About The Project & How You Can Join In

It was only a matter of time before the San Luis Obispo County Birth and Baby Fair (sponsored by the Birth and Baby Resource Network) coincided with the International Day of the Midwife.  This is that year!  So we are taking advantage of this amazing venue, that brings parents together with the birth and family professionals from around the county, to deliver our heartfelt appreciation to the amazing midwives that have served our community, now and in the past.

The first time we choose to work with a midwife during our childbearing year we aren't yet aware of what is about to happen.  Only after months of being showered with care, love, and gentleness, then hours upon hours of constant, unwavering support during our labors and births, then even more hours of loving and respectful care during our immediate postpartum as she shares in our joy, and then finally weeks of compassionate care as we adjust to our new babies and new bodies, do we truly understand the amazing gift we have been given.  There is a blessed moment that occurs with every woman that has ever worked with a midwife, when she realizes that she got the best.  It's usually about this time too, that she realizes she not only trusts her midwife, but she loves her too.  And her midwife loves her back.  They are sisters now, and forever will be. 

These amazing women touch our lives and our families in ways that aren't even describable.  They believe in the beauty and power of women, and trust infinitaly in the process of birth in all it's forms and variations of normal.  They are patient and empathetic.  They are wise.

We as a community are blessed beyond belief to be served by these wise women, so let's work over the next month leading up to the International Day of the Midwife, to show them just how much they mean to us! 

Here are some ways that you can help us honor and shower our midwives with love:

• Write your midwife a thank you note!  Click here for more information.
• Participate in our live art installment that will be presented at the Birth & Baby Fair on May 5, 2012.  We are creating a large tree with each leaf representing a baby in our community that was born into the hands of a midwife.  Participating is as easy as telling us your baby's name, and your midwife's name!  Click here for more info, and to submit your baby's name!
• Come by the Midwifery Appreciation booth at the Birth & Baby Fair in May 5, 2012 to write your thank you note, or fill out a tree leaf in person. 
• Participate in our video project the day of the Birth & Baby Fair.  We will be collecting footage of people talking about why they chose a midwife for their prenatal care, and how they feel about their midwives. 
• Also at the booth the day of the fair, we will have a photographer there to take photos of you with your midwife. Click here for more information.

However, you choose to participate, you will be benefiting midwifery in our community and keeping it strong.  Our midwives work so hard to give us and our families the best of themselves, and it's time that we publicly show them how much they truly mean to us.

We hope you will make the small effort it takes to say thank you!