placenta Crafting

To stay up to date with the classes that are offered join the Midwives Rising! EVENTS PAGE.

Placenta Crafting Class

A Bit About Us

Of course women who are considering our services will want to know a bit about us. Of course, of course. But what can we say that would really speak to who and what we are? And more importantly; to what you are looking for? The truth is that you will never really know your midwife or what kind of midwife you have hired until she has you naked and on the birthing floor. That said, knowing what motivates someone goes a long ways towards understanding who they really are ...

We are wild and free, living IN the city. Our lives are filled with birth and babies and bellies and humans of all ages. We like soup. We like the air when it is littered with sonic vibrations of THE musical sort. We like liquid, in cups, in ravines, in drops falling from the sky, and in oceans. We like the written arts, scribbles and post-its and sonnets and books and blogs and notes. We would walk to the END of the earth for a mother in need. We like the essence of flowers. Our hair is matted with sticks and leaves; we brush them out more often than we care to. We are picky about THE oddest of personal things yet strive to fully embrace our fellow sojourners, human and otherwise. We LOVE kid art. We love being of service, sometimes we give more than we should, sometimes we do not give enough. Sometimes it happens that the giving and the receiving is perfectly balanced. We love that. We are human, just like YOU. We love quinoa. We prefer our bodies and our minds to be relaxed and in harmony with life. This TAKEs work, lots of work, but we like it. We have a deep respect for the power of kind words and respectful communication. How we justify our potty mouths IS truly beyond us. We cuss at nothing or everything, depending on the day. We like rabble rousers, especially when they are doing something good. We love Lola’s coffee; it is EQUAL to no other. We are profoundly confronted by injustices, it breaks our heart to see others treated unfairly and it calls us TO action. Yet we take our lumps with our chins up. Life is not always fair, and railing for our own piece of THE pie takes a lot of effort and we just can’t seem to be bothered with it. We get what we get and make the best of it. We LOVE good shoes. We would happily go out of our way to serve YOU a piece of homemade pie, but we probably wouldn’t do that for manufactured pie. We don’t know; it's a thing, we don’t much care for artificials. We love living on planet Earth. We strive to MAKE our homes a peaceful sanctuary for our family, but at times we struggle with meals, and paying bills, and schedules, and housekeeping, and laundry, and and and all those things that pile up. But it is ok; we have magic skills... When we are called to a birth, POOF! All of those things just disappear. We are midwives.

A Bit About You

To our clients and prospective clients: You, you, you! Really, it should all be about you. The whole dang everythang. This entire blog should be about you, with a link to a small page that lists a few of the things that you should know about us. Really. But we don't know you. We don't know what you are looking for or what you need or what you like. We wish that we did. If we did, that is exactly what we would talk about. Not because we want to blow hot air up your skirt; we just want you to know that we think and care about you.

Our clients are wild and free. They know that their birth belongs to them, and YOU will never catch them trying to pass the buck on that responsibility. They are powerful and intelligent, but tend not to take themselves too seriously. If it is raining in Phoenix, we CAN assume that at least one of our clients is out dancing in it, or at least splashing in puddles. Possibly naked. Our clients know that their precious lives deserve to be filled with love, acceptance, self-respect, and happiness. If they don't already feel that they are living that way, they are willing and eager to LEARN new ways of being. They know HOW much we care. Sometimes they ask to see our tattoos, and show us their ink, too. TO them, our simple honesty is much more important than scripted overtures, snake oil, or hard sells. And it's a good thing, because we don't believe in a hard sell. They know that we will never sell ourselves out, and that we will never sell them out, either. Our clients like how we massage them, talk to their babies, make them herbal teas and once in a while play hooky and decide to do their prenatal visit somewhere other than the office. They know that they can talk to us about anything. They know we are on their side. Our clients know how to be silly. They know how to BE vulnerable. They know how to be real. They know that the three most powerful words in the English language are, "I love YOU." Our clients know that we will drop everything IN an instant when they need us. Because of this, they value our time, and treat it with kindness and respect. They know that TIME relaxing in a bath is time well spent. IT'S all a matter of balance. Our clients know that we want everything to be ok for them. If something needs to be worked out, we are happy to apply some elbow grease or sprinkle some sugar- whatever is called for. Our clients are EASY to serve, because they bring such joy to our lives. ALL in all, being their midwives is a pretty wonderful job. Our clients are capable beings, on our heart is stamped the phrase; "We Believe in YOU". They know that if we see an unmet NEED, we will strive to fulfill it. We know that they have questions and concerns and needs and and and all of those things that pile up while waiting to become a new parent. But it's ok, they have magic skills. When their baby IS ready, POOF! All of those things disappear. They are divine mothers. We LOVE that.

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Midwifery Classes