I was talking to Jo Crawford CPM the other day about midwifery and expecting mothers in the Central Alabama area. Do you know what I learned? Jo Crawford cares DEEPLY about her expecting mamas. Think about this: when you pay for a service, any service, and the person giving that service is indifferent about your experience, your wellbeing or the details of your life…what kind of experience will you have? Not an incredible one, I can assure you of that. I’m sure all of us have had an experience like this at some point in our lives and its one that, in general, we all try to avoid. Jo Crawford might be the absolute opposite of this description. Every detail about her expecting mama’s matters. In the world of digital this and that, not many people take the time to call and actually talk to you to get to know you. But that’s the first thing that Jo does. I had the opportunity to ask Jo some detailed questions about midwifery and all things birth and she was kind enough to answer them all in great detail in order to help you be informed before choosing your birthing caregiver and hopefully have a birth you won’t regret.
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The Details | Jo Crawford
1. Tell me about your training background.
Midwifery training is centered around both didactic learning and the traditional apprenticeship model. After completing the required clinical experience under the supervision of an approved preceptor and completing all didactic work, then we sit for a final board examination that will determine our status as a certified professional midwife. This process usually takes 3-5 years depending on the client load of the midwife you are training under. More information can be found HERE.
2. What do you wish all moms knew before giving birth?
I wish all moms knew how strong they are and how beautiful and powerful they look when they are giving birth. That’s why I love getting pictures during labor and birth, so they can see the strength and beauty that the birth team gets to see during the process.
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The Experience | Jo Crawford
3. Tell me a birth story!
“We had a mom come to us wanting an out of hospital birth because of the amount of physical and emotional trauma she had with her first child. We helped her physically and mentally prepare for a natural birth all throughout her pregnancy and helped her work through her many fears about labor. When labor started she kept in constant contact with us about her labor signs and symptoms. She had planned to come to our birthing suite we provide at our office. We let her decide when she wanted to come in and we had the room prepared the way she desired, with low lighting and soft music, as well as pre-filling the birth pool so it would be ready when she arrived. Not long after she got to the birth suite, she was in the pool and quietly working through her strong and frequent contractions. She spontaneously started pushing her baby not long after that and smoothly delivered a crying baby girl into her own hands. Her postpartum recovery was incredibly better and she was most happy that she did not experience the postpartum depression that she did with the first baby.”
(are you starting to see the extreme care and love that Jo Crawford puts into her services?)
4. I’ve heard really scary home birth stories…how do you ensure the safety of me/my baby during labor and delivery?
“We carry the appropriate medications in the event of abnormal bleeding and have specialized training in neonatal resuscitation, as well as specialized training in other birth emergencies like shoulder dystocia and breech, etc.”
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Are you feeling like you want to know more? Don’t worry, this interview was so good that I am splitting it up into two separate posts. Stick around this week to hear more from Jo Crawford and her amazing midwifery wisdom! If you just can’t wait for more and are interested in working with Jo Crawford and finding out more about her services you can contact her HERE.
If you’d like to find out more about a session experience with me don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I would love to chat with you! In the meantime you can click HERE to read about the experience or you might enjoy reading these:
The Key to Finding the Best Birmingham Pediatricians
The 4 Best Spas in Birmingham for an Amazing Prenatal Massage
A Birmingham Mom Shares Her Incredible Birth Story
