.jpg)
Aligned Birth
Aligned Birth
Ep 114: The Midwifery Model of Care with Homebirth Midwife Paige Beckett
In today’s episode, we chat with Certified Professional Midwife Paige Beckett. She’s been heavily involved in the Georgia birthing community for many years now and started out as a doula and lamaze and Baby Steps childbirth educator. From there, she assisted with many homebirths and continued her birthing education to become a CPM as well as earn her Bachelor of Science in Midwifery. We also chat about:
- What she’s learned over the years as a midwife
- Words of wisdom she has for those seeking a homebirth
- The difference between a doula and a midwife
- What the midwifery model of care looks like
- Sustainability in the midwifery community
- Ways to impact the birthing community in Georgia
- And more!
Connect with Paige: Instagram and website
Resources mentioned in the show:
Article about 29% increase in homebirths
National Association of Certified Professional Midwives
Modem FuturaModem Futura is your guide to the bold frontiers of tomorrow, where technology,...
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Want to show your support? Want to help us continue doing this important and impactful work: Support the Show (we greatly appreciate it!)
Don't miss new episodes: Join the Aligned Birth Community
Instagram: Aligned Birth
Email: alignedbirthpodcast@gmail.com
Find us online:
Sunrise Chiropractic and Wellness
North Atlanta Birth Services
Editing: Godfrey Sound
Music: "Freedom” by Roa
Disclaimer: The information shared, obtained, and discussed in this podcast is not intended as medical advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional consultation with a qualified healthcare provider familiar with your individual medical needs. By listening to this podcast you agree not to use this podcast as medical advice to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others. Consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having. This disclaimer includes all guests or contributors to the podcast.
Hello, hello, you are listening to the Align Birth Podcast. I'm Dr. Shannon, I'm one of the hosts of the show and today is an interview day. It's one of my favorite days. And so I am joined today with Paige Beckett and she is a certified professional midwife. So we're talking all things midwifery today. I've been dying to have another midwife on the show. We've had Rachel Hart with Birthing Way whom I know you love and adore.
[Paige Beckett]:Mm-hmm.
[Dr. Shannon]:And so I'm so excited to have you on today. She's been attending home births in and around the Atlanta area for quite a while She's been part of the Atlanta birth community for the last 12 years She's super passionate about empowering birthing families and birth workers to advocate for themselves and their birthing options So I want to talk about how Paige got to where she is today I love going with birth workers and talking about their journey into how they got into the birth worker field because That gives just insight into their knowledge base and what they know and what they've experienced and not only personally but professionally. So we're going to see how she got into the midwifery world, her education and journey to now. She's got a lot of education so I can't wait to chat about that. What she's learned over the years, words of wisdom for those looking for home birth and what does the midwifery model of care look like? Why is it needed and necessary in the birthing community? And yeah, I'm excited to chat about all things home birth midwifery today. So welcome to the show, Paige.
[Paige Beckett]:Thank you for having me.
[Dr. Shannon]:Yay, I know Paige in real life, so that's fun. Because a lot of times when I'm doing these interviews, I'll be like, I know you from social media and I don't know you in real life, but I feel like I would like you so. I actually know Paige in real life and have met her. And we met. Um, you've been in the birthing community a lot longer than I have. Um, but we met doing Georgia Birth Network. Was that when we met? Yeah. And so we used to be involved with Georgia Birth Network, um, and just really trying to empower the birthing community in the Atlanta area. So, um, I want to maybe start with how you got involved in midwifery.
[Paige Beckett]:Yeah, so,
[Dr. Shannon]:So take your way back.
[Paige Beckett]:yeah, so I've been a mom for 24 years almost. And so birth has kind of always, you know, been happening around me or in me.
[Dr. Shannon]:Exactly.
[Paige Beckett]:So I didn't really even have like the internet or email until my third baby and she's gonna be 16 this year.
[Dr. Shannon]:Oh my gosh.
[Paige Beckett]:I didn't know that home birth existed. I didn't know about doulas till like the end of my final pregnancy. And I just had fairly straightforward births, the second and third birth. Had a 42 in two week induction with my first. And so with these fast births in hindsight, I'm like, why did nobody tell me to have a home birth? I like had these babies like walking into the hospital pushing, they were quick. Why I could have had
[Dr. Shannon]:You
[Paige Beckett]:babies
[Dr. Shannon]:could have just
[Paige Beckett]:at
[Dr. Shannon]:stayed
[Paige Beckett]:home.
[Dr. Shannon]:at home. Yeah.
[Paige Beckett]:You know, yeah, there was some great midwives still, you know, back then who are still practicing today, like totally gonna have babies with them. So after my third baby, it just kind of stuck with me that like, wow, that was... some unnecessary experiences. I started being more involved in mom's groups and was hearing about doulas and natural births and all of this stuff. And I was like, that's so interesting. Those people are so nice to do doula work and stuff. But surely they can't make money doing that. So eventually I discovered more and realized, oh, this is actually a profession. And so when my daughter got a little bit older, I was like, you know what? I think I wanna give this doula thing a try. So I became a doula. And then of course, as most birth workers find out, you just become all encompassed down this birth rabbit hole because it's amazing and it is empowering and to see how bodies work. Um, so I became a Lamaze educator. I became a baby steps, um, childbirth educator helped run that company for a little bit. I think they're still around. Um, so that
[Dr. Shannon]:I think
[Paige Beckett]:was just
[Dr. Shannon]:so.
[Paige Beckett]:a great,
[Dr. Shannon]:I know, yeah.
