It was almost 5 years ago that we signed the papers for the Montana Midwives Cooperative, making us one of the first midwifery cooperatives in the nation.  It is hard to believe that it has been that long!  Time does sure fly when you are having fun, and fun is something in no short supply at the “BC” as we call it (birth center).  It is our work, our mission, our family, our fun.  If home is where the heart is, then the birth center must be home too, because our hearts fill that space with so much love for each other, for our mothers, and for our community.

The cooperative bought the building which is now Community Birth Center from Helen and Paul Jones, who founded the Jones’ Music School, which was an icon in Kalispell for 20 plus years.  The music school turned birth center is definitely our home away from home, and we would love for moms to feel that way too.  Many cups of coffee and tea, cries, and laughs have been shared between the midwives and our women and their families.  Many babies and toddlers have been nursed, quietly played, cried, and run through the winding hallways squealing in delight with all the space.  Families have waited, worried, and wondered at the marvel that is labor and birth.  They pass the time by watching cable, playing the piano, reading to the children, taking naps on couches, preparing food in the kitchen, drinking cups of coffee and tea and smoothies, and even curling up in a cozy corner for the night.

Counseling sessions at the center help women to feel better, breastfeeding group gives necessary support for those new to it, and parenting group provides an outlet for moms and children to play.  The midwives have had slumber parties there on snowy nights when we were concerned the weather could complicate our timely arrival at the center. Doctors have taken tours, journalists have come exploring, local officials have walked through, we have been featured in magazines and newspapers, but mostly our presence is enjoyed by the women in our community who want birth kept simple and safe.

What makes a cooperative different than a partnership or corporation is that on paper, and in our mission, we function as a true team.  We all give as much as we can to the birth center and we all take equally from it.  If one of us has something come up, we pick up her slack.  We help each other any hour of the day, and we are all willing to help any of our mommas, even if they are not ‘our’ client.  We share the burdens and celebrate the successes.  We train apprentices together, and have a mechanism in place to allow other midwives to become members of the cooperative, and are especially interested to train women who can work in their own communities, like our local Native American, Amish, and Mennonite communities.  We all make the decisions, and work cooperatively together.  We believe the sum is definitely greater than its parts, and that we can achieve far greater results for under-served communities by banning together as midwives under the cooperative model.

We are currently on a water birth marathon!  We have had so many water births in a row that we have all lost track and would have to consult the birth log to know for sure how many we have done. Our mothers and their babies have been super healthy and happy, and other than cords wrapped lovingly around babies necessitating some swift midwife maneuvers, all have gone off without a hitch, thank God.  We have started IVs; managed postpartum hemorrhages; treated kidney, bladder, and upper respiratory infections; utilized aromatherapy, herbal remedies, and homeopathy; resuscitated babies; given massages; and performed midwife tricks of the trade to guard the normal process of birth.

We have had complications and our moms have had cesarean sections.  That is an inevitable part of making babies.  But with 60 cumulative midwife years of experience at the birth center, we feel our mothers are in the safest place possible, and yes, I’m including the hospital in that, which is just up the road a few miles if we need them.  Hospitals and their medical model of care, even with a midwife, are NOT the best place for low-risk healthy women!  The medical literature itself proves that only an out-of-hospital environment can limit labor and delivery interventions, including unnecessary cesarean sections; and with a skilled birth attendant, is as safe as the hospital (safer, if you count the rising c-section rate).

We have come so far, and we thank you for that.  We love each and every one of you and your families.  It is why we do what we do.  We each take only a small stipend a month (and that just started), so we are not in this for the money.  We happily take donations to help us with our mission to provide holistic, loving, affordable care to ALL women and their famiies across the state of Montana.

We are here to be a center for community, to provide a place where all women can come and get what they need whether that is physical, social, emotional, or spiritual support and camaraderie; and to bring the best and most beautiful midwifery model of care to women who might not have access to midwives across the state of Montana.

Much love and thanks to each and every one of you who help us make this community birth center a true cooperative~

MUCH NEWS:  We are finally finishing our Asian Birth Suite, woohoo!  Stay tuned for pictures of that.  We have updated our website (http://www.communitybirthcenter.com).  We are planning our Second Annual Spring Potluck to celebrate International Day of the Midwife on May 5, 2015–EVERYONE IS INVITED (watch facebook at http://www.facebook.com/communitybirthcenter for that event) We hope to soon begin offering classes in HypnoBirthing and Elimination Communication.  AND we are re-launching our Eureka Outpost Clinic to be opening this Spring, so exciting!

