International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day: What it means to me.
What does International Women’s Day mean to you? For me, it is women supporting women. I have the most amazingly supportive women friends and would never want to do life without them!
My personal women of influence
On this day of recognizing women, I am reminded of two foundational women in my life. Neither had easy lives nor did they “do big things” by many people’s standards. But, they both made big impacts on those who knew them.
One was my maternal grandmother. Her name was Lily May. She was raised on the old family property in MS. She fell in love at 19 years of age and gave birth to 5 children. My grandfather told me that he helped bring at least one of his babies into the world at home.
Although she birthed 5, she raised many nieces and nephews in their little 2 bedroom house. She kept a big pot of beans on the stove to feed all those teenage boys! She was their anchor, their woman of influence, and always will be.
The second woman I think of is my paternal grandmother, Ludy. After raising 8 children to adulthood, she attended nursing school. She became an LPN, and she worked in …..Labor and Delivery! In those days, LPNs did much more than they do today. She caught many a baby: a woman supporting women in their most vulnerable moments. Her influence in the church in her community is still there today.
Both of these women spent their lives supporting women. One supported women by caring for their children after they were gone. The other supported women as they became mothers. It seems so incredible to me that I now support women as they become mothers and by caring for them and their children during postpartum. I think that I have an amazing heritage in my person women of influence.
You can learn more about my support services here and here.
Celebrating a Midwifery Woman of the Year
I am thrilled midwife Jenny Joseph was named one of Time Magazine’s Women of the Year! We have a maternal health crisis in our country that especially affects women of color. I have followed her work and admired all she is doing in her community to improve health outcomes for the women she serves. She is truly a woman of influence in her community. You can learn more about her work here.
I could go on and on about amazing women I know in my life…women supporting the needs of others. Who are your own Women of the Year?
Marcie Hadley
Marcie Hadley, CD(DONA), PCD(DONA), CLC, and LCCE(LAMAZE), has been serving families since 2010. She especially enjoys getting to know her families, meeting their unique needs, and sharing evidence-based care information. Marcie has worked with unmedicated, medicated, C-section, family friendly C-Section, and VBAC labors, Her postpartum experience includes working with families of first children to families of 10. She has worked with mothers who have experienced postpartum depression and illness following birth. Her goal is to empower mothers in their own mothering wisdom.
