Mama Midwife Homebirth Services
Welcoming Babies with Joy, Lovingkindness, & Gentle Hands!
Wantina Brooks grew up with her family on a 20-acre organic farm in Delaware County, IN. She met her husband through the local homeschool support group as children. Wantina & Dale Brooks have been married since 2002. They have 5 children together so far. When she is not serving women and their families, Wantina spends time with homeschooling, church, herb and vegetable gardening and her family.
She became interested in midwifery and homebirth as a direct result of seeing the difference of care from a midwife for her older sister. Many midwives enter midwifery after a difficult first birth experience. She believed so fully in preventative care that she become a midwife even before she married. Wantina also trained as a childbirth educator through the ALACE method and a doula through the DONA method.
Wantina attended a correspondence based midwifery school and had the opportunity to work in the homebirth practice of 4 different midwives. These experiences enabled her to gain a deep and abiding trust in birth. She was successful in gaining the internationally recognized Midwifery Training Certification - Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) in 2003. Wantina helped found another midwifery practice and served families for 7 years before it grew too busy for her family. In 2008, she opened her own private practice so that she could make their family more of a priority as they got closer to the years of homeschooling their own children
In addition, Wantina is formally trained in neonatal and adult resuscitation, fetal monitoring and obstetrical emergencies. She reviews these and other skills biennially as a part of continuing education requirements. Forty-Five hours of continuing education are required every three years in order to maintain the CPM status. That means she regularly attends workshops, conferences and training in midwifery and related areas in order to remain current on research and protocols as well as skills.
Wantina has been a member of the Indiana Midwives Association since 1998. She also maintains membership in many other birth related activists groups. With more than 9 years of experience in birth and breastfeeding counseling experience, Wantina continues to devote her life to the care and empowerment of women.
I feel that it is an honor and a privilege to be included in family’s birth experiences. I believe that the role of a midwife is one of respect, protection and guidance. I stress that the relationship between midwife and client is confidential and one of mutual trust and responsibility. I believe the job of a midwife is to enable families by bringing knowledge, skills and experience to their birth experience.
· I believe that life begins at conception and this child has a mind, spirit, and soul.
· I believe that God designed a woman’s body for pregnancy and birth, and that it works. I believe a normal birth is defined as a vaginal birth that has been allowed to progress as God intended it to, by minimizing technological interventions
· I believe that pain is not to be feared or denied, but is a reminder to trust in God more. Childbirth is an athletic event that is to be prepared for in the same way as a runner preparing for a marathon.
· I believe that appropriate nutrition during pregnancy, including appropriate nutritional supplements, is vital for the health of the mom and her baby.
· I believe that health care should reflect the physical safety of the mother and baby, and also the important and inseparable emotional, social, and spiritual needs and beliefs which are unique to every family. I provide individualized care in an atmosphere of wellness and trust that the natural process will properly function.
· I believe that pregnancy and birth are profound life experiences for the life of a mother and her family that will have lasting effects. I also provide supportive, nurturing care for the expectant mother during this time, which can greatly influence future mother-infant attachment and good self-esteem.
· I believe that a child knows who his parents are from the very moments that life began. Parenting does not begin at birth, but at conception.
· I believe that parents are ultimately responsible for their pregnancies, births and children. As such they have both the right and responsibility to become informed and knowledgeable as a couple, that they may share together in the decision making of their child’s birth.
· I believe that breastfeeding is God’s perfect design to protect babies from harmful disease and death, and to protect family bonds, particularly between mothers and babies.
· I believe that healthy families are the foundation of a healthy society and; that positive childbirth experiences, which encourage the participation of the father and other significant family members, assist families to grow together and strengthen families.
I base the standards of my practice on current written evidence, as well as commonsense and intuition, which I believe comes from prayerful observance of a situation that has already been turned over to God. I have a healthy respect for the process He created.