Last year, I had the pleasure of meeting Traci Santangelo at a Dallas Birth Network Meeting. I immediately loved her warm personality and knew that this woman was doing great things! Traci has been working as a midwife at JPS hospital in Fort Worth and recently started a home birth practice based out of Irving, Texas. No matter where you live though, I think you will enjoy reading her thoughts about babies, midwifery and living out your dream.
When did you decide to become a midwife?
I always dreamed of becoming a midwife. I remember myself thinking about it as young as 9 or 10. My aunt was a midwife in Florida, and maybe it was her influence, but I don’t remember a time that I didn’t want to be a midwife.
When I first started my nursing career, I worked with some great nurses that had been helping women labor for a long time and seemed to know how to get babies out. I was in awe of them, and wanted to know everything they knew. I remember asking a lot of questions and someone said, “Hey Traci, are you planning on being a midwife or what?” I answered that yes, I wanted to be a midwife and to my surprise everyone started telling me what a bad idea it was. Some of the nurses that I so respected were telling me that my dream was silly. I stood there thinking, “These nurses know so much more than I do, maybe becoming a midwife is a bad idea.” I left that shift feeling small but instead of dusting myself off and charging forward to capture my dream, I let it go.
Time passed. I got married, had a couple of kids and was working in Illinois at a Health Department when my dream resurfaced and I decided I was going back to school. I found that being around other midwifery students was a breath of fresh air and that I had found my place in the world again. I started experiencing birth with a new set of eyes – ones that saw the simplicity and beauty of it and the perfectly timed ways that a woman was built to have a baby. I felt like Traci was back.
My winding path to becoming a midwife taught me a lot about supporting people in their choices and not being judgmental. I think my experience made me a huge advocate for women in their quest for what makes them happy. I don’t really have any “hang-ups” about what makes or breaks the perfect birth. If it is something that you want, and we can do it safely – then let’s do it. Let’s make it happen.
What are the differences between midwifery care and obstetrical care?
I have a tremendous respect for physicians. They make really tough decisions and deal with life and unfortunately death, more often than we know. Those women with a poor health history or who have medical issues -those are the ones who the physician’s ought to be seeing. Normal healthy ladies should be left to midwives. A good midwife will know when to appropriately refer to a physician, and will always promote an environment of trust between physician and patient. However doctors enjoy surgery. Taking out body parts or removing growths, they love that stuff. I want to take care of people that are interested in letting their bodies function the way they were meant to.
Midwives have great outcomes because we are invested in the overall health of our patients. That isn’t just medical health. That means hearing about how your mother is driving you nuts because she thinks the baby should be named after her or how your mother in law is mad because you don’t want her to babysit until she gets rid of the dog that pees on the furniture. All that emotional baggage that your doctor doesn’t have time to hear about is exactly what I want to know! A midwife will support you in ways that are beyond how much your baby measures this week. I think all healthy women should see a midwife and leave medical “problems” to physicians. For most women, pregnancy and birth is not a problem.
What is the hardest part of your job? What is your favorite part?
The hardest part of the job is not knowing when I will be called out. The waiting. The randomness. Not sure if I can go to the movies or having to take two cars to dinner because so and so has been contracting for the past few days. That kind of unpredictability can be hard at times.
My absolute favorite part of birth is the internal rotation where the baby gets tired of its head hitting mom’s pubic bone and tries to figure out a way around it. Sometimes you can watch the baby move its head side to side. I think that is fantastic! Love, love, love it!
Another favorite part is looking at a woman and telling her how unbelievably strong she is – and meaning it. I am so impressed with my patients’ endurance, their fearlessness, their willingness to try a different position and their patience with the process. I love women just after they have given birth. They tend to lock eyes with you for that brief moment of acknowledgement that they have actually done it. They look at you just to have someone else say “Yes, you really did it”. Love that!
Tell me about your practice. What services do you offer?
Being a Certified Nurse Midwife, I am trained to do adolescent health all the way through menopause. Obviously this scope includes my passion – pregnancy and birth.In the state of Texas, nurse midwives are considered primary health providers, so we can assist with all types of problems from the sniffles to urinary tract infections. I can also offer family planning services, so I am able to help women “time” that next little family member as well.
Anything about your personal background that you want to share?
I think I’m a pretty normal kind of gal but I remember once watching a reporter that picked random people out of a phone book and would go interview them. The reporter always got wonderful stories out of “normal” people. So maybe, just maybe, there is something completely fascinating about me. The only thing I can think of is WHEN, I win the lottery, I intend to start a foundation to help educate mothers that are victims of domestic violence. I have a whole plan about it. (Well, that and my trip around the world with my lottery winnings.) Otherwise – totally ordinary. I swear.
What advice would you give expecting women?
I would say find a person to help you during pregnancy that you like and trust. Find someone that is invested in you and your pregnancy. I spoke to an expecting mom just the other day, and she confided in me that she is frightened to tell her OB that she wants a midwife birth. She is literally scared to tell him! That pains me. Pregnancy is such an exciting time, and this time, more than any other in your life, you need to feel like you are making a great (not good – great) decision for yourself! Do what feels right for you. Find a provider that can celebrate little milestones. Heck, I once celebrated with a lady that was so constipated and she finally pooped! Gross? Maybe. But if you have ever been constipated – you don’t want a “celebration” you want a full blown party.
I would also say be careful where you get your advice. We have this tacky rite of passage that includes telling first time mothers how horrific and scary birth is. Why we do that to people I don’t know, but if it was so scary and horrific most people would be only children. Pregnancy and birth are normal, natural events! I could go on and on about all of the fantastic perfectly timed events that occur during fetal development and birth that would blow your mind. Just trust yourself, and you will do great.
How did you come up with the name BirthPointe?
My aunt, the one I mentioned earlier. was a Certified Nurse Midwife in Florida. She and a partner started a birth center called BirthPointe. Unfortunately, my aunt died from a prolonged battle with cancer fairly early in her career. “BirthPointe” honors a woman that loved midwifery and died too soon. My cousin, her only child, believes she would be proud of me. I guess maybe she would. I just wish she was here to take a few nights of call!
Want to learn more about Traci or talk to her about her midwifery services? (Yes you do!) Here is all her contact info!
972-215-6934 | www.birthpointe.com | BirthPointe on Facebook