_This Sunday morning, at our clinic Soley Lavi, a new mother gave birth. Her name is Tamara, and although she was doubtful that she could do it, she had a lot of support and reassurance from her family and our student midwives.

When she began to push her baby out, I grabbed Tracy's hands and we did a lovely four handed catch with Sherline assisting as the baby was born. As we helped the loud little boy onto his mothers chest, she joined him, bursting into song, and bringing a tear to my eye.

Though many hundreds of babies have passed through my hands, this reaction was new for me. Although I did not understand the Creole, I understood her meaning clearly... Give Thanks! Give Thanks! Ax'e!

Olivia Kimball. Midwife, Jacmel ~ Haiti

_The Soley Lavi birth center has been gestating a big change. This labor of love is now entering transition, about to birth a new phase of the clinic’s life. In February, Solely Lavi will move to a smaller, more secure house a little further from the noisy, dusty heart of Jacmel.

This move will benefit the clinic in many ways, only one of which is a more peaceful and quiet location. In addition, the smaller property will be less of a financial burden for the organization, meaning more funds available for continuation and expansion of the services we are able to provide to our families. We are also investing in sustainable development of the new property, including the installation of a solar-powered water pump and a composting toilet.

Like most transitions, especially those birth-related, this one has been filled with hard work, challenges, leaps of progress, and even a few good laughs. Clare did a lot of work to prepare for the move, packing up extra supplies to store safely until the new location was ready, and locally donating items that the birth center would not be able to use.

In November, the day arrived that we had packed up everything we would need to store until the move. This was a big accomplishment, and was marked by a sizeable pile of boxes that stood ready to be transported to Madame Roi’s house. Madame Roi is an auxiliary nurse and primary school principal involved with the clinic. Having space at her house to safely store supplies was a big help. Now, we just had to get all those boxes across town.

Clare had hired a local man for the move, and he arrived as close to the appointed time as one could expect on the tropical time-line. After assessing the volume of items we had to transport, he realized he did not have the correct vehicle. He promised to return promptly with a truck.

A short time later, the “truck” beeped at the gate, and we opened up to find a white Toyota Corolla, driven by the enthusiastic mover-man. The car looked like there was not one square inch of the body that had not suffered some ding or scratch over the years. It was stripped of any soft luxury it may have had when it was new. Despite the body-shape, the sedan did indeed appear to be used as a “truck.”

We laughed openly, unable to hide our disbelief that this would be the vehicle to transport many pounds of medical supplies, and even a large wooden table! The man laughed along with us, and assured us that the car was up for the task. It was a good-natured and humorous exchange of expectations, doubts, and assurances. We North Americans needed to let go of our preconceived notions of how to do things, and trust that this man and his “truck” could handle the job.

We got to work, packing the trunk, the backseat, and the top of the car with boxes. The wooden table served as a “roof-rack” of sorts; positioned up side down on the top of the car, it was a perfect place to stack more boxes. Rope was found, and we secured the items and the table to the top of the car. It was time to take the first load to Madame Roi’s.

The car eased toward the front gate, but suddenly we shouted “stop, stop!” The table legs were too tall to fit through the gate! The driver backed up and we strategized for a moment. It would have been a huge job to unpack the boxes and take the table off the top of the car. And we had to move the table one way or another. So we got a saw. It was just a utility table, anyway, used to store supplies off the floor. We measured, and Antoine, our security guard and handyman, climbed atop the car and cut each of the table legs down the necessary inches to clear the gate.

It was efficient, effective, and absolutely hilarious. The unique situation of living in an environment so different from what you’re used to requires flexibility, creativity, and detachment from expectations. Oh, and humor, of course. The supplies were safely stored, and they await the new house to be ready.

The move is slated to take place in late February 2012. The four-room house front and back yards will be split in half to house both the birth clinic and the volunteer quarters. The front two rooms will be labor and postpartum rooms, respectively, and the front yard and porch will serve as consultation areas. The two back rooms and the lush backyard with its papaya and banana trees will house the volunteer midwives and apprentices.

