Welcome to Alternative Birth Choices, LLC. If you have found us, you must be interested in birth, specifically natural birth. Congratulations if you are expected a new baby!
My name is Karen Brock. I cannot remember a time when I wasn’t interested in birth. My Grandma was a local, community midwife, trained and supported by the Health Dpt. By the time I came along she was no longer serving families. However. I was blessed to hear stories from her past. These stories spoke of a simpler time, a simpler way of life yet they had one continual thought weaving throughout. Birth was normal. These women faced hardships and many challenges but birth, you could trust. When my inquisitive mind pressed her for more details, she’d often say, “times a changin’.”
Birth looks very different today than in Grandma’s day. Now a days, birth is often considered a medical event to be managed in a hospital setting under a doctor. For some families, this is not how they choose to welcome a new baby into their family. The word “midwife” means “with woman” and to Grandma that meant being with a woman during her time, giving emotional and physical support and very often that was all the woman needed. Well folks, times “a changin!” Thanks to the many years of hard work and a very small group of dedicated women, birth has come full circle. Once again, Alabama women can enjoy birthing in the comfort and security of their home, knowing they have the watchful eye of a trained midwife in support.
By way of introduction, we are three midwives with 60 plus years of combined experience in natural birth. My personal history runs deep, rising out of the desire to birth my children without intervention during a time when that was almost completely unheard of. In 1980, my first child was birthed natural in a hospital. Although it was a battle, I won! On some level I realized that birth should not have to be a battle and my next three children were born at home. Out of these experiences I birthed not only my children but myself as a midwife. The next 17 years, I worked alongside other midwives and in 1997, I became a CPM, Certified Professional Midwife. By then, Alabama no longer permitted midwives for homebirth so in 2002, I licensed in TN. This began 15 years of AL families travelling to TN to birth in a home environment. Recently, AL has recognized the value of licensed midwives and in February 2019, I welcomed the first “legal” homebirth baby in AL since the 1980’s.
Wetawnya Smith first became interested in home birth after the birth of her son in 1983. In 1990, she began an apprenticeship with two local midwives and went on to attend midwifery school in Tennessee. She has been involved in birth ever since. Her interest and knowledge in herbal medicine and how it relates to women’s and children’s health led her to open Herbs, Organics and More, a natural health store focused on holistic healing and well being. Wetawnya is a CPM and an AL licensed midwife.
Meet Sileah Brock, our newest midwife. Not only is she a trained doula, a recent graduate of CTM, a CPM and AL LM, she is my daughter-in-law and the mother to twin grand-boys! Yahoo! Sileah says: “Midwifery found me. I have a passion for learning and growing. My beliefs have been supported by my teachers, Karen, Wetawnya, all my clients, my wonderfully supportive family, especially hubby and my formal education, College of Traditional Midwifery. Being a midwife is so satisfying because of the time we spend watching families grow. Mothers are the base of the tree of life. A supported and nourished mom is a beautiful sight to see. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to attend births and so look forward to meeting you.”
On this site, we will share with you a snippet of information on homebirth and a small peep into midwifery. If your interest is aroused, visit our resource page and feast on the abundance of information and education!