{"id":44,"date":"2022-10-18T03:50:10","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T07:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charischildbirth.org\/?page_id=44"},"modified":"2023-04-14T05:50:09","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T09:50:09","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/charischildbirth.org\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t\t\tOur Mission

Equipping birth professionals worldwide<\/h1>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Charis Childbirth trains and equips childbirth professionals and ministers who, through faith, skill, and education, prepare and practically serve growing families.<\/p>\n\t\t\t

Our Vision<\/h2>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Our vision is a world where every expectant woman is treated with respect, acceptance, and love; and where she receives excellent care, education, and support from compassionate and highly skilled birth professionals.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“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,\u00a0 together, A great throng shall return there…And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

~ Jeremiah 31:8, 14<\/p>\n\t\t\tLeadership

Our Directors<\/h2>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"Kristin\n\tKristin Schuchmann, LM, CPM<\/b><\/strong>
\nExecutive Director\n

Kristin, the founder of Charis Childbirth and a FL Licensed Certified Professional Midwife, is a passionate pro-life advocate for the unborn, a doula, childbirth educator, lactation counselor, and midwife who has served hundreds of childbearing families and those in crisis pregnancies since 1989.<\/p>\n\t\t\t

Kristin Schuchmann, LM, CPM<\/b><\/strong>
Executive Director<\/em><\/p>\n

Kristin, the founder of Charis Childbirth and a FL Licensed Certified Professional Midwife, is a passionate pro-life advocate for the unborn, a doula, childbirth educator, lactation counselor, and midwife who has served hundreds of childbearing families and those in crisis pregnancies since 1989.\u00a0 A graduate of Commonsense Childbirth School of Midwifery, Kristin currently provides home birth midwifery services<\/a> to her community in southwest Florida and is the founder of Heritage School of Midwifery and Natural Health Sciences<\/a> in Sarasota County, Florida.\u00a0 She is the mother of four grown children and grandmother to an ever-growing number of grandchildren.\u00a0 Kristin lived in Virginia Beach, VA, her entire life until May of 2007 when she and her family moved to North Port, Florida.\u00a0 Her hobbies include singing, playing piano, hiking, enjoying the beach, gardening, and preparing healthy gourmet meals.\u00a0 Kristin is passionate about reaching the lost for Jesus Christ and helping people become healthy physically, emotionally, and spiritually.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRead More\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\"Charis\n\tSusan Oshel, CPM, LM<\/b><\/strong>
\nDirector of Midwifery Studies\n

Susan, a Virginia-licensed Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), began attending births as a midwife’s assistant in 1977, and in 1981 attended her first birth as a primary midwife.\u00a0 She grew up in Virginia Beach and spent most of her adult life in Floyd County, VA, where she served the beautiful, rural, diverse mountain community as a traditional midwife.<\/p>\n\t\t\t

Susan Oshel, CPM, LM
<\/strong>Director of Midwifery Studies<\/em><\/p>\n

Susan, a Virginia-licensed Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), began attending births as a midwife’s assistant in 1977, and in 1981 attended her first birth as a primary midwife.\u00a0 She grew up in Virginia Beach and spent most of her adult life in Floyd County, VA, where she served the beautiful, rural, diverse mountain community as a traditional midwife.\u00a0 Along with a committed group of sister midwives, professionals, and consumers, Susan successfully worked toward the legalization of Certified Professional Midwives in Virginia.\u00a0 In 1999, Susan developed and launched her first midwifery academics course with great results.\u00a0 In addition to her expertise in women’s health, reproduction, birth, lactation, infants, and children, she brings her extensive education in herbs and nutrition.\u00a0 In 2006, Susan joined the Charis family as our Director of Midwifery Studies and helped Kristin to revise and improve the Charis course for childbirth professionals to include an advanced academics course for midwives that was launched in 2007.\u00a0 Susan and David, her husband and high school sweetheart, currently live in Roanoke, VA.\u00a0 They have five grown children, eight grandchildren, and an ever-growing number of great-grandbabies.\u00a0 Gardening, sewing, and graphic art are just some of Susan’s many talents and hobbies.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRead More\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t

Charis History<\/h2>\t\t\t\n\t

Beginning in 1989, Kristin Schuchmann, founder of Charis Childbirth, worked exclusively with those in a crisis pregnancy, serving teenage girls and women by providing free doula services, shelter, crisis counseling, and more.\u00a0 Kristin has been very active in the pro-life movement and has had the opportunity to influence many girls and women to choose life for their babies, a decision not one has regretted.\u00a0 Eventually, Kristin branched out teaching childbirth classes and providing doula services to married couples, while still volunteering her services to single moms and those in a crisis pregnancy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The childbirth education Kristin provides includes Biblical principles and Scripture which help to increase the faith of the expectant family and to introduce the Gospel of Christ to people who may have never before experienced a relationship with Jesus.\u00a0 She teaches birth as a natural process and prepares the families well for their upcoming births.\u00a0 As a result, people are coming to know Jesus Christ, families are growing in their faith in God, and women are experiencing supernaturally wonderful childbirth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In 2002, Kristin began taking on apprentices who wanted to learn about serving childbearing families from a Christian perspective.\u00a0 It is because of this wonderful experience that she felt led to begin facilitating more formal training.\u00a0 Rather than copying current ways of equipping childbirth professionals, she chose a model that uses mentoring and coaching for more personalized training.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While seeking guidance from the Lord concerning the training process, the vision began to grow.\u00a0 It became clear that this would be comprehensive enough to be a credible source of certification for childbirth educators and doulas, and that creating a membership organization would serve many community and educational purposes.\u00a0 Others began to catch the vision and, in 2003, Charis Childbirth was birthed, offering training and certification for childbirth educators and doulas.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In 2006, Charis was blessed with the addition of midwife Susan Oshel who is serving as our Director of Midwifery Studies.\u00a0 Susan has helped Kristin to revise and improve the Charis course for childbirth professionals to include an advanced academics course for midwives that was launched in 2007.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At the request of Charis students and graduates, the postpartum doula and lactation counselor certifications were developed and added in 2016.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Charis Childbirth is blessed to have trained birth professionals on four continents.\u00a0 It is thrilling for us to come alongside our students as they discover how their unique gifts can meet the needs of childbearing families in their communities.\u00a0 The world desperately needs more love and support for families in this important season of life.\u00a0 Normally, when a seed is planted, one knows what will grow.\u00a0 In this case, when the idea of Charis Childbirth was planted, we had no idea how beautiful and far-reaching it would become.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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