Art of Birth

07/02/2026

Thank you to my family for all your support through midwifery school. I officially graduated and then sat for the NARM exam earlier this month and received my certification as a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM). Looking forward to providing midwifery care to families through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum! -Karla

12/30/2025

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Membrane sweeps are often presented as a “gentle nudge,” but timing matters more than people want to admit.

If your body isn’t ready, your cervix isn’t favorable, baby isn’t well-positioned, hormones aren’t aligned, a sweep doesn’t magically prepare you. It can force your body into labor before it’s truly ready to do the work.

That can mean long, exhausting labors, stalled progress, increased interventions, and a birth that feels harder than it needed to be.

Labor is a hormonal process. Oxytocin, prostaglandins, and relaxation all have to be in sync. When we intervene too early, we can disrupt that balance instead of supporting it.

Informed consent matters. A membrane sweep isn’t “nothing.” It’s a cervical intervention that can trigger contractions, rupture membranes, or start labor, sometimes before both baby and body are prepared.

There is no prize for going into labor early.
Sometimes the safest, healthiest option is patience and letting your body lead.

Your body is not broken.
Your baby isn’t late.
And birth doesn’t need to be rushed.

12/21/2025

Midwifery care benefits:

Did you know? A recent systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of midwifery continuity of care found significant impacts on labor, birth, and maternal/infant outcomes. Birthing parents were more likely to birth vaginally and after 37 weeks gestation, and less likely to have a cesarean, episiotomy, or induction of labor.

Consider what continuity of care looks like in your community, alongside access to midwifery care. How might you support clients in your community in advocating for greater continuity where it’s an option for them?

You can learn more about the review here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2025.105300