Monday, October 8, 2012

National Midwifery Week




Excitement galore!!!

October 7 thru 13 is National Midwifery Week!!!

It's a time to celebrate midwives across the country...hooray!  As you may or may not know midwife means with woman.  It's our great joy, honor and pleasure to be with women as they journey through their lives...including but not limited to their pregnancies, labor and birth. 

We just spent the weekend up in Payson on our annual midwife retreat.  It was invigorating to spend so much time with my midwife partners.  The passion and dedication to women and midwifery was so apparent and contagious. I know all the midwives in our group do not consider our occupation a job or career but rather  a calling.  We are proud to be midwives and we take that calling very seriously.  In doing so we also celebrate all our clients as well- mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers and aunts who have birthed and/or supported women who have birthed.  So this week let me call all women to celebrate ourselves.  

One way to celebrate ourselves is to care for ourselves.  Below is a pledge we can all take that encourages us to be active participants in the type of health care we receive.  We must value who we are and recognize the importance of us in the lives of our families and friends.  We are needed by our families and by society. 
Everyone deserves the type of healthcare we desire and to be active participants in healthcare decisions. So in honor of National Midwifery Week and women everywhere I strongly encourage you to take the following pledge along with all the women in your life.  Make caring for yourself one of your callings, value yourself as much as you value all the other women in your life...cause we value each and every one of you.

Thanks for all the support you've given us midwives at Bethany Women's Health Care and  all the support you've given every other woman in your life. Have a wonderful week!


Take charge of knowing what your options are—it’s your body and your health. Make a promise to yourself today to be the most informed health care consumer you can be. You deserve it!
I promise to take control of my own health. I will make decisions for myself based on facts and the type of care that means the most to me in maintaining my health.
I promise to better understand the choices I have in managing my health care. I will learn more about my personal health preferences and explore the care options available that can best meet my health needs.
I promise to be an active decision maker in my care. Medical procedures performed on my body without my knowledge or understanding are not acceptable.
I promise to put my health first. I will educate myself on ways to improve or maintain my high standard of health and talk to my care provider about how they can help me meet these goals.
I promise to improve my health care experience. I will become informed about different health care providers and approaches to care and use this information to improve my own experience as a health care consumer.
I promise to encourage others to take charge of their health. I am a force for change and will inspire my friends and family to better their own health through awareness and action.
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