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What is a midwife?
Sherrie LeGendre LM, CPM is a Board licensed care provider that manages healthy pregnancies and births.
Licensed midwives (LM) provide the majority of planned home birth and birth center births in California. Licensed midwives provide safe, personalized care for heathy pregnancies where there is an absence of complications or variations that require a higher level of care.
Midwifery care includes monitoring the physical, emotional, and social well-being of the pregnant individual throughout the childbearing cycle, providing individualized prenatal care and continuous care during labor and birth. Additionally, care with a midwife routinely includes close follow up care and lactation support for mother and baby during the hours days, weeks and first two months after the birth. When necessary, licensed midwives refer clients to other health care providers, such as physicians, nutritionists, or physical therapists.
Licensed midwives meet and exceed the criteria set by the World Health Organization for safe maternal Care. As a result, families who plan care with a licensed midwife experience a cesarean rate of fewer than 15% and experience far fewer birth interventions. Licensed midwives evaluate the mother and baby vital signs throughout the course of care, order routine blood work, facilitate prenatal screening and carry the necessary tools for labor and birth: fetal heart monitors (dopplers), emergency and prophylactic medications, oxygen, I.V. fluids, and suturing materials for those with minor vaginal lacerations.
Licensed midwives are also emