The mystery of the Rose Dark Night of Birth by Leopi Nicola
Midwifery and Me
Midwifery has truly been a calling for me. At the ripe old age of 24, I became a midwife. So many years have passed and this path still fills my heart with a quiet fire of passion, focus and energy. I know, that for the rest of my life, my path will continue to be the path of the Sacred Arts of Feminine Healing and Midwifery medicine.
In 1984, I started my journey as a midwife in El paso on the border of Juarez, at the Maternity Center, a birth center. I then returned to New Mexico, and began my own practice. I became licnesed there within 3 months! When I left El Paso, and moved to New Mexico, I transitioned from a more clinical style of midwifery, to a holistic focus, integrating medicinal foods, homeopathy, psychology, philosophy of homeopathy and later, Ortho-Bionomy which is rooted in Osteopathy and is a form of structural, energetic, subtle body work.
I am deeply connected to my grassroots as a midwife and where we come from. I like very much, the feeling that a piece of me is a part of the vast circle of sister Midwives, from the past to present and into the future. We are a rare breed and belong here now more than ever.
I am also a painter, and my work as a midwife has deeply influenced my work as a painter and vice a versa. I truly believe that being a midwife and healthcare practitioner is simply another Art form. I also feel a tremendous responsibility as a woman and midwife, to represent, honor, preserve, sustain and re~birth and invigorate the feminine Arts of Healing in our society. I am sad to see this paradigm be quite overshadowed by the medical Model of healthcare in our present culture. I hope that we find balance and honor both perspectives equally.
My paintings are a reflection of my love for the sacred body. As an ortho-bionomist, I am in awe of the vast and subtle dimensions of our anatomy and also the expressiveness of the body as it constantly and gracefully heals from within, most of the time without us even noticing. I think being a figurative painter has influenced my work as a body therapist. I am grateful to both.
The Midwives Model of Care
I practice the Midwifery model of Care. The Midwives Model of Care is based on the fact that pregnancy and birth are normal life processes, not a pathology.
We
• Monitor the physical, psychological, and social well-being of the mother and family throughout the childbearing cycle
• Provide the mother and family with individualized education, counseling, and prenatal care, continuous hands-on assistance during pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum support for over 6 weeks
• Minimize technological interventions
• Identify and refer women who require obstetrical attention
(We have sensitive discerning hands and refined skills in feeling baby position)
The application of this woman-centered model of care has been proven to reduce the incidence of birth injury, trauma, and cesarean section.
© 1996-2008, Midwifery Task Force, Inc., All Rights Reserved
My Philosophy
“Birth is the arrival of somebody from another place. The person who is arriving must be welcomed, must be made to feel that she has arrived in a place where there are human beings who will receive her gifts.”
– Sobanfu Some
Midwifery is the root of all feminine healing. I am a midwife medicine woman. The midwife has always held a diverse range of healing, teaching and consulting within her community. She was not only a birth attendant but a counsellor, medicine woman, wise woman, teacher and compassionate human being. The older she got, the better she got!
I believe in the family.
I am a midwife to both parents always! We are growing human beings! We are creating a community. I hope to optimise their experience in this together. Intimately, lovingly, respectfully. Creating Life is an unbelievably accelerated time of growth for both people; spiritually, emotionally, communally, and yes, physically.
Although we as midwives honor and protect the mother, we also remember that birth is an act of Love between two people. The involvement and integration of father/partner will make all the difference in the outcome of their birth journey and without harmony and love between them and within themselves, the birth story will be more difficult. Although the father/partner does not carry nor birth their baby, he/she also enters and passes through the same Mystical threshold of life and becomes a father/parent for the rest of their life.
The way that a woman and her partner choose to give birth is their unique choice and I respect this choice. I hope that first she does realise that she does have a choice! I believe that birth should be a family-centered event.
I hope to provide a place of sanctuary for each family and there, provide safety, knowledge, trust, compassion, protection, Love and equality. I support the growing relationship of the parents, siblings, and their community.
I no longer attend the birth Day time but am committed and passionate about guidance and teaching for the pregnancy time and the post birth time..both are simply so very important for a good birth and a smooth transition into parenthood! This is where my wisdom and knowledge is much more helpful now.
My passion now is to midwife families (both women and men) as their guide, counsellor, teacher, sister, mother, but most of all, to empower them and liberate them with knowledge and consciousness of becoming parents, lovers and partners through one of the most transformative human experiences – pregnancy, birth and post birth!
… whether they are having a birth center or hospital birth, I am there by their side as a their guide on their unique journey…as a wise woman and midwife- medicine woman.