[Paige Beckett]:great program, uh, that I really enjoyed being a part of. And I learned so much. So during the time of doing dual work, I got hired to do a home birth. Um, and they had midwives and so I was just coming in as labor support and I was blown away by the process. I was just like, I heard this was happening, you read the books and you hear about it, but I didn't really know anybody that had a home birth until I started getting emerged in the doula community. So I went to actually two home births and I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I was just like, This was amazing, like seeing that they were, the midwives were taking care of the mom and baby. They were doing heart tones, blood pressure, like everything seems like pretty above board, like, you know, pretty professional. And I'm like, this is like a thing.
[Dr. Shannon]:and then comparing
[Paige Beckett]:I am.
[Dr. Shannon]:it to what you had at the hospital, you know, you're kind of like, well, yeah, I could have done this and it's more peaceful, you know,
[Paige Beckett]:Well,
[Dr. Shannon]:like it's.
[Paige Beckett]:and I started while I was at the hospital dual births that I was hired for, really just like comparing. And
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:I'm like, that actually happened at that home birth. And they did this instead of everybody freaking out or like just starting to see all the things and how they played out.
[Dr. Shannon]:and how
[Paige Beckett]:And
[Dr. Shannon]:it's
[Paige Beckett]:I
[Dr. Shannon]:managed
[Paige Beckett]:just really,
[Dr. Shannon]:in both worlds.
[Paige Beckett]:yes. and how it was managed and just looking into it more and talking to some other doulas that I met that had home births, I just felt very compelled to give this home birth midwife thing a chance. And so I talked to a midwife friend that I knew from Georgia Birth Network and I'm like, I would just like to be your apprentice. I want to try to be a home birth midwife. And so I spent probably the hardest and yet best four years of my life. With a two midwifery practice, going to all their births and all their prenatals and postpartums. And I just loved it so much.
[Dr. Shannon]:That sounds so intense though. You know, like that's a good chunk of time. Yeah.
[Paige Beckett]:It was so
[Dr. Shannon]:And babies
[Paige Beckett]:intense.
[Dr. Shannon]:are unpredictable. Birth is unpredictable, so.
[Paige Beckett]:I would say an average of like eight births a month was happening. You know the midwives would kind of alternate and when
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:sometimes there was another student that would come in and out it's hard to be a midwifery student so a lot of midwifery students unfortunately don't make it.
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:Their families just can't be without them that long. I'm also super excited because I've seen sustainability in student midwifery. and midwifery really start to increase. So that's
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:something I'm super passionate about. Toward the end of my apprenticeship, I started to really be like, how am I gonna do this? How am I gonna have a family? How am I gonna have a work-life balance? I met a great midwife, Madeline Lynn Murray Lutz. She owns
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:Believe in Midwifery. Love her so much. her talk that I went to and now her program just really changed my midwifery outlook. And like at a crucial time where, you know, I'm about to graduate and starting to feel defeated because I was so exhausted. And
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:you know, I learned I'm not gonna do this many births by myself, so it's gonna be great. I ended up opening a three midwife practice, Madeline joined for a time. was a great experience. We did kind of dissolve at some point just because some people were having lots of babies, there was a distance, a move, all that kind of stuff.
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:But we will talk and, you know, pick each other's brains. So
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah,
[Paige Beckett]:now
[Dr. Shannon]:no, I love Madeline. Yeah, she's a great wealth of knowledge. Yeah. And she's passionate about the sustainability in midwifery. And so that's
[Paige Beckett]:Yeah,
[Dr. Shannon]:what.
[Paige Beckett]:yeah. Yes, and yeah, and I will never do it any differently. I am in a solo practice right now, but I'm still very intentional about the sustainability, about my self-care, taking care of myself, things like that, so.
[Dr. Shannon]:What are some of the things, because you mentioned that you've seen how the sustainability in midwifery has increased. What do you think has been one of the reasons for that? Or what are some of the things that have caused that for midwives to stay midwives for the length of time that they do?
[Paige Beckett]:Mm-hmm. I feel like some of it is like newer generations of midwives learning from previous midwives, like what did and didn't work for them. Maybe the other midwives sharing like what they had done differently. And just
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:technology, social media, all the things that we can take advantage of that just make running business in general easier. setting boundaries and letting our clients know that we want this working relationship with them but we can't sacrifice like our lives and ourselves. I
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:got my CPM in 2017 through a process called the PEP portfolio evaluation process. So it means I did All my clinicals with the midwifery practice, did my book work separate, sat for the national exam after I got all my numbers and clinical skills, sign-offs, and things like that. Then a few years later, probably about two or three years later, I enrolled in Midwives College of Utah. And so my intention with that was to get my bachelor's in midwifery. And that was a completely different experience, because my clinical skills were like learned. Like I didn't need to learn to do all of that again. But what I was able to do was just dive into research and how to see how things, were they evidence-based? Was I learning things like, you know, when people say, oh, ACOG says, well, there's a thing called the hierarchy of like information. ACOG
[Dr. Shannon]:Yes.
[Paige Beckett]:is like way down there on the bottom of the pyramid as
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:not always using the highest level of research.
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:It
[Dr. Shannon]:There
[Paige Beckett]:can
[Dr. Shannon]:is
[Paige Beckett]:be
[Dr. Shannon]:a pyramid,
[Paige Beckett]:more of a
[Dr. Shannon]:yeah.
[Paige Beckett]:playing
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:piece, yes. And so learning that kind of stuff has really benefit my practice. I feel like as I'm just finding out more evidence-based using more education, but also pulling in that long-term wisdom I have learned from the older generation of midwives. And I'm not
[Dr. Shannon]:That
[Paige Beckett]:saying you
[Dr. Shannon]:can't
[Paige Beckett]:need...
