Category: Midwife

Continuing Ed

1/1/2026

One of my favorite things about being a midwife is that there will always be a need to continue learning. As we understand more about pregnancy, and birth, there is always something new to be learned. This past year I took a few courses to stay current on evidence based guidelines for care, and to learn more about things some of my clients were experiencing.

I completed a course on iron and ferritin. As a result of what I learned, I’ve added some labs to what I check. Checking on ferritin levels, total iron binding capacity, Vitamin B12 levels along with a few more new labs helps me better evaluate hemoglobin, ferritin and what needs the body may have where ferritin is concerned.

I took a course covering hepatic cholestasis of the liver. Understanding ways we can support the liver well with supplements, and what to watch for if there is cholestasis of the liver has been invaluable for the clients I have served this year who have developed this complication or had it with a prior pregnancy.

I also took a course on handling hemorrhage in the immediate postpartum period. There have been some changes to how to best treat a hemorrhage since I started my practice 6 years ago. It was good to learn the changes so I can update my protocol with the current recommendations and guidelines.

I continue to learn from my clients, which I absolutely love. Whether it’s how to use scan and go at Sam’s Club, or about Idiopathic Postprandial Syndrome, my clients continue to helpe me learn and grow as a midwife and in my daily life.

0 Comments

My Ferritin Eye Opener

12/1/2025

0 Comments

In the interests of being as healthy as I can be, as well as being a midwife who practices what she preaches, I decided to test my ferritin. For curiosity's sake I had my husband’s ferritin checked as well. Getting the lab results was eye opening in more than one way.

I’m not going to share my number, but if I was pregnant and a client, I would need to work on getting my ferritin in a better place. I will be making changes to do exactly that.

What was eye opening to me were the differences between acceptable ranges for women compared to men. Lab results will list a reference range for each test. Reference ranges are determined by sampling 120 individuals who are assumed healthy to determine the upper and lower limits of the reference range. The ranges can vary based on if the lab is using a nationwide sample group, or a local group. They can also vary depending on the age, gender and other factors of the people in the sample group. Doctors tend to rely on the reference ranges provided by the lab to determine if someone has an issue and may not be familiar with functional or optimal ranges.

The laboratory I use shows a reference range of 15-150 for females and a range of 30-400 for males. I was shocked at the significant difference between ranges for men and women! While men have more muscle than women and there is a difference in blood volume of men compared to women (men tend to have just under a liter more blood than women), it’s eye opening to see how vast the difference is. Women of childbearing age have regular blood loss through menstruation, men do not, so if anyone needs to keep on top of ferritin levels, it’s women. The reference range recommendations by the World Health Organization have an upper limit for men of 200, and 150 for women, and a lower limit of 30 for both men and women. Functional medicine providers recommend a lower limit of 70.

Testing ferritin in pregnancy is still uncommon, but it needs to be the standard of care for everyone whether pregnant or not. The lack of agreement on what levels should be highlights a fundamental problem in the medical community. Instead of looking at population averages, we should be looking at functional levels. Once someone gets into the functional range, paying attention to how they feel and are functioning will let providers and clients tweak things further to optimize ferritin at the individual level. That is my goal with every client I serve.

0 Comments

Who I Follow

10/15/2025

0 Comments

In my last blog post I shared the websites I use for information about pregnancy and birth. Now, I’d like to share the influencers and websites that I trust for my own personal health information. After jumping from one leading podcaster or influencer to the next “greatest” one only to find that what they were presenting wasn’t realistic for me, or wasn’t backed up by evidence. These are the podcasters and influencers I kept coming back to and now follow. They provide evidence based recommendations that are realistic and beneficial in my opinion.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, and The Pump Club newsletter. I find this a great resource for motivation, and for evidence based information on health, fitness, nutrition and for encouragement to live the best life you are capable of.
Jeff Cavalier’s YouTube channel. I appreciate the emphasis Jeff has on building muscle, and strength in a healthy, sustainable way.
Elizabeth Benton’s podcast. I have listened to her podcast for years. Her focus on creating consistency to achieve your goals has often been just what I have needed to hear.
Dr. Peter Attia. I can’t recommend his book Outlive enough. Dr Attia has a newsletter, and a YouTube channel. I love reading his analysis of studies that are making headlines. I appreciate his evidence based suggestions and his focus on aging well.

0 Comments

Alternative Uses for Midwifery Tools

7/1/2025

0 Comments

I have a lot of tools and gadgets that I use as a midwife. While they are invaluable to my midwifery practice, some of them can also be handy for other purposes.

Here are just a few of the ways I have found some of my midwifery tools to be useful for more than midwifery care:

Chux pads are great for protecting surfaces when you know what you are doing can or will make a mess. My husband’s favorite use for Chux pads is to protect the garage floor when he’s doing an oil change. I have used them when I’m doing something in the kitchen that has the potential to be quite messy like pitting cherries.
Birth pool mirrors can be useful for seeing things inside a car engine bay or on motorcycle engines. I found it invaluable for putting colostomy bags on during my colostomy phase of life.
Infrared thermometers can be used to check oven or freezer temperatures.
Stethoscopes can be used to pinpoint where a noise is coming from, handy if you are hearing a new noise in your car. I’ve also used my stethoscope to get a heart rate on my cat.
Hemostats are a clamp often used to clamp blood vessels. If an umbilical cord tears during birth (rare but it can happen), I would clamp it with a hemostat. My husband has his own set now to clamp hoses on cars and motorcycles.
I’ve used my scale and sling to weigh a cat.
I have started using nitrile gloves when working with jalapeno peppers, onions, as well as car and motorcycle repairs or maintenance.

Using some of my midwifery tools for more than midwifery aligns well with the adaptability and outside the box thinking midwifery demands, not to mention making some of the things I do around my home a little easier.

0 Comments

Another Health Update

6/1/2025

0 Comments

One year and 8 days after being placed, my colostomy was successfully reversed!!

Just as I encourage my clients to prepare for labor, birth and postpartum, I did some things to be ready for surgery.

I literally trained for this surgery. I lifted heavy weights three times a week, did zone 2 and HIIT cardio, as well as walking at least 5 miles each day.
I worked on increasing my daily protein intake.
I prioritized getting good sleep.

My doctors and nurses were impressed with how well I could move after surgery. My home health nurses are amazed at how quickly the wound where my colostomy was is healing. I am taking the advice I give clients for the postpartum period. I continue to focus on eating lots of protein and resting well. I am being very mindful to gradually ease back into my normal routine, while listening to my body to make sure I’m not doing too much too soon.
I will continue to focus on recovering well so I can get back to the work I love while serving the most wonderful clients I could ever ask for.

0 Comments

<<Previous

Continuing Ed

My Ferritin Eye Opener

Who I Follow

Alternative Uses for Midwifery Tools

Another Health Update

Author

Archives

Categories