Who I Am: Jennifer Houston
 I
have been continuously involved with childbirth since the birth of
my first child in 1970. The births of my own children..... the
greatest of teachers, and the many other births I have been
privileged to attend, have taught me the miracle of birth as well as
the power of women ....all of us, who trust in our own capacity to
birth and create the support we need that enables us to give birth naturally.
We remind each other of what is possible.
I began attending births in the Woodstock NY area in 1972, working
with a family practice doctor. I was initiated into this work through
homebirth and after 28 yrs of practice, I continue to think that
homebirth is the safest place for most women to birth www.sheilakitzinger.com/Homebirth.htm,
Midwife
Info. I myself have given birth to two of my three children at home.
When women accept responsibility for their own birth experience and
choose home birth as an alternative to the rigid institutional
environment of hospital birth they have a greater chance of having a
normal natural birth. Birth is best supported in the safe circle of
other women and skilled attention.
Through many years of experience I developed trust in birth. Women
need to feel safe and supported and natural birth is more likely when
attended by a skilled practitioner, whose role is to nurture,
encourage, and be fully present while keeping a watchful eye,
recognizing and managing complications when they occasionally arise.
Midwives understand the wide range of normal and assist variations in
normal in gentle effective ways, without resorting immediately to
technology. Midwives are trained in the appropriate use of technology
when needed.
I attended 100s of home births before going into nursing school
(1978) and then years later attended midwifery school (1987). From
the early childbirth reform movement I learned from the work of
Raven Lange, Gail Peterson, Suzanne Arms, Ina May Gaskin (and
the other FARM midwives), as well as the various childbirth methods
(Dick Read, Lamaze, Bradley, Bing, LeBoyer). I studied and practiced
yoga and pranayama (specifically the use of the breath) and
became intimately attuned to the energies. I studied massage and am a
certified Kripalu bodyworker. I am a certified hynotherapist and
studied NLP (the study of language and it's effects on the nervous
system and body/mind connection) and developed a
relaxation/visualization experience in a CD called Journeying
Through Pregnancy & Birth that has been used by thousands of women.
I worked with homebirth doctors in Chicago for years in a very busy
practice (70 home births/mo) and in a high risk medical center as an
Ob/Gyn nurse. I have worked in free standing birth centers and
community hospitals. The majority of the births I've attended have
been out of hospital. I introduced midwifery services to our
local hospital (Columbia Memorial Hospital, Hudson, NY) and worked
with my husband Larry Perl (Ob/Gyn doctor) in a practice that offered
women home, hospital or a birth center birth.
I founded and directed a free standing women's health and birth
center in Antigua Guatemala for 9 yrs that provided 24/7 care to
women from diverse populations including women that the local
traditional midwives brought to us. I started a non-profit
organization “Midwives
for Midwives” & developed a training program that
trained over 250 midwives over a 7 yr period. This provided a midwifery
model for training midwives internationally. I am certified by
the American College of Nurse Midwives and NY State licensed.
Click here to view credentials. (resume) |