[Dr. Shannon]:be replaced, you know, like
[Paige Beckett]:You didn't want to be replaced
[Dr. Shannon]:that
[Paige Beckett]:for
[Dr. Shannon]:clinical
[Paige Beckett]:sh-
[Dr. Shannon]:expertise mixed with, yes, some of the research and mixed with what, yeah, like that is what creates
[Paige Beckett]:Mm-hmm. Yeah.
[Dr. Shannon]:all of that knowledge. Yeah, it definitely can't be replaced.
[Paige Beckett]:No, and I never want to come across as you need all this education formally to be, you know, serving families at home. But I do think you need to have some sort of apprenticeship, you know, even
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:different states have different ways that they do things. So Georgia is not the best state to practice midwifery. And we have nurse midwives practicing home birth. We have certified professional midwives practicing home work. We have traditional midwives practicing home work. We have certified community midwives practicing home work. All of them, for the most part, I feel like have really great hearts and they want to be educated. They want to make sure they're doing the best care they can for these families. All while the state of Georgia is making it really hard on us. Practice, another thing that I'm passionate about Then working on licensure, of course my views on it have changed a bit after spending a good four years advocating for the licensure of Home birth midwives. Unfortunately, the state of Georgia is just not open to helping home birth midwives have an easier time of practicing. They're not getting the big picture. They're just looking at home birth is dangerous and we don't want families to do it. Whereas we have presented evidence to say contrary, it's not being well received.
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah.
[Paige Beckett]:We now have a study that came out in 2022, the Atlanta Journal actually posted it. It included all of the United States states. but Georgia specifically had an increase in home birth of 29%. That's huge when you have about 1% of your population having home birth. To have that
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:growth happen, what is just amazing to see. So now we don't actually have enough home birth midwives for the amount of people that want home births every month. Now it's a... scramble, you get a positive pregnancy test, you better call your midwife, you
[Dr. Shannon]:You
[Paige Beckett]:better
[Dr. Shannon]:better call.
[Paige Beckett]:do your interviews and pick somebody
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah.
[Paige Beckett]:because so many more people want to have home births and we can only take so many clients a month.
[Dr. Shannon]:No, I definitely see that now because I try to tell my mom. I'm like, yeah, if you know that this is what you want to do, you've got to establish that relationship.
[Paige Beckett]:Thank you.
[Dr. Shannon]:Sometimes it's like those daycare centers that like get so full and you've got to like go ahead and put your name in before you even have a baby.
[Paige Beckett]:Yeah.
[Dr. Shannon]:Like it's kind of the same
[Paige Beckett]:Oh my
[Dr. Shannon]:thing
[Paige Beckett]:gosh, yeah.
[Dr. Shannon]:with the home birth midwives. Well, you know, and we were chatting a little bit before starting this recording and you'd mention that study. And I think some... I noticed in the office that I had a lot more moms, more open and receptive to the possibility of a home birth during COVID when things were so unsettled in the hospital as far as like some moms were like, well, I don't want to wear a mask while I'm trying to breathe this baby down or I wanna have my support people. And so... Sometimes there's little silver linings of things that happen. So then maybe I think that might have been a good push for a lot of families to consider, OK, well, why not at home? Because I think it's a fear mongering aspect of like, all of these things can go wrong in birth. And yes, sometimes in rare instances, they do. But for a normal physiological birth, it can be very, very safe to have at home. lot more relaxing and now you see, you got to experience firsthand those differences of like what you went through and then seeing with your doula work when you were doing that with the moms. So I think that study is really cool though. And I think, yeah, it does go to show that we should give our Georgia home birth midwives a chance.
[Paige Beckett]:Yeah, yeah, at least not trying to make it more difficult, you know,
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:and it's not just difficult for us as the provider There's things that could happen that make it easier for the families right now insurance reimbursement is really hard You know the nurse midwives I think have a little bit more luck if you have like a healthcare Share program insurance instead of like the typical big insurance companies you're
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:gonna have a little bit of easier time. But because of the state of midwifery in Georgia, a lot of insurance companies push back on it. So therefore, you're not having necessarily all the families that want to have a home birth, have home births because if their insurance is gonna completely pay for the 30 to $80,000
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:bill for a standard vaginal birth with an epidural versus, you know, the... anywhere probably from $4,000 to $6,000 fee it is for a home birth in Georgia.
[Dr. Shannon]:for a home birth. Yep.
[Paige Beckett]:It's a no-brainer at that
[Dr. Shannon]:It's sad
[Paige Beckett]:point.
[Dr. Shannon]:it comes down to finances with that though. But that's where that licensure aspect comes in. And then again, too, a lot of times, I deal with this in the chiropractic world and people trying to get reimbursed with care and insurance. It's like they're looking at a low totem pole on that pyramid of evidence. And so, you know.
[Paige Beckett]:Mm-hmm. Yeah, you know, and, you know, licensure would also open the door to Medicaid reimbursement for home birth midwifery care, you know. We have a terrible maternal mortality rate in Georgia, and Black and Brown birthing people are having bad outcomes four times, I think it's about four times more
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:than White birthing people. And one of the things to fix that is providers that look like you, people that understand,
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:you know, and don't have bias and more. intentional care, more in-depth care, and home birth midwives
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:provide that.
[Dr. Shannon]:Provide
[Paige Beckett]:They're seeing
[Dr. Shannon]:that.
