i'm back in brooklyn, and have a few photos to share! i had a great two weeks in Maine with my future sister midwives. we had classes in postpartum care, prenatal complications, normal labor & birth, charting, hands-on skills practice, neonatal resuscitation, and a whole foods nutrition class where we cooked two feasts in our instructor's home kitchen.
One of the most wonderful things about traveling to Maine every 8 weeks is being able to build meaningful, professional, sisterly relationships with my classmates. I am constantly challenged by these brilliant, beautiful women to think beyond my own bounds. Hearing their perspectives on life, death, labor, pregnancy, justice, race - you name it - teaches me to always look at what I believe critically. I have learned that complacency in thought serves only to limit us, and is just as dangerous as complacency in action. I am grateful for the chance to build, as a student, with the women who will be my colleagues, and who will help shape maternity care, and women's health in the future.
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| assessing dilation on the yoni-in-a-box |
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| becoming one with the cervix |
in order to get a feel for cervical dilation, we practiced on silicone yonis and cervices of different sizes. the cervix is the opening at the lower segment of the uterus through which the baby's head {usually} passes as it enters the birth canal. birth attendants use cervical dilation {along with other cues} to assess a woman's progress in labor.
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| me and my ride-or-die homegirl, Tracy |
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| me, snow tubing directly into a tree :-/ |
