Today we’d like to introduce you to Bethany Stricker.
Bethany, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I started attending births in 2010, I had no intention of becoming a midwife. I originally began my birth work journey as a labor doula in hopes of providing support and comfort on one of the biggest days of a woman’s life. I loved providing labor support, but my clients that desired a natural birth rarely achieved their goal in the hospital. At the time, I was living near DC in Virginia and the hospitals were simply not supportive of families desiring to birth without interventions. I became disillusioned and was very frustrated by the system that promoted safety and yet interrupted normal birth and required interventions. Fast forward and I had the privilege of witnessing my first midwife attended home birth as a doula. I was deeply struck with the simplicity of care while the midwife maintained safety and the mother simply labored as she desired. This is what I had been looking for; freedom of movement, freedom to eat and drink, freedom to follow her body. This was family centered care that came to you! The peace at this birth was palpable and I was in love. Shortly there after, I began midwifery school, started assisting midwives in a more clinical role, and could not wait to give families the care I believed they deserved. During my midwifery training, I ended up in Texas to finish my clinical in 2015 and became a licensed midwife in Texas in 2017. Once you get to Texas, it is hard to leave!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Being a midwife is not easy, but when I contemplate transitioning into other work, I simply cannot imagine doing anything else! I began attending births at a young age and have been witnessing birth my entire adult life. I really believe being a midwife is a part of me. At times, it dictates my lifestyle. You never know when a baby may be born! The on call life is the hardest part, but the lifelong relationships I have are so worth it. I am considered “part of the family” for so many people and I really think most of my clients would do anything for me. There is so much love in this work! It simply cannot be compared to anything else. When I am having a hard day, I think about how hard mothers work to birth, their children and how many little ones have been brought safely into the world because of my help. I simply cannot imagine not being a midwife!
Please tell us about your practice.
Through my practice, I provide personalized prenatal care, labor and birth in the comfort of your home, or at the Birth & Wellness Center of Arlington, and postpartum care. All of my prenatal and postpartum appointments are one hour long and focus on nutrition, exercise, natural options for common pregnancy discomforts, preparing for a natural birth, and checking on the well being of mother and baby. If one of my client’s is planning a home birth, the 36 week prenatal visit is in the comfort of their own home. This ensures the birth team knows how to get to the planned home birth on the big day and that the family has their birth supplies. When labor may be starting, I stay in touch with the family and go to their home or advise them to come to the birth center at the appropriate time. I call the birth assistants as the birth gets closer, and as a team, we monitor the mother and baby’s health. We specialize in encouraging labor and birth to unfold naturally and encourage active movement and natural comfort techniques to keep the mother comfortable and calm. It is such a joy to see a mother pick up her baby and hold him to her chest for the first time! Once baby has transitioned well, we assist with the birth of the placenta, and continue to monitor mother and baby, including the mother’s bleeding. We are able to administer medications and treat common complications making our transport rate only about 5%. Once the mother and baby are settled and stable, we leave home, or the family is discharged from the birth center, around 4-6 hours postpartum. I return to check on the family around 24-48 hours after the birth to perform all routine screenings. We then continue postnatal care at one week, two weeks, and six weeks postpartum and can perform a pap smear if the client desires it.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I love the midwifery model of care because it promotes the health of the family through prevention. So often, we can prevent and address common complications and discomforts through simple diet changes, herbs, and botanical medicine. I am working towards becoming a registered herbalist and look forward to offering the midwifery model of care to common female reproductive issues like PCOS, fibroids, endometriosis, irregular or painful periods, and more. Similar to birth, women’s needs are not being met by the medical model. I believe it is time for women to learn how to heal their bodies naturally and what better way to start than to begin offering these services myself?
Contact Info:
- Address: 4428 Main Street Suite 100 Dallas, TX 75225
1001 W Randol Mill Road Arlington, TX76012 - Website: bethanystricker.com
- Phone: 5712307866
- Email: bethanystrickermidwifery@gmail.com
- Instagram: @bethanystrickermidwifery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bethanystrickermidwifery/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/dallasmidwife
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bethany-stricker-midwifery-care-arlington-2
- Other: https://birthandwellnesscenter.com/
Image Credit:
Stephanie Cabrera
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