[Paige Beckett]:you, yeah, they're seeing you for 45 minutes to an hour at a time. You have better access to them. If you have a complication or something feels off, you have typically that midwife's cell phone. You can call her, you can text her. Whereas if, you know, you're having a really bad headache and seeing spots and dizzy, which is a sign of, you know, preeclampsia, before or after you're having trouble after the birth or whatever, you get an answering service when you call a hospital practice. You may or may not get a call back. That disconnect keeps birthing people sometimes from reaching out. They're like, oh, I'll just call tomorrow, or oh, I'm going in a couple days, I'll mention it. And big problems can arise from that. So
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:home birth midwives are actually quicker at screening issues that are going on with their clients. and moving them to the next level of care if need be. Or just reassuring them everything is normal and here's some comfort measures or things you can try to feel better.
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah. Okay. So that kind of leads me into, that's what I want to know what that midwifery model of care looks like. And so you mentioned, you know, kind of briefly there how that differs from the, I guess, the medical management. And again, to not to bash the medical management of pregnancy and OBs and that type of thing.
[Paige Beckett]:Definitely
[Dr. Shannon]:But
[Paige Beckett]:not.
[Dr. Shannon]:they just see a higher number of people, you know. And that goes back to the sustainability of midwifery because if you are giving that intensive care, it is not possible to see the number and the volume of people that have bigger practices. So there are gonna be limitations to matter to that aspect of things. But what else in that midwifery model of care? You mentioned just that easier access to the midwives, they've got, I guess, a lower patient client load. and they see you for longer, do you typically see clients more often or what are some other things in that midwifery model of care that make it different than that medical management?
[Paige Beckett]:So appointment wise, we see everybody about the same prenatally. If somebody needs to be seen more frequently, of course, we're going to do what we need to do. It's just that you have the longer appointments. You're getting to know each other. I think there's greater client satisfaction when they know their midwife. And they've built that relationship and they feel like they can ask the question and they feel like the midwife knows what they're doing. how they want their birth to go and they're there to try to support that as best that they can. I feel like postpartum is where things really stand out differently between the medical model of care. So you have your baby, pardon me, in the hospital and you go home with about 24 hours after. And the next time you see your provider is maybe six weeks. A lot of women aren't even, or birthing people aren't even going in six weeks. So the home birth midwives, we're coming back throughout that period to check. So it varies, some people do, most everybody does a 24 to 48 hour time period. We're checking in by phone after that. Some, definitely, you know, a one week appointment, checking on mom and babies both of those times, just making sure they're still remaining low risk. And not just... from a physical standpoint? How is that mom dealing emotionally? How is the family unit doing? Is there support there? Does it seem like they need some help in figuring out meals or managing the other kids? We try to talk prenatally about what the plan is gonna be postpartum for sure, but is that being implemented and what can
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:we do? Are we screening? Is there any postpartum depression signs popping up? Are there any breastfeeding issues going on that we can help with or refer out to somebody that has more experience? So really just the emotional and physical aspects are really being looked into prenatally or postpartum wise.
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm. I mean, and that's huge because when you've got that level of connection, that's where you can really see someone feeling empowered with their birth,
[Paige Beckett]:Mm-hmm.
[Dr. Shannon]:you know, and feeling seen and heard and you're going over those birth plans and you're listening to those birth plans or birth preferences, you know, that people have. I think that's just fun to kind of hear. what those differences are, because I'm hoping that kind of speaks to someone as far as like, well, you know, how do you want to feel about that birth? And if you're at a certain practice, do you feel that you're going to have that connection
[Paige Beckett]:Mm-hmm.
[Dr. Shannon]:and that support and that intensive look and focus on you while you know, you're getting ready to
[Paige Beckett]:Okay.
[Dr. Shannon]:go through one of the biggest processes
[Paige Beckett]:Yes.
[Dr. Shannon]:of your life. Now, What kind of words of wisdom would you give for those who are seeking out or potentially considering home births? A lot of moms that I've interviewed on the show who have had a home birth, I like to ask, you know, a lot of times it's whoever's giving birth wants is thinking about the home birth, but then you've also got this partner, the spouse, whoever else is around that if they have reservations that can give. that can also sway, you know, whoever's giving birth. So I kind of want to know like what kind of words of wisdom you had for whoever's giving birth, but then also like that partner and spouse and things that you've seen that have worked for those.
[Paige Beckett]:Yeah, so I think for the person giving birth, be patient with your partner and try to figure out how you can be supportive to them. And that may be, Georgia Birth Network did a panel like on dads and home birth. I wonder if it was recorded in anywhere findable. But if you can find videos, that would be awesome. But ask the midwife that you're talking to considering using. If they have any previous clients where they're willing to talk to the partner,
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:where the partner is willing to talk to them and kind of answer their questions, bring your partner to the consult. As many prenatals as they can attend, they're also getting to know your midwife and team. And so that is going to help them feel more comfortable as well. Sometimes partners just need like concise information studies like, you know, given to them, handing them the birthing partner book is probably not gonna go well because, you know, everybody's super busy and time limits are short. So, I don't know, maybe you guys can do a podcast and have a couple partners on here that had home births.
[Dr. Shannon]:We, I know, we want to do
[Paige Beckett]:And
[Dr. Shannon]:a doulas and
[Paige Beckett]:they
[Dr. Shannon]:dads
[Paige Beckett]:can update, yeah.
[Dr. Shannon]:at least. Yes.
[Paige Beckett]:So.