As always, come see us during Open House every Saturday between 2 and 4 pm.

In Love and Light,

~Your Midwives

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/members/facility-offers-complete-birthing-experience/article_f4a59eee-aa8d-11e4-823c-37eed972b217.html

]]> https://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/2014/09/06/podcast-90614-pregnancy-first-trimester/feed/ 0 202 miss tempestuous b250b-babyshaul001 sharise@communitybirthcenter.com (sharise)nohttps://s3.amazonaws.com/communitybirthcenter/first-trimester.mp3sharisehttps://s3.amazonaws.com/communitybirthcenter/first-trimester.mp3Freestanding,birth,center,birth,center,midwife,natural,birth,alternative,health,care,holistic,health,care,labor,and,delivery,home,birth https://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/podcast-62114-traditional-healing-understanding-and-recovering-from-birth-trauma/ https://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/podcast-62114-traditional-healing-understanding-and-recovering-from-birth-trauma/#respond Thu, 17 Jul 2014 14:40:36 +0000 http://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/podcast-62114-traditional-healing-understanding-and-recovering-from-birth-trauma/ https://s3.amazonaws.com/communitybirthcenter/Traditional+Healing-++Understanding+and+Recovering+from+Birth+Trauma.mp3

]]> https://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/podcast-60714-traditional-healing-herbal-and-homeopathic-remedies/feed/ 0 184 miss tempestuous blog post pics sharise@communitybirthcenter.com (sharise)no  http://communitybirthcenter.s3.amazonaws.com/herbs.mp3sharise  http://communitybirthcenter.s3.amazonaws.com/herbs.mp3Freestanding,birth,center,birth,center,midwife,natural,birth,alternative,health,care,holistic,health,care,labor,and,delivery,home,birth https://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/podcast-53114-chelsey-and-marks-birth-story/ https://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/podcast-53114-chelsey-and-marks-birth-story/#respond Sun, 01 Jun 2014 01:03:57 +0000 http://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/?p=179 https://s3.amazonaws.com/communitybirthcenter/Chelsey+and+MarksBirth+Story.mp3 ]]> https://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/podcast-53114-chelsey-and-marks-birth-story/feed/ 0 179 miss tempestuous sharise@communitybirthcenter.com (sharise)noshariseFreestanding,birth,center,birth,center,midwife,natural,birth,alternative,health,care,holistic,health,care,labor,and,delivery,home,birth https://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/podcast-52414-jessicas-birth-stories/ https://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/podcast-52414-jessicas-birth-stories/#respond Tue, 27 May 2014 02:09:41 +0000 http://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/?p=174 https://s3.amazonaws.com/communitybirthcenter/edited+birth+story+5.26b.mp3 ]]> https://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/podcast-52414-jessicas-birth-stories/feed/ 0 174 miss tempestuous sharise@communitybirthcenter.com (sharise)nohttps://s3.amazonaws.com/communitybirthcenter/edited+birth+story+5.26b.mp3sharisehttps://s3.amazonaws.com/communitybirthcenter/edited+birth+story+5.26b.mp3Freestanding,birth,center,birth,center,midwife,natural,birth,alternative,health,care,holistic,health,care,labor,and,delivery,home,birth https://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/2014/05/17/joannas-birth-story/ https://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/2014/05/17/joannas-birth-story/#comments Sat, 17 May 2014 21:05:23 +0000 http://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/?p=168 https://s3.amazonaws.com/communitybirthcenter/Joannas+Birth+Story.mp3 ]]> https://communitybirthcenter.wordpress.com/2014/05/17/joannas-birth-story/feed/ 2 168 miss tempestuous sharise@communitybirthcenter.com (sharise)nohttps://s3.amazonaws.com/communitybirthcenter/Joannas+Birth+Story.mp3sharisehttps://s3.amazonaws.com/communitybirthcenter/Joannas+Birth+Story.mp3Freestanding,birth,center,birth,center,midwife,natural,birth,alternative,health,care,holistic,health,care,labor,and,delivery,home,birth