Part Two of this lovely interview with Midwife Chelsea Smith. Can you discuss any unique or innovative techniques you use during labor and delivery to ensure a safe and comfortable experience for the mother and baby? All of our clients are mobile and unmedicated. First and foremost, we focus on prenatal and labor nourishment, hydration, and movement. Throughout the duration of care, we listen closely to what mom and baby are telling us (through listening to the body, the sounds and words, heart rate, positioning, etc) in the only way that they can. There are a variety of tools that we utilize ..read more

An interview with Chelsea Smith, Midwife This interview has been sitting in my files for quite awhile and as I read through it again, I was brought to tears by Chelsea’s clear passion for birth and holding space for individual families as they meet their babies on their own terms. I’m so, so grateful to Chelsea for taking the time to share such profound and articulate thoughts on home birth and her practice. How long have you been a midwife and what got you into midwifery? Like so many other birth workers, I was attracted to women’s work from a very young age without really understanding why ..read more

    So you think you might want to have a home birth- now what? Whether you feel drawn to a home birth because of the individualized care, you want to be the one making the rules when it comes to who is welcomed into your birth space, you want to avoid common interventions standard in hospital, or your cultural or spiritual beliefs, the next step in the process of deciding if this journey is right for you is to find a midwife. Ideally, you’ll have more than one midwife to interview, but here in western North Dakota, finding just one midwife that’s working in your area can be difficu ..read more

Hey there! Ready to dive into the real talk about postpartum life? Meet Taylor Marshall-Wanner, CPD, our very own certified postpartum doula right here in lil ol’ Dickinson, North Dakota, who brings a down-to-earth vibe to the chaotic beauty of early parenthood. No fluff, just genuine support. Join us in unraveling the postpartum journey with Taylor. What brought you to this work? What made you decide to start a business? Like a lot of birth workers, my own postpartum experience brought me to this work. I decided to start Mom to Mom Postpartum Services after I realized how underserved postpart ..read more

    Breastfeeding is can be one of the most beautiful and rewarding experiences of motherhood, but it can also be one of the most challenging.  When I was pregnant with my first, my midwife encouraged me to attend a local La Leche League meeting, but as an introvert with serious social anxiety (I didn’t know that then, lol), that sounded terrifying, so I didn’t go. Looking back and knowing what I know now about all of my particular breastfeeding experiences, I don’t actually regret not going. However, I do wish I had done more personal education on what normal newborn behavior ..read more

Here in Dickinson, we are so lucky to have an amazing Parks and Rec, with a fantastic network of parks and playgrounds for families to enjoy. But as anyone with a baby or toddler can tell you, not all playground equipment is equal when it comes to smaller kiddos. High platforms, advanced climbing equipment, and no toddler swings can be just a few factors in making a playground less fun and more anxiety-inducing for parents of toddlers and preschoolers. So the other day, my 5 year-old and I decided to visit some of our favorite parks around town and rank them based on their ease of use for fami ..read more

Are you curious about the ins and outs of homebirth? Want to know what it's really like to have a baby at home with the guidance of a skilled and experienced midwife?  Now, I grew up in an environment where home birth was normal and expected. Waking up to find a new babies in our house are among my very earliest memories. Midwives sitting at the kitchen table charting, family prenatal visits, piles of chux pads, and the sights and sounds of birth were normal. But I know that this is an extremely unique experience and that most people have no clue what a home birth looks like. So I’ve take ..read more

More and more families are learning about the benefits of doula support, such as lower rates of cesarean births, faster labors, and more positive birth experiences in general. And who wouldn’t want that?! Doula Kathy Paul supports pregnant Mandan mother in the birth pool. Doula Willow Huisman offers lactation support to breastfeeding mom in Bismarck. When people ask me what a doula does, I tell them that it’s basically like having your birth class instructor in the labor and delivery room with you, gently mentioning the positions and coping strategies you learned during pregnancy, but have t ..read more

More and more families are learning about the benefits of doula support, such as lower rates of cesarean births, faster labors, and more positive birth experiences in general. And who wouldn’t want that?! Doula Kathy Paul supports pregnant Mandan mother in the birth pool. Doula Willow Huisman offers lactation support to breastfeeding mom in Bismarck. When people ask me what a doula does, I tell them that it’s basically like having your birth class instructor in the labor and delivery room with you, gently mentioning the positions and coping strategies you learned during pregnancy, but have t ..read more

For many parents, National Breastfeeding Awareness Month is a fun time to celebrate the hard work and benefits that come with breastfeeding, as well as normalizing breastfeeding in a society where human milk and breastfeeding have been ostracized and ridiculed in decades past. In fact, there is little of the American parenting community that hasn’t been touched by the incredibly successful pro-formula, anti-breastfeeding marketing campaign that was blasted at parents in the middle part of the 20th century. Nowadays, science has proven breastmilk to be the perfect nourishment for the vast major ..read more