[Dr. Shannon]:I know. Well, we just had, so I just had Jessica Patterson on. So she had a cesarean her first birth, and then she had three home births after that. And her last one was an unassisted one.
[Paige Beckett]:Okay.
[Dr. Shannon]:Not planned unassisted, but just kind of, it just happened.
[Paige Beckett]:Yeah.
[Dr. Shannon]:And I remember asking her what. you know, what her husband's thoughts were, because we were coming from Caesarian to home birth. And she was like, he read the books, he got involved. And he also was like asking, his suggestion was to talk to other spouses that are in the same, you know, predicament as you or in that same aspect and saying like, okay, what did you see? What helped you? You know, and just, I guess it's really that being as involved as possible.
[Paige Beckett]:Yes,
[Dr. Shannon]:That's
[Paige Beckett]:at
[Dr. Shannon]:what it sounds
[Paige Beckett]:one
[Dr. Shannon]:like.
[Paige Beckett]:point... National Association of certified professional midwives Georgia chapter did some recordings interviewing home birth families and I'll try to get you the links to that maybe you can do it for show notes
[Dr. Shannon]:That would
[Paige Beckett]:because
[Dr. Shannon]:be fun.
[Paige Beckett]:it has
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah.
[Paige Beckett]:in partners on there talking about it too. I just remembered like we did record that it's I think it went down like right about the time maybe COVID was gonna start hitting and so like the promotion and all of that kind of like fell.
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah, yeah. I kind
[Paige Beckett]:Not really
[Dr. Shannon]:of
[Paige Beckett]:the
[Dr. Shannon]:got
[Paige Beckett]:problem
[Dr. Shannon]:pushed
[Paige Beckett]:of the legislation work.
[Dr. Shannon]:behind.
[Paige Beckett]:Yeah.
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah, no, I would love to put that. And then I want to put the research study that you mentioned too in the show notes. So you'll have to send that to me as well. Let's see. So what does your... So tell me a little bit about what you have started doing now and what your midwifery practice is called and what that looks like now.
[Paige Beckett]:So I took a bit of a hiatus. I am now a single mom of teenagers. And so I have come back into the midwifery world. I was doing some assisting for some great midwives just to kind of keep my skills fresh and, you know, familiar with all, you know, the birthing energy. And so now I have started my own practice called New Horizons Birth Services. Serve the Marietta and surrounding areas about an hour. I am taking about two to three clients a month, so really intimate practice. I feel like that gives me the sustainability that I'm looking for. I, you know, I'm gonna miss some sleep, of course, but it's not gonna be, you know, so much that I can't recover for it or I can't be there for my kids or I can't manage all the prenatals. and do my single mom thing. So yeah, I am also keeping that small because I am working on going back to school. I'm a big nerd, more
[Dr. Shannon]:Of course
[Paige Beckett]:school.
[Dr. Shannon]:you are.
[Paige Beckett]:And
[Dr. Shannon]:Okay, what are you doing this time?
[Paige Beckett]:so I am going to attempt to get my But I feel really now called, big believer in trusting your gut and what is being laid in front of you, to just work in a bigger realm of research and education. And that will open doors for me to have the masters in maternal child health. So
[Dr. Shannon]:Okay, so.
[Paige Beckett]:it got delayed a little bit. I was supposed to start last month, but a divorce and becoming single. And it was a very,
[Dr. Shannon]:Just some minor
[Paige Beckett]:yes.
[Dr. Shannon]:things.
[Paige Beckett]:That's just some, you know, big life changes. It was a 40 hour a week program.
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah,
[Paige Beckett]:And
[Dr. Shannon]:that's a lot.
[Paige Beckett]:I, you know, if you know the Enneagram, I'm a six. And so I was like, I can do this, it's fine. And then as it was getting closer, I was really just like reflecting before, like, you know, signing on the dotted line after getting accepted. And I was like, you know, I can't serve my clients
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:well if I do this. I can't show up for my kids how I want to. I can't show up for myself how I want to.
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah,
[Paige Beckett]:So
[Dr. Shannon]:definitely.
[Paige Beckett]:I'm exploring some different programs that would
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:maybe give me less than 40 hours, but it's definitely like a goal that I will be working on shortly.
[Dr. Shannon]:That's so exciting. I expect nothing less. I know
[Paige Beckett]:Thank you.
[Dr. Shannon]:you love the school, the continued learning. But I think that's important though too to stay on top of those things and then that's what you bring to the table, but then also looking at that impact that it can make for the research world and
[Paige Beckett]:Okay.
[Dr. Shannon]:what we need for that pyramid, that hierarchy of research and understanding to help other families that want to do home birth and that
[Paige Beckett]:Yeah,
[Dr. Shannon]:sort of
[Paige Beckett]:and
[Dr. Shannon]:thing.
[Paige Beckett]:it will also hopefully get a foot in the door for like policy work. And so that,
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:Georgia needs a lot of policy reform.
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:A lot of things are outdated. Unfortunately, it takes about 10 years for evidence research to make its way into daily practice for healthcare
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:providers. So I'm hoping to kind of
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah.
[Paige Beckett]:get into that a little.
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah, no, yeah, we need it. We need it. What I kind of like those like what do people, what I really do and what people think I do and what my mom thinks I do, you know, like those type of little memes. What do you, what would you say or what you wish people knew more about, I guess midwifery care in general, because you can have midwives in an OB practice. So you can have midwives there, but then that home birth, you know, midwife is a little bit different. We're outside of the hospital there. So what would you say as far as like what you think people think you do, but what you wish people, what it really was and what it really is?
