by Kim Woodard Osterholzer (Author)

You’re pregnant. You’re hoping for a natural birth. You’re hoping for a magically natural birth. A crazy part of you is even curious about homebirth. But homebirth is crazy, isn’t it? Homebirth—Safe & Sacred is written by Kim Osterholzer, a homebirth midwife who’s welcomed nearly 600 babies into life since she started attending births in 1993. Kim’s been a Certified Professional Midwife since 2002, and is also mother to two homeborn children and grandmother to three homeborn children. Homebirth—Safe & Sacred is a carefully researched foray into the many misconceptions surrounding the safety of American birth—the safety of both American homebirth and American hospital birth. In it, Kim describes homebirth and homebirth midwifery with an in-depth look at statistics, training, and the quality of care midwives are able to provide their clients. Kim then leads readers through an examination of our national maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity rates—sadly, the worst in the developed world—and how they appear to relate to the philosophy and policies of our current medical system. Homebirth—Safe & Sacred promises to be an enlightening read for anyone concerned and curious about American birth, but Kim crafted it especially for families who’d consider giving birth at home if they thought it was safe.

by Kim Woodard Osterholzer (Author)

Homebirth—Commonly Asked Questions is also part of the book, Homebirth—Safe & Sacred, so you need not purchase this book if you’re also purchasing Homebirth—Safe & Sacred!What about the pain? What about the mess? What if I need to go to the hospital? Can homebirth be safe? Kim Woodard Osterholzer provides answers both reassuring and inspirational to the questions midwives are most often asked about giving birth at home. Homebirth—Commonly Asked Questions is written by Kim Woodard Osterholzer, a homebirth midwife who’s welcomed nearly 600 babies into life since she started attending births in 1993. Kim’s been a Certified Professional Midwife since 2002, and is the mother of two homeborn children and grandmother of four homeborn children.

by Kim Woodard Osterholzer (Author)

Midwife Kim Osterholzer ushers listeners behind the doors of Amish homes as she recounts her adventures answering God’s call to the craft of midwifery. Kim chronicles her nine-year apprenticeship grappling with the nuances and idiosyncrasies of homebirth. She recounts the beauty and painstaking effort of those early years spent catching babies by the light of crackling woodstoves, oil lamps, and lanterns. Every birth enthralled her, whether it involved halting hemorrhages, sharing breath with tiny lungs, or bouncing through wild rides in ambulances. Too many times to count, Kim stumbled home feeling overwhelmed and inadequate, yet, as she matured in her relationship with Christ and strained against self-doubt and seemingly insurmountable challenges, those intimate, sacred moments of birth transformed her. Slowly and steadily, Kim learned to play her part in a symphony of inimitable midwives and, at last, tried and tested, took her rightful place among them.

by Kim Woodard Osterholzer (Author)

“Nourish and Thrive” began as a stack of short articles Kim crafted through her early days catching babies with an eye toward helping the families she served enjoy the most wonderful pregnancies, births, and periods of postpartum renewal possible. As the years slipped one past another, that little stack grew until, at last, this book was born. From a description of what birth at home looks like to a closer look at the days and weeks that follow, from thoughts about nourishing lifestyles to tackling the aches and pains of carrying wee ones within, Kim shares the many lessons she’s learned serving moms, dads, and brand-new babies.

by Kim Woodard Osterholzer (Author)

One Little Life at a Time, Recommendations + Record Keeping for Aspiring Midwives burst upon the scene as Kim’s almost frantic attempt to craft a study plan and track her progress while pressing through nine arduous years of apprenticeship toward certification with the North American Registry of Midwives as a Certified Professional Midwife. By the time Kim managed to earn her CPM with NARM, what is now this book had been reduced to three badly tattered, torn, and taped together three-ring binders. Soon after launching into independent practice, Kim found a line of women interested in pursuing their own homebirth midwifery apprenticeships forming at her doors, and she realized it was time to turn her set of bedraggled materials into something a student could use while working with her. Kim has since recognized what’s worked well with her own students might be useful to other students studying in other places and with other preceptors, so she set to work transforming the material yet again.