Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from your Midwives and Staff at LCM!
We hope 2011 brings health, wholeness, prosperity, and new growth to us all.
Our staff family at LCM continues to grow and change, too--kind of a fact of life in Northern VA, it seems. We are losing a midwife, and gaining one! First, a fond farewell will be said to Kim Guastella, CNM, who has been an important pillar of our office practice for the past 2 years. Kim's husband, Bruce, has a job transfer to Fort Lauderdale, FL, and they will be moving there in early March. We plan to visit her in sunny FLA! Kim will keep seeing clients through February, and she will also be quite often working with and orienting....our new midwife!
Welcome to our newest Midwife: Another "Courtney"!- (Courtney Hasseman, CNM)
Courtney is pleased to join the LCM family though she is not a stranger to the practice; she has received care from the midwives during her prenatal care with her three children. Courtney earned a BS in Molecular Biology from Grove City College as well as a BS in Nursing from Shenandoah University. She then completed her Master's Degree in Nursing from Shenandoah in 2009 and gained licensure as a certified nurse-midwife. Her diverse clinical experiences include care of women in urban and rural locations as well as hospital and out-of-hospital birth. Courtney is passionate about taking time to educate women so they can best make informed choices regarding their care. Courtney is married and enjoys cooking, gardening, and home-educating her children.

LCM and Childbirth Education
Just for the record: We don't have anything against Lamaze!We're also NOT as organized on this website/blog thing (ie, me,...Wendy...) as one could wish....So I suspect sometimes business cards/emails have been passed to LCM for posting on the website, and "fell through the cracks"....I'm really sorry if/when when that happens. Despite my best intents, they may be in the bottom of my briefcase (or my inbox) , or under the bed in Call Room #1 at the Birthing Inn, where I do a bit of sleeping, and computer work, between births.
So, try me again! Send in a brief blurb about your class, name, phone,contact info, type of class...send it right into the blog responses...and I will post it. Also feel free to post on the LCM Group Wall in Facebook-- anyone can post there.
So, for the record! Our LCM opinion about Childbirth Education is this:First-time parents should have some. Being prepared, and knowledgable for the decisons and events of labor and birth can help you navigate it with more tools, understanding, and less fear. What style of childbirth education is quite individual-- it depends on what the mom & her partner is looking for, how much time they have, their schedule, where they live, etc. We also feel that the "Birth with a Midwife" class taught by Melinda Rhoads, BSN, is ideal for many of our patients-- she was our nurse for 5 years, and had 2 Natural Childbirths with us, after all. And she has tailored her class to specifically LCM clientele, particularly those who want to try for an unmedicated birth. BUT! There are other factors in play, here-- as mentioned above-- and, as midwives, we really believe that women should have as many diverse, good options and resources available to them as possible. So, Yes! Lamaze is fine! Send me your info if I have missed you! We can try again.

Circumcision Info
Just an interesting fact- the Center for Disease Control data from 2009 shows that USA circumcision rates fell to 33% of male babies born.
2 of the LCM midwives (Margie and Paula) are trained and credentialed to provide this service at the Birthing Inn when families request it. It's not possible for us to do it on an outpatient basis, and it is necessary for the baby to be an inpatient during his newborn admission period in order for health insurance plans to cover it.
If, however, a family desires to have circumcision done at home, for religious or other reasons, Rabbi/Mohel Michael Henesch 410-653-3255 is available to perform home circumcisions.

Wendy Back to Haiti
With lots of support from LCM families and friends...Wendy leaves Friday, Jan 7, for her fourth trip as a volunteer with Midwives for Haiti. We'll be starting a new class of 16 student Midwives, and also expanding our work with rural prenatal clinics. Follow along at www.haitibabies.blogspot.com-- posts go up several times in the week, whenever internet is working!