[Paige Beckett]:Yeah, so I think people think that I am holding babies all the time. Like, you know, every day I just go to somebody's house and they have this nice birth and I hold their baby and it's great. And that happens two to three days a month, because I take very few clients. Mostly I'm doing paperwork and then doing
[Dr. Shannon]:I'm sorry.
[Paige Beckett]:labs and looking at it's like paperwork and paperwork and returning email and some more paperwork. But also screening.
[Dr. Shannon]:Hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:Home birth, midwives spend a lot of time making sure they're taking on low risk clients and also helping those clients stay low risk. Whether that's through how they're eating, how they're moving their bodies, how they're thinking, looking at labs and seeing how we can improve on what the numbers are telling us. And that reminds me, one of your things you said you wanted me to share was my favorite resource. So
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah.
[Paige Beckett]:I discovered this book. Did I not take a picture? It is Lily Nichols Nutrition Book. Do you know it?
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah, real nutrition for pregnancy.
[Paige Beckett]:Yes,
[Dr. Shannon]:It's amazing.
[Paige Beckett]:I discovered that book when I was working on my bachelor's. I did a really intense class on nutrition. And that book was really awesome resource as one of the resources. So I wanted to share that because it's a little
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah.
[Paige Beckett]:different than like the typical like, you know, guides to childbirth and all the other
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah,
[Paige Beckett]:things.
[Dr. Shannon]:or yeah, exactly. Didn't
[Paige Beckett]:You know.
[Dr. Shannon]:she, um, I think she made that one based just around like gestational diabetes, right? And kind of like
[Paige Beckett]:Oh, no,
[Dr. Shannon]:using
[Paige Beckett]:this
[Dr. Shannon]:diet
[Paige Beckett]:book.
[Dr. Shannon]:with that. Is that what that was?
[Paige Beckett]:No,
[Dr. Shannon]:I
[Paige Beckett]:this
[Dr. Shannon]:can't remember.
[Paige Beckett]:book, you might have one specifically for this, for that,
[Dr. Shannon]:Okay.
[Paige Beckett]:but this one encompassed all the different nutrition, all the different vitamins. Do you need to have more
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:vitamin B? Here's this, and here's why this food is better, and here's options that if you're not eating meat, here's things that you can try. And
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:what that vitamin provides for you and your growing baby.
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:And I felt like that was pretty amazing to realize
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:I'm eating these carrots because it's like affecting this in me and my baby. It makes,
[Dr. Shannon]:And that's
[Paige Beckett]:for me,
[Dr. Shannon]:a different
[Paige Beckett]:it makes it a little bit
[Dr. Shannon]:mentality.
[Paige Beckett]:more, it changes your mentality. I'm not just eating this because my midwife said to eat this. I'm eating
[Dr. Shannon]:right.
[Paige Beckett]:this because.
[Dr. Shannon]:I'm understanding the physiological aspect that this is having on the body. No, I think that's big. And I love that it's a lot of like using that food as medicine type of thing. I like that as far as, okay,
[Paige Beckett]:And
[Dr. Shannon]:well,
[Paige Beckett]:that's
[Dr. Shannon]:what
[Paige Beckett]:a big
[Dr. Shannon]:can we
[Paige Beckett]:thing about,
[Dr. Shannon]:change
[Paige Beckett]:you know,
[Dr. Shannon]:in the
[Paige Beckett]:a
[Dr. Shannon]:diet?
[Paige Beckett]:big model of midwifery care is starting with little intervention as possible. So
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:food, you know, sometimes essential oils, homeopathy, all those things have a place, especially early on if something's going on. So yeah, trying those first is a big part of midwifery.
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm. So it's the paperwork. That's what people don't realize.
[Paige Beckett]:And the paperwork, they
[Dr. Shannon]:All
[Paige Beckett]:don't
[Dr. Shannon]:the paperwork.
[Paige Beckett]:realize like the paperwork. Online charting, I think those systems that have been created help some, but you know.
[Dr. Shannon]:There's a lot of behind the scenes.
[Paige Beckett]:Yeah,
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:we wanna cross, you know, dot our I's and cross our T's. We wanna make sure that we have everything looking as official as possible, so that when we do interact with other healthcare providers or the medical community, as far as like in case of transfer or. something we're suspecting is wrong, we come across as professional as well as being a more natural minded practice, but we also are doing the behind the scenes work to show that we're taking care of these families. We're not just showing up with our essential oils and our birth bag of a bulb syringe and, you know. hoping
[Dr. Shannon]:Calling
[Paige Beckett]:for
[Dr. Shannon]:it a
[Paige Beckett]:the
[Dr. Shannon]:day.
[Paige Beckett]:best. It is like this whole process and we're bringing all these things and we're listening to the baby's heartbeat and keeping the birthing person's blood pressure in check, all these things
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:that we're doing.
[Dr. Shannon]:Well, and that's I'm glad you mentioned all of those little things. And I'm glad you mentioned that it was the behind the scenes paperwork because using a home birth midwife, there is a standard of care that you are expected and required to provide for these families. And so, yes, you are meeting that. In fact, I've even used a home birth midwife for my annual exams. She came to the house and did like
[Paige Beckett]:Nice.
[Dr. Shannon]:pap smear and all that stuff. And I was like, this is way better. So. I mean, you guys can, and not every, not every does that because sustainability, that also takes time and energy. But I think having people understand that there are things that are required you and expected of you and that you, you know, home birth midwives do provide that as well. So now you started off as a doula and then switched into this midwifery world. So I would like for you to speak because I still deal with moms that maybe don't know all the differences or ins and outs between a doula and a midwife. So do you want to speak on some of the differences there? I feel like I talk, I feel like I know, I mean, we know this so well, but I don't still don't think everybody does. So.
