We were lucky to catch up with Lisa Marie Oxenham recently and have shared our conversation below.
Lisa Marie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
In the midwifery model of care one of the tenants for learning is the apprenticeship model, often, as in my case, one is enrolled in a midwifery college, so there is also the influence of that. I had two Preceptors and many mentors. When we learn about complications such as a shoulder dystocia, or bleeding, there are certain industry accepted protocols, especially if the mother/birther is in a birthing tub. I have always had a passion for waterbirth, and the more science I learned behind the physiological adaptation to breathing, the more I questioned the protocol of taking the mother out of the water to deal with a stuck baby. A shoulder dystocia is when the baby’s shoulder is stuck at right angles (or so) to the mother’s pubic bone. After doing almost 700 waterbirth I have learned to trust the science; namely that the baby cannot take its first breath until the head is exposed to the atmosphere. There is a nerve, the trigeminal nerve, that, once introduced to the air and the constituents of air, will open the larynx, reading the baby to take its first breath. So I decided that it did not make sense to me to remove the mother out of the tub of water if the baby is stuck, and when I had a very difficult birth with a baby that was struck I managed to do the rotational moves under water to free the baby. But because I had not introduced the head to the air, the baby never tried to breath and did fine, not needing resuscitation. Sometimes the squeeze can be a lot but between my husband and I we have been able to resolve every dystocia with excellent outcomes. We have had about 10 or more in our practice. We try to avoid the need through proper body work, dietary considerations, etc. It is still not a popular concept but I am building my own data to prove that this is the better and safer way in a waterbirth setting. I think education others will help to reduce the fear of waterbirth and shoulder dystocia.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a homebirth midwife, trained through the National College of Midwifery, and in my younger years I worked as a doula/monitrice. I have been a birth guardian for over 33 years, midwifing since 2007 as a student and then licensed in 2011. I was drawn to the art of midwifery from a book I found as a 19 year old newly married teenage, as the heals of my father’s death in 1986. The book was written in the 50’s by Helen Wessel, called Natural Childbirth and the Christian Family. It then led me to the work of Grantley Dick-Reed, Ina May Gaskin, Elizabeth Davis, amongst others. I began to attend birth shortly after that while doing others things as well. After some failed relationships, I met my soulmate in 2011, slightly before I was licensed. It seems fitting to me in retrospect. My husband and I work as a team, providing prenatal care, labor, and postpartum support, in the home. We drive to their house for every visit. Richard is an essential aspect to our practice. He is also about to sit the exam to become a midwife, as he as met the criteria and has attended over 500 births with me, and some without me (other midwives). We view the prenatal time as an inviitation for untangle old traumas, to help people feel that there is more space around their new, upcoming experience, to embrace joy, We have witnessed every iteration of relationship realities. It is truly a unique set up we have; my husband offers encouragement to the fathers (daddy doula we often hear). People get bonded to us as a pair. Often women may initially think it is awkward to have another male present but it has simply not proved to be so at all. He is a sagacious and gentle person and some people even prefer him to me. We set up our practice to make it easy for people to have a waterbirth. Our inclusive fee covers all care through six weeks postpartum and the supplies for the birth: the tub, a birth kit, etc. We have 1200 births between the two of us. The most important thing to know about us is how much we care, the extra time we will spend with people so that they feel safe. If a woman has a big trauma story I will take her out to dinner to hear her experience that hides in her body. We have a van that allows us to spend the night when it is helpful to the family.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Initially, we made sure to get on all the major social media sites at the time (2014). We also added our business information to the midwifery industry association websites at that time. We advertised on Yelp for a while as well.
Our approach was and continues to be providing educational and informational content of our work only. All of our postings are of our own work and content. Given our niche as waterbirth midwives, it found a following in our industry, especially after a video of one of our births went viral in 2016.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I think being honest with the families we work for, and honoring informed consent has gone a long way. We believe that people have the right to decline anything, with informed consent. We discuss all options for a particular thing and we honor their desires. Some midwives have a set way of dealing with issues like glucose testing, 20 week anatomy scan, etc. I will remain in care even if I have a differing opinion of a subject. Having other midwives I can have peer review with and doctor that I consult with helps with building a trustworthy reputation as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.barefootmidwife.com
- Instagram: @Barefootmidwife
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1barefootmidwife?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-marie-sanchez-a162a126?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Twitter: @Barefootmidwif3
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@barefootmidwifelisamarie8460
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sacred-journey-midwifery-tustin-5