Happy Midwifery Week!

National Midwifery Week is October 3-9 -- a week organized by the American College of Nurse-Midwives to recognize midwives and increase public awareness about the excellent care that midwives provide.

Here's how you can celebrate: Join Team Midwife to show your support for WISDOM midwives and help communicate the value of midwifery care to the public, hospital administrators, and legislators.

One year later...

Dearest Whitney,
Today is Henry's 1st birthday and while we are all rushing around buzzing with excitment and preparing for a fun family celebration, I am constantly thinking about you and the day that Henry was born. The weather was a lot like it is today (maybe not quite as chilly), and by this point in the day (mid-morning) I was deep into pushing, pushing, pushing! There is no way I could have known just how much my life would change in a few of the longest short hours I've ever known.

Today, Henry is an amazingly happy, bright, healthy, strong, confident, curious child. He has a light in his eyes like I have never seen before. He brings such joy into my life everyday, and he has taught me how to love in a way that I never knew existed.

You were there when Henry came into our lives and into this world. You taught me how to birth, how to believe in myself, how to be patient, and how to trust. These are all things that have helped mold me into the mother I am today and therefore the incredible being that is Henry. I know you touch many souls everyday in this same way. You will always be connected to this day deep inside of me and I will continue to thank you endlessly.

Thank you for sharing your love and light with with me. I am so blessed to see it and live in it everyday. I hope you are well!
Love,
Erin

Midwives are the guardians of normal and natural birth…

This month, Our Bodies Ourselves celebrates 40 years as an invaluable resource for so many women.

Whitney Pinger reflects on the impact Our Bodies Ourselves has had on her: "As a young teen in the 1970s, OBOS taught me that women’s health was ours, and that we did not have to give up or strength and power. I learned that midwives are the guardians of normal and natural birth and that is what I have come to incarnate... Read her full post.

See also Our Bodies Ourselves on the midwifery model of care and Choices in Childbirth: A Statement by Physicians, Midwives and Women’s Health Advocates who Support Safe Choices in Childbirth.

Whitney Pinger and natural birth featured on NBC Washington

Whitney Pinger and the WISDOM Midwifery practice at George Washington University was featured recently on NBC Washington.

Watch the story.

The theme: WISDOM midwives support women in having a natural birth in a hospital setting with a c-section rate of less than 5%. In this way, WISDOM midwives optimize the chance of normal vaginal delivery with the back up of hospital technology if intervention is necessary. "It's the best of both worlds," Whitney says in the video.

March for midwifery in the Palisades 4th of July Parade

We marched in the 2011 Palisades
July 4th Parade to give a loud
shout out to  midwifery care in DC.

Where's Your Midwife? 
My midwife is at GW!"

Proud WISDOM women marched along midwives, doulas and families at the Palisades July 4th Parade this year to shout out the importance of access to normal birth with the support of midwives for all women in Washington, DC.

The DC Affiliate of ACNM sponsored the float: a red pick-up truck decorated with belly casts.
 

100 WISDOM births at GW!

On June 17th, we had a party to celebrate our first year and our first 100 births at GW. WISDOM women joined Whitney and people from GW who helped make possible all of the success in our first year.

Happy International Day of the Midwife

Today, May 5th, is International Day of the Midwife. Learn more about how you can honor and advocate for midwives.

WISDOM is growing!

Two new midwives have joined our practice: Nora Fisher CNM, and Marsha Stalcup CNM (both previously with Takoma Women’s Health before they closed their doors in 2007). Now with five WISDOM midwives, we're thrilled to be able support more DC-area women achieve in-hospital, midwifery managed pregnancy care and births.

WISDOM at GW receives honorable mention as a "collaborative practice"

Whitney Pinger and her GW colleagues have been recognized for the new collaborative practice model they've launched at GW in the past year. Their paper, “Successful Models of Collaborative Practices in Maternity Care: Midwifery at The George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates,” has been selected for an honorable mention by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and American College of Nurse-Midwives.

The two organizations are promoting collaborative practice between obstetrician-gynecologists and certified nurse-midwives and/or certified midwives. The organizations believe "Health care is most effective when it occurs in a system that facilitates communication across care settings and among providers... Ob-gyns and CNMs/CMs are experts in their respective fields of practice and are educated, trained, and licensed, independent providers who may collaborate with each other based on the needs of their patients. Quality of care is enhanced by collegial relationships characterized by mutual respect and trust, as well as professional responsibility and accountability.”

Welcome WISDOM to GWU with a "light of life"

Help us celebrate WISDOM's arrival at George Washington University by participating in the Lights of Life Celebration. With a $10 donation, you can dedicate a light in honor of WISDOM. Your gift will benefit GW Hospital Oncology patients and The GW Hospital Women’s Center.

Hundreds of white lights will be lit in The George Washington University Ross Hall courtyard during the Lights of Life ceremony on December 8th, 2010 at 5:15 p.m. and remain lit throughout the holiday season.

To make a donation and dedication, please use the Lights of Life dedication form.