[Paige Beckett]:sure. I heard somebody say that an OB said you had your baby at home with what? Like a doula and like so the healthcare professional the medical world they do not get it and it's a hard thing like we can't educate everybody. But for everybody listening to this podcast
[Dr. Shannon]:Hahaha
[Paige Beckett]:so doulas provide hands on comfort measures support. and can provide some level of educational information. So like
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:maybe referring you to the evidence-based birth handouts about what vitamin K is or GBS group B strep, all those things. So they can give you information that should be already proof, like I don't know, the word, sorry.
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:And then they're also helping you maybe make a birth plan, teach you ways to work through the intensity of labor. They're there to encourage you to kind of do some hands-on counter pressure, hip squeeze, massage, if that's their thing, that kind of stuff. They should not be doing any kind of clinical procedures. They shouldn't be. Typically they should not be taking blood pressure. They shouldn't be listening to heart tones, telling you exactly how you should make your choices in your birth.
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:As a healthcare provider, I don't want them necessarily speaking for my clients because I want my clients to tell me what they think, but they can also remind them of their birth plan and
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:things like that. So... And also that said, those lines I hear often get kind of blurred
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:now. There are whole communities that can benefit from blood pressure readings by anybody. Because blood pressure issues is an indicator of a lot of health issues in rural communities. We are losing doctors left and right. We have 92 counties, last time I checked, without a labor and delivery. That means
[Dr. Shannon]:Hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:they don't have a doctor to deliver their baby. So you know. Those are all things that I think different community organizations have in the works. I support that because it's being worked on for the greater good. But for
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:a doula just to individually be like, I'm going to do all of this and charge a little bit more. It's
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah,
[Paige Beckett]:not my favorite.
[Dr. Shannon]:that's where it's blurred the line.
[Paige Beckett]:If you're
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:working with a bigger system to help a whole people group have better health needs to happen. Doula should not be delivering babies.
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:I don't want to go too much into the whole free birth community.
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah, we don't have to switch from that.
[Paige Beckett]:While I want to support every person as a healthcare provider, I've seen so many things from people that might be doulas or might be ambiguous about their level of care and training. have things that don't go well that I just, I guess I would encourage parents, do your interviews, ask the questions, ask for
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:references, ask how
[Dr. Shannon]:Yep.
[Paige Beckett]:they learned these skills.
[Dr. Shannon]:That's what I was just about to say. When you were going down that route, I was like, this is what we do.
[Paige Beckett]:Yes,
[Dr. Shannon]:We ask those
[Paige Beckett]:you
[Dr. Shannon]:questions.
[Paige Beckett]:don't need to have
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:letters by your name. You don't need to have an education. You need to be able to say how and why and when you learned all the skills needed.
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:to protect the birthing space and the people, you know, the birthing person and the baby.
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:So, you know, you need to ask, do you know how to resuscitate a baby that needs a little help? Do you know how to work through some basic birth emergencies or struggles? Do you know how to help the birthing person if they're bleeding too much? What do you do? in case things are not looking as they should. How often do you listen to the baby in labor? What is, you know, what are your reasons for transport? All these things are good questions just to
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:verify that training is happening and they haven't
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:gone to, you know, 20 home births as a doula and thought it looked easy, so they decided to do it themselves. So,
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah,
[Paige Beckett]:unfortunately.
[Dr. Shannon]:yeah.
[Paige Beckett]:you're gonna run into people that are doing that. You're going to run into people that are coming from a more traditional midwifery training and they're completely fine and completely safe to have a baby with. It's just that you have to ask the questions to figure out the difference.
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm. No, definitely. And it's that interview process that you have with kind of everybody on your birth support team. So what is... So as we talk of what a doula is, what... how does that differ from the home birth midwife specifically? Because
[Paige Beckett]:So,
[Dr. Shannon]:that's
[Paige Beckett]:homework
[Dr. Shannon]:when delivering
[Paige Beckett]:midwives,
[Dr. Shannon]:the baby.
[Paige Beckett]:you know, as homework midwives, a lot of us have done dual work and then did the apprenticeship or some kind of training to become clinically prepared to do the skills needed for mom and baby. The difference is the longer I practice, the more I'm starting to feel that we can't be expected as home birth midwives to do the long-term intense, hands-on comfort measures. Just because we
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:can, just because we have now come to care for you and your family, whether on a friend's level or just a really compassionate healthcare provider, we can help. some, but you don't want us exhausted. You don't want us
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:to have been doing comfort measures for hours and hours and now it's time to deliver your baby and it's 3 a.m. and we're, you know, you want
[Dr. Shannon]:And now
[Paige Beckett]:us to
[Dr. Shannon]:I'm tired.
[Paige Beckett]:kind of be alone.
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm-hmm.
[Paige Beckett]:You know, we're going to be tired because we may have been there, but there's a difference in like physically hands-on pressing
[Dr. Shannon]:Uh-huh.
[Paige Beckett]:on somebody's back or doing hip squeeze like these muscles. when you're a doula
[Dr. Shannon]:It's intense.
[Paige Beckett]:are a lot stronger than like when you're a midway. And so if you're feeling you need that like intense hands-on support, for sure hire a doula. Just because your partner also will physically and mentally feel relieved if you do.
[Dr. Shannon]:And that's how I have typically described it too as far as I was like the midwife is not there for the entirety of Your labor because you have early labor and yeah, you might be talking to the midwife But the midwife doesn't necessarily need to be there. It could be for a longer length of time So you're in communication with you know, the midwife if you have the Dula the Dula can be there to help with some of those Comfort measures they're there a little bit longer. But then again to the Dula is not the one delivering the baby as well too. So
[Paige Beckett]:Yeah.
[Dr. Shannon]:I think it's a beautiful like support team to have, you know, and I think it is important for partner spouse to have the doula around as well too. I was telling mom recently about that because I was like, it's going to make him feel better because it's not going to all be on his shoulders and doulas are trained, you know, as far as going through some sort of, um, some
[Paige Beckett]:Yeah,
[Dr. Shannon]:sort of training
[Paige Beckett]:we can
[Dr. Shannon]:with
[Paige Beckett]:work
[Dr. Shannon]:the comfort
[Paige Beckett]:really
[Dr. Shannon]:measures.
[Paige Beckett]:well together for sure.
[Dr. Shannon]:Mm hmm. Yeah. Um, let's see. kind of want to chat about with midwifery and home birth midwifery model of care or anything that we didn't really touch on today.
[Paige Beckett]:I'm trying to think like I mean I'm just always trying to encourage midwives student midwives to figure out what sustainability looks like for them. You matter it's not a family way up here and like the midwife is way down here like it's a partnership and so everybody needs to feel respected everybody needs you know to feel like they're understood and yeah that's how it's going to work best for sure.
[Dr. Shannon]:And what looks sustainable for one midwife is going to look different for
[Paige Beckett]:For sure,
[Dr. Shannon]:another.
[Paige Beckett]:for
[Dr. Shannon]:So
[Paige Beckett]:sure.
[Dr. Shannon]:you know, it's that work-life flow. I like to say flow instead of balance because there's really no balance to it. You know, it's just kind of like it's up and down. There's a flow to
[Paige Beckett]:Yeah.
[Dr. Shannon]:it. I think that's important as well too. So just
[Paige Beckett]:Thank
[Dr. Shannon]:knowing like,
[Paige Beckett]:you.
[Dr. Shannon]:okay, if that works for me to only take two to three births a month because this is where I'm at in my world, well then... that's what works for you and you're going to be able to provide the best care for those families.
[Paige Beckett]:You know, and midwives that are taking more than that, like more power to them. They
[Dr. Shannon]:Exactly.
[Paige Beckett]:probably have a better system in place than I've been able to create. We all, you know, every season of midwifery life looks different.
[Dr. Shannon]:Uh-huh.
[Paige Beckett]:So yeah, and I think that's the other thing, you know, most of the time our clients don't know what's going on, you know, in depth in our personal lives. And so. That's also kind of a balance midwives have to figure out is like, you know, when I was a student, I had like a lot of kid drama going on that, you know, I might've been at the hospital with a kid and then left the hospital to come do a birth. But my, the families didn't know that. So always
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah.
[Paige Beckett]:just give your midwife a little bit of grace. She might have something going on. Her coughing might not have been strong enough, or, you know,
[Dr. Shannon]:Yeah,
[Paige Beckett]:she just
[Dr. Shannon]:life
[Paige Beckett]:has a
[Dr. Shannon]:is
[Paige Beckett]:problem.
[Dr. Shannon]:happening behind the scenes. Well, that was one of my goals today was to really kind of shed light on what that home birth midwifery model of care can look like. And so I think this is really, really informative. I hope people listen to it and learn something from it, or at least can go, oh, maybe I could. consider that, you know, and just kind of dive down that rabbit hole of home birth. Because
[Paige Beckett]:Yeah,
[Dr. Shannon]:it is a fun little rabbit hole.
[Paige Beckett]:being a midwife or having a home birth, you know.
[Dr. Shannon]:Yes, all the things, all the things. Always so fun to talk with you. I'm so excited to have you back in the area practicing again as well
[Paige Beckett]:I
[Dr. Shannon]:too.
[Paige Beckett]:am too.
[Dr. Shannon]:So
[Paige Beckett]:I'm doing
[Dr. Shannon]:this
[Paige Beckett]:great.
[Dr. Shannon]:is, and we're
[Paige Beckett]:I've
[Dr. Shannon]:going
[Paige Beckett]:had
[Dr. Shannon]:to have
[Paige Beckett]:some
[Dr. Shannon]:to
[Paige Beckett]:baby
[Dr. Shannon]:meet again
[Paige Beckett]:porn.
[Dr. Shannon]:in real life.
[Paige Beckett]:Yes. Yes, I want
[Dr. Shannon]:All right.
[Paige Beckett]:to go
[Dr. Shannon]:Well,
[Paige Beckett]:to
[Dr. Shannon]:thank
[Paige Beckett]:that
[Dr. Shannon]:you.
[Paige Beckett]:healthy place in Akworth.
[Dr. Shannon]:Yes, yes, they just celebrated a birthday. There's this cute little place downtown Ackworth called the fountain. And so, yeah, we want to.
[Paige Beckett]:I've been there for dinner, but I haven't been there for coffee and it looks so cute.
[Dr. Shannon]:Oh, it's so cute. Yeah. So we're definitely going to have to do that. But again, thank you so, so much Paige for being
[Paige Beckett]:Welcome
[Dr. Shannon]:on
[Paige Beckett]:in.
[Dr. Shannon]:the show. I'm so very grateful for you and what you provide the birthing community, especially in Georgia and at large. So you are needed and I am so excited to have you in the birthing community, my friend.
[Paige Beckett]:Alright, thank you.