Stay tuned to the blog for updates on the move and the inauguration of the new location. This is an exciting new step toward the Soley Lavi clinic being a permanent and fundamental presence in Jacmel. Your donations will help fund the set-up costs of the new clinic, and will assure that Soley Lavi can continue to provide attentive, personal, and comprehensive midwifery care to many deserving families of Haiti. In addition, the training of Haitian student midwives that takes place at the clinic is creating a sustainable, peer-oriented and local existence of midwifery care, which will help reduce mother and infant mortality, and provide Haitian families with a gentle and healthy start to life.

"This move is happening this week and MHI Board member, Olivia Kimball is on ground helping with the move and creating the sustainable aspect of Soley Lavi. Thank you Olivia and Sherline, our Haitian apprentice midwife who works unconditionally. We could not do this without the two of them.

Thanks for reading, and for your support of gentle birth worldwide!

~ Jenna Humphreys, student midwife, NMI, MHI, Birthing From Within Mentor-in-Training

_When I was leaving my home in Hawai’i my family said, “we will see you on your birthday.” I had already seen that my birthday this year would be on a full moon, just as when I was born on a full moon 57 years again and so I answered, “no, there will be a baby born on my birthday and I will be there for her.” We have always in our family given to others on our birthdays, as the material gifts do not mean much in the bigger picture of life. The morning of my birthday as I was teaching a class before a morning full of prenatals, I noticed a young girl in a beautiful white dress with green, yellow and red colors at the top of her dress squirming as if she was having contractions.

_I was teaching about how important it was that the women claim their birth experience and understand what is happening to our bodies in birth. Mary Antoinette would soon have the women up doing primal dance moves that will move them and their babies through this primal experience we call birth. I watched this young mother tighten up her shoulders as another one of the Haitian apprentice midwives, Cason, gently massaged her shoulders. I explained the importance of allowing the baby to be born through our bodies and how relaxation allows the release of hormones and endorphins. I kept an eye on this young mother, now knowing that she was the reason why I stayed a couple days longer. Soon we were up doing our exercises and forming a circle of women that would learn our primal dance steps and gently massage each other’s shoulders as we moved in a circle one way, only to reverse the dancing circle and now massage the hips in front of you.

_As night came onto us, Mary Antoinette being very pregnant, went to rest and take a nap. Betina’s mom and husband did the same. That just left Betina, her sweet baby and me to move together. I gave her a strong deep massage that loosened up all the muscles in the front and back of her pelvis and touched and talked to the baby while I was massaging. I massaged her through contractions and restful minutes, as labor was now getting more intense. This intensity is something as a midwife that I love, it not only brings the baby closer but it brings the woman to a powerful place that connects her to the greatest of all mother, the earth. It is a powerful energy that I am able to tap into as the mother now is well connected to her “work” and of course the work of her baby that connects her to a deep primal place. This hard work that we do for the earth and of course it comes back to us as women in our own personal growth.

_Betina then got up after her massage and started moving in her dance, the African bird was opening her up, her baby was moving down through her pelvis and I was there to again witness and help. When the baby got low, she moved to the ground and curled up, I went and got two pillows, one for her head and one between her legs and laid down to hold her. Betina had chosen the ground, not a bed to birth and I knew and she knew just where to be. She was holding onto me tightly in a big hug and she looked and me so sweetly and said,” I love you Clare,” I did not even know she spoke English. I was so touched and honored to be part of love again. I called out to Mary Antoinette to come and catch her baby and to her mom who was also resting and to her supportive husband. Mary Antoinette gracefully supported the head and Betina as the baby come into the world, I was privileged to keep her in my arms breathing with her. Betina controlled her breath in a deep “aaaa” as her body opened up to let her baby come so peacefully to her. Again I was blessed to witness this ceremony of birth and the power of a young woman.
Later Betina and her husband asked Mary to interpret for them, they asked me if I would name their baby. I was shocked, as it is a big responsibility to name a baby, the name that they will hear and it will become who they are. At first, I was questioning whether I was ready to do this naming of a baby, but I heard my “motherwit” speak…say yes. I answered that I was honored but the name would be African,. it would go back to their ancestors just as she did when she birthed. They smiled and the next day, Mary Antoinette and I went to her home to give the baby her name. It came to me so strongly, Sankofa…the name of an African bird that means to go back and get it. It meant for me that Sankofa had come to her mom, allowed her to fill the power of that mighty African bird which Betina had become during her dance of birth. I explained this to the family when I came, and they all smiled, it was the name that they wanted. I was asked to be the godmother of my special birthday baby gift, Sankofa.

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