Catherine Stack, ND, CNM

FULL CIRCLE (an excerpt from “ PUSH Labor & Delivery from the Inside Out ”, by Catherine Stack ND, CNM ) Keri is a 40 year old Hospice nurse.  She worked hard for this pregnancy as she thought she was finished reproducing nineteen years ago.  Who could ask for more, a girl and a boy, a two years apart and life was good. That is, until last year when their 20 year old daughter was taken from them in a tragic car accident. I write this piece, in a most difficult chapter, almost in the moment.  This is one of those deliveries you feel that it was a gift to be at. I want to send the family a thank you note for allowing me the opportunity to be present at this birth. Beautiful is an understatement when describing this birth.  It was raw and powerful. It was miraculous and it was healing. It was absolutely one of the most touching births I have been privileged to hold to memory. A piece of Heaven was surely in the room.  Keri’s 19 year old son, su...

  I don’t often get the common cold and I have not ever gotten the flu (or flu shot).  Prevention  and early treatment are essential to get through the “sick” season relatively unscathed and I’m going to share my best tips and supplement protocols with you.  Prevention is always best, but having a plan for when illness creeps in will have you feeling better in no time. Keeping items in stock will help you turn things around rapidly.  You can’t afford to wait a few days for a delivery when you are ill and I’m sure you won’t be up to shopping. Prevention is Key Now I am not the girl who sanitizes everything as there is something to be said about building up the immune system, but hand washing is extremely important when it comes to spreading germs.  I know some people complain that their hands become dry and chapped (you might need more healthy fats in your diet), but this is not a valid excuse not to wash your hands frequently throughout the day...

There is so much confusion about hormones and their uncomfortable symptoms when imbalances occur.  What makes things even more confusing as the cause of the uncomfortable symptoms such as hot flashes is different depending on where you are in the complex menopausal timeline.  Menopause is official when there has been no period for one calendar year. For those who have had ablations, have IUDs or maybe had a hysterectomy with ovaries remaining, blood work would help to diagnose menopause as these women are no longer menstruating but not necessarily menopausal. The five to ten years before menopause can go well or can be an uncomfortable ride that makes you dread what comes next.  The most common symptoms of the peri-menopausal woman is anxiety, sleep disruption (specifically waking up between 1-3am) and hot flashes or night sweats.   The anxiety and sleep issues lead many to ask their providers for help only to land themselves on an...

An excerpt from the book, “ PUSH  Labor & Delivery from the Inside Out ”.  Don’t read this section if you do not have a sense of humor or are easily offended.  Shit happens and in any profession you must keep a sense of humor. This is the glue that forms the lifelong bonds between co-workers and creates memories for a lifetime.  I myself, have experienced a mortifying slip of the tongue that sent my co-workers to the floor, probably peeing themselves a bit, and me just sitting there wishing the moment would just swallow me up and make me disappear.   It was the end of a long and tedious shift.  The admissions were endless, my stomach was hungry and my feet were burning.  These are the days that you question working a twelve and a half hour shift. These are the days you hope you don’t mistakenly roll your eyes or groan in front of the next labor patient that rolls through the door.   I still remember this admis...

SWEET KRISTEN A small excerpt from “ PUSH Labor & Delivery from the Inside Out ” By Catherine Stack N.D., C.N.M (Naturopath & Midwife) It is the end of my very long shift.  Not a bad day, just long. I am ready to go see my dad in the assisted living facility around the corner where every once in awhile I will bring him a tiny Jim Beam bottle.  I love to watch the reaction of his face when he twists that cap open and smells its nectar. You’d think he was smelling a field of lavender. His face lights up,I see happiness.  His alcoholic past has brought him to a life of dementia and a 4 second memory. He is a good dad, was a good dad. It is so sad that the rest of his life will need to be spent in this place, a nice place, and the people are wonderful.  I lie to him everyday telling him he is coming back to my house in a week or so. It has been over four years…. I’m such a liar but he still loves me so. Back to Kristen.  My shift ends at ...

©CathiStack2019 An Excerpt from " PUSH Labor & Delivery from the Inside Out " I am a fan of epidurals, period.  I know I may not be in the majority of midwives, but I love them. Epidural anesthesia is regional anesthesia that blocks pain in a particular region of the body. The goal of an epidural is to provide analgesia , or pain relief , rather than anesthesia which leads to total lack of feeling. Epidurals block the nerve impulses from the lower spinal segments. This results in decreased sensation in the lower half of the body, which affects women differently.  Some have a complete loss of sensation, some are able to move well and still have excellent pain relief and some may only feel pressure. Unfortunately, some epidurals don’t end up working well. Sometimes the block is only noted on one side and this may or may not be fixed.  Often, in the case of a baby that is too big for moms pelvis (only we don’t know it yet), the mom ...