Upon entry we are met with the warmest of greetings -hug and kisses :-*

Reunited once again, and for all intents and purposes, that’s exactly what it was…a reunion.

Re- from the Latin meaning “again”, and Union, defined as a state of being united or joined, sums up perfectly our experience with HeartSpace Midwifery. From the humble beginnings of our journey as parents (being totally green in all), to the seasoned vets whose words appear before you today, HeartSpace Midwifery has been there from the start. Heidi Ricks and Maureen Murphy have continually affirmed for us, the sanctity of parenthood and prenatal care. Birth is the greatest of gifts, not only does it unveil our powers to transform, it also profoundly declares our potential for self-actualization- a most noble feat!

In honor of all the years that found us poised on their couch, in mutual excitement (client and provider alike), we share with you,

The 5 Reasons Why HeartSpace is THE Only Place for Our Trippy Tribe’s Prenatal Care.

 

1. Parents stay in the Driver’s Seat

        Preparing for the new chapter of parenthood comes with its fair share of uncertainties. Fortunately enough for us, there was plenty of information available out there so we could be educated on our options and rights as parents. HeartSpace was very encouraging and respectful to the numerous birth plans we have rolled out over the years. From our experience, as well as conversations with others, it’s far too common for parents-to-be to feel coerced and dictated to by those in the medical fields. It can often feel one sided.

In our experience with HeartSpace Midwifery, not only were we given expert insight, we were also inspired to follow our instincts, trust our research, and take the wheel as parents. Stepping up and taking this level of accountability for your pregnancy promotes a proactive approach to parenting that provides a great foundation and keeps the parents exactly where they should be, in the driver’s seat.

2.Personalized Visits

        One of the key things that stood out when we chose Heart Space Midwifery for our prenatal care is how personalized our visits were. HeartSpace brought a sense of service and compassion back to the birthing experience. I could rant on and on, ad infinitum, about how the “business” of being born has led in many ways to the autopilot, cookie cutter visits many experience from the model of care practiced in hospitals today. This was a family affair and all hands were on deck! This was so important to us and very valuable for the boys to take part in our visits as well. Care feels so much better when the provider makes it their mission to serve with the warmth and love they would give their own family…not just on paper but in practice. Whether it was the raspberry leaf tea, toys for the boys, or the special homemade salves for dry skin, our visits were always made about us. Heidi and Maureen also helped us fine tune our prenatal meal plans and provided nutritional guidance throughout the different stages of our pregnancy. HeartSpace Midwifery made sure we had everything we needed! Our care was individualized, centered around our life’s experiences, culture, and personal preferences.

3. Empowerment

    As the odd man out, no pun intended, I was afforded a different vantage point of the birthing experience. Heidi and Maureen were very supportive of the role I desired to have in all this. I never missed an appointment for any of our children and the encouragement I received for continued participation was very empowering to Hannah and I as budding parents. One of the things I am eternally grateful for is the connection that is present between HeartSpace Midwifery and Our Trippy Tribe. It was incredibly empowering for us, especially early on, to be consistently reassured that pregnancy is a normal part of a man and woman’s life. You have come into this world, immaculately equipped, perfect as you are, to do what countless millions before you have done since the beginning of time – give natural birth to healthy babies.

It may seem simple but with the amount of anxiety that hovers around parents-to-be, this is priceless! Our midwives support a holistic and natural approach to maternal care which included many recommendations like prenatal yoga, massage, and exercise, all of which support mental, physical, and emotional health. Looking back (4 pregnancies) we can see how these practices we not only in the best interest of us as parents but also for our children.

4. Extended Family

    The experience of walking into an appointment at the hospital versus walking into your appointment with HeartSpace Midwifery is like night and day. There was a weird disconnect in our dealings with the hospital, it just felt different…like an emotionless, institutional one-night-stand.  The quality and feel of our care were very important to us. We feel it is a great honor to be ushered into the order of parenthood with an experienced guide. One could even argue that a midwife is one of humanity’s longest tenured service providers.

HeartSpace has shown time and time again that their care extends far beyond when we are expecting. HeartSpace Midwifery hosts events annually where all the different families of the babies they’ve caught can come together and fellowship. These little pow wows are chock-full of food, fun, and little ones and Our Trippy Tribe looks forward to them every year.

LaPharaoh even calls Heidi grandma lol, I guess that makes one of us her honorary son or daughter 😀 Not only has HeartSpace helped us extend our family, but in doing so they have become a valuable extension of our family as well.

5. A Natural Approach

As a parent you can make your own choices but the Oprahesque “you get an epidural… you get an epidural…everyone gets an epidural-approach”, was something we wanted to avoid if possible. With increasing awareness of what is absolutely necessary vs what is optional, parents who are more health conscious, have more options for natural childbirth with HeartSpace Midwifery. In our birth plan we desired the least amount of medical intervention possible, we have always leaned toward a drug free, natural approach to childbirth. Recent studies show having midwife-only care has been associated with fewer epidurals, fewer episiotomies, and generally happier mommies and babies. For a plethora of great resources and articles that uses statistical analysis for compare and contrast don’t hesitate to check this site here. Rebecca did a fantastic job with here site, evidence-based birth, gathering data for all the inquiring minds out there.

Does the idea of a home birth peak your interest? If so, here are some basic steps you can take to get the ball rolling.

Check your local (or social) community to see if anyone has experienced a home birth. A great way to get your questions answered is directly from the source. There was a time when these same families were on the other side of the very same decision you may be weighing. When we did our research and reached out to others, we encountered those who were very open and willing to share their experience with us. Research, Research, Research. Zoe Withers’ thinkbaby.org is a great website with a wide variety of family/baby related articles that should prove very helpful in one’s quest for more information. Also, as stated earlier, Rebecca’s evidencebasedbirth.com will provide some of the raw data to truly balance out your research.

Search for midwifery services in your area and reach out to them to see if they offer home births. If so, set up an interview/ meet and greet. We currently reside in New York’s Capital Region and we have worked with HeartSpace Midwifery (located in Troy, NY) for over 7 years now. We highly recommend them, they have been and do remain some of our favorite people on the entire planet. You can find more information about HeartSpace Midwifery here.

We also suggest that you schedule an interview at your local hospital/birthing center so you can contrast and compare the two styles of your potential care provider. With just these three (3) steps you have; Spoken to other families about their home births, sat down with both midwives and a physician alike, and researched some of the timeless yet trending topics in the world of parenting at thinkbaby.org and took a look at some of the statistics on evidencebasedbirth.com. Now you can take a look at all the information you’ve gathered and make the right choice for you and your family, Good Luck!

We hope you found this article helpful.

We are aware that people come with different shapes, sizes, and cultural influences, with personal preferences to match. In the end what’s most important is doing what is best for you and your family, based on what feels right at your current level of understanding.

Feel free to drop us a line below with any questions, comments or concerns. We would also love, love, love for you to share some of your birth stories below in the comment section.