Although I was offered a gift of tuition and books for nursing school and nurse midwifery school, I followed my heart’s desire to direct entry midwifery. Nurse midwifery supposedly offered greater stability and earning power but I knew myself well—the hospital was not where I wanted to spend most of my time. My chosen route met my preferences for no wasted time (I was beginning at the age of 44) and a less restricted mode of practice once trained. My choice back then has been reinforced as I see excellent nurse midwives losing their jobs and businesses due to lack of support or attack from physicians.
After much research I decided that Texas would be the best place to train due to the long history of midwifery in that state and the probability that out of hospital midwifery would remain legal there for many years to come. If I had chosen to stay in Alabama I would have been working illegally.
The midwifery community in the Dallas/Fort Worth area was especially strong. I believed firmly in the value of cross training with multiple midwives and felt that could be accomplished easily in the D/FW area.
I enrolled in the Family Birth Services Midwifery Course run by Helen Jolly Nelson and was lucky to also be offered an apprenticeship with Helen at her birth center in Grand Prairie. Fourteen months later, after putting the rest of my life on temporary hold, I had completed both the academic and clinical portions of my training and had become a Texas documented (now licensed) midwife. In the process I had the privilege of working with a number of midwives other than Helen and received a well-rounded midwifery education.
I have enjoyed so many opportunities to learn from others who have gone before me. Attending local, state, and national conferences and workshops has helped lay the foundation that I sought upon graduation – to become as wise and capable of attending the toughest of cases with as much skill and satisfaction for my clients as possible. Even so I am still in learning mode – beware of any midwife who says she knows everything!
As the years roll by the older midwives are retiring and I do my best to “hold the torch” for true midwifery and function as a resource for the younger, newer, midwives.
