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Our Charis Family
Bethany Stricker
When I started the Charis doula program in the fall
of 2010, I never imagined I would be here 3
years later. I have apprenticed with seven
midwives and been to about fifty births. On
average, I attend 3-5 births per month with half
being my own doula clients and the other half as a
midwife’s assistant at home and birth center births.
I am not as far as I would like to be in my studies
(is anyone, I wonder?) but I know that will come
along in the perfect timing. I am so blessed
to serve families and have a job doing what I love.
Life is blessedly full! I am trying to say
that instead of busy ;) as it reminds me that full
means I have very loving family and friends in my
life, a job that does pay the bills, opportunities
that I could have never imagined and a school that
stretches, grows and encourages me.
My doula practice has grown and I really enjoy
giving my clients midwifery style care prenatally
and postpartum. We talk about nutrition,
exercise, spinning babies techniques, optimal fetal
positioning, relaxation techniques,
interventions, and how helpful chiropractic care is
for an easier birth and more comfortable pregnancy.
Postpartum visits are so fun for me but also help me
to have ‘closure’ after difficult births. A
good percentage of my doula clients choose to birth
outside of the hospital with subsequent babies after
talking about their birth and what they would have
liked to have been different. Doula-ing is a
most bitter sweet job for me. The work is hard
but extremely rewarding.
I remember starting the Charis midwifery program in
the Spring of 2011 and thinking that I would never
have any apprenticeship opportunities. I also
thought I was just going to have more information
for my doula clients and never become a midwife.
Almost three years later I’ve apprenticed with
almost everyone in my area and have begun the NARM
paperwork! Doors have opened and closed
for me and every time one closes, another opens.
The Lord is faithful and good. There have been
many bumps in the road when it comes to apprenticing
and I have learned many lessons. Many lessons
I would have rather not learned or learned a
different way, but I am thankful for each one.
The Lord has placed a fire in my heart to become a
midwife simply to give more care than I can as a
doula.
It has been difficult to be growing up while also
becoming a midwife. I wonder why and ask the
same questions most 21 year olds do but most 21 year
olds aren’t on call 24/7 or have the same
responsibility that I feel each day. Through
midwifery, my faith has become my own as
difficult times have forced me to choose if I
believe what I say I do. I am also learning
how to take care of myself while taking care of
others. What a challenge! It is a
balance to keep up my health while being at marathon
births wondering if another baby will come right
after. I am thankful to be growing even though
it is hard, very hard on some days.
I hope to finish my Charis schooling by the end of
2015, at the latest, including Anatomy and
Physiology and the new Lactation Counselor program!
I am so excited to keep learning. I also hope
to have my CPM by around that time or by the end of
2016. We shall see what the Lord does.
He began the work so I know he will finish it,
whatever that means….midwife...doula….of service to
families.
Blessings,
Bethany
Bethany lives in Northern Virginia, USA.
She is a Charis midwifery student, doula and midwife
assistant. In her spare time she enjoys
friends, family, being mentored, sewing, gardening,
real food cooking, knitting, building her library
and permaculture. In our November newsletter we
featured a sobering and educational PCOS study
Bethany
composed. Visit her feature
here and learn more about her on her
Wisdon Birth Services website.
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Charis Cuisine
Sweet Pepper & Collards Salad
Ingredients
Makes 1 Large Bowl | 1 Serving
3
medium collard leaves
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Sea salt to taste
1 clove garlic
4-5 pieces of dried tomatoes
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp hemp seeds
1/2 red or orange bell pepper
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
You can use either collard greens or kale in this recipe!
Using both are spectacular. The key to keeping this recipe
sweet is to use your own dried tomatoes or to buy them from a
store. The brand Just Tomatoes™ makes a wonderful dried
tomato. The difference between a sun-dried tomato and a
dried tomato is flavor - a sundried tomato has a deeper flavor
whereas a dried tomato is sweet like candy. If you use a
traditional sun-dried tomato for this recipe, add the sea salt
right before you add the olive oil and NOT when you add the
vinegar. Often sun-dried tomatoes come pre-salted
and you don't want to over-salt your meal.
Preparation
Equipment needed: Just a knife and cutting board!
1 Layer the collard or kale leaves on top of each other,
roll them into a burrito, and cut them into thin 1/4-inch
slices.
2 Place the sliced greens into a large bowl, and add the
salt and vinegar, and mix well.
3 Mince the garlic and dried tomatoes. Now, add the
garlic, dried tomatoes, nutritional yeast, and hemp seeds to the
greens and mix.
4 Slice the sweet bell pepper and add it to the greens.
5 Add the olive oil and mix well.
6 Allow the greens to sit for 5-10 minutes. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information Per Serving
(based on 2,000 calorie daily intake)
Calories 245
protein 16g
total fat 11g
carbohydrate 27g
dietary fiber 11g
total sugars 11g
calcium 22%
iron 31%
sodium 36%
potassium 39%
zinc 14%
vitamin A 185%
vitamin E 35%
thiamin 347%
riboflavin 309%
niacin 156%
vitamin B6 263%
folate 55%
vitamin B12 65%
vitamin C 205% |
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'Behold, I will
bring them from the north country, And gather them from the ends of
the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child and The one who labors with child, together,
A
great throng shall return there...And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD.'
Jeremiah 31:8, 14
~~~
©2014 Charis Childbirth
Services, All Rights Reserved
Feel free to forward this newsletter to friends in its entirety,
leaving all attribution intact.
January 2014 |
