Grace Midwifery

06/05/2026

Clare Muczynski -it's your birthday and we celebrate you!!!!

Give her a shout out -
She is amazing and we love her and are keeping her!

06/05/2026

Reviews on Google - we love when people can give a "shout out" - not to pump our ego, but to let others know that community is alive and well in our area!

Katherine Healy wrote a review:

"I recently attended a birth (as a doula) at Grace Midwifery. As someone who has been attending births for five years I can say that the Grace Midwifery team and birthing center are truly something special. The birth center is clean, cozy, safe, and welcoming. Doran, Denyse, and Clare approach birth with the deepest reverence and care. I hope to come back soon!"

We are so grateful for reviews like this!

06/05/2026

https://gracemidwifery.com/training/

BIRTH TRAUMA - BEGIN THE HEALING

This is an online course to get you started on a road to recovery from traumatic birth experiences. This course is for you if you’ve experienced loss, unexpected complications, or even just not having your expectations for the birth met. Through this course you will begin to understand the way trauma effects the body and learn ways to heal from that.

06/02/2026

Preeclampsia is not a single disease; it's a multi-system dysfunction.

Clinically, it’s defined as new‑onset hypertension after 20 weeks with proteinuria, and/or maternal organ dysfunction, and/or uteroplacental dysfunction such as fetal growth restriction. In classic, placenta‑driven preeclampsia, this pattern reflects injury at the maternal–fetal interface, whether the primary driver is maternal vascular disease, fetal/placental factors, or both.

Emerging research is helping us to recognize distinct preeclampsia patterns that point to whether the origin is more maternal or fetal, with the common thread being that preeclampsia is placental-driven.

However, some pregnancies look and behave like preeclampsia (Hypertension, proteinuria, abnormal labs, additional symptoms....) but are not placenta. These are preeclampsia mimickers...conditions that cause systemic maternal dysfunction or symptoms that are akin to preeclampsia but are not actually preeclampsia.

Over the next few weeks, I am going to cover what the research says about using standard labs to differentiate true preeclampsia from PE-mimickers and help you distinguish underlying etiology.

The intent is to move past basic symptom-checklist diagnosis and into true pattern recognition...using the labs you are already drawing and introducing you to some new ones.

06/01/2026

We’re so privileged. So blessed. To witness the strength, courage, work, commitment, dedication to doing the hard work of bringing a baby forth! We welcome this beautiful baby girl, to her strong parents!

05/27/2026

05/27/2026

At Grace Midwifery, located in Middletown, VA, our vision is to create a nurturing and faith-centered environment for all women, where we honor the sanctity of life and promote holistic health for mothers and their families. We believe that pregnancy and childbirth are sacred journeys, and we are dedicated to supporting every family—regardless of background—with compassion, wisdom, and the love of Christ.

We welcome the opportunity to meet with you and discuss the difference Grace Midwifery can make. Taking consultations now for Nov., Dec., and early 2027.

05/24/2026

Iron absorption through pregnancy is a beautiful symphony of ups and downs to balance the need for iron with the risk of oxidative stress...and it all starts in the first trimester.

Before pregnancy, our bodies should have a sufficient iron reserve to work from and a healthy RBC count to get us through the first trimester....
..when iron absorption drops as low as 1-2%!

Why?

Iron is toxic.

In early embryonic development, the growing placenta generates high levels of oxidative stress and is VERY sensitive to iron. The first trimester is also a time of low iron need. The trophoblast cells are iron-rich, but are also susceptible to ferroptosis triggered by high iron.

Low serum iron in the first trimester is normal, and research links iron overload in the first trimester with placental dysfunction.

Once we reach GA 12, iron absorption returns to prepregnancy norms, with heme iron absorption around 40% and non-heme iron absorption between 5-15% depending on preparation/cooking...

Between GA 12-20, mom is replenishing her iron stores in preparation for increasing her RBC count by 35%... which usually peaks mid-gestation.

Baby is also storing iron. Their needs increase as they grow, with