Catherine Stack, ND, CNM

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 admission like it was yesterday.  Room 7, 6:45pm and o

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 7:15 pm.  It is 6:45 and

©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 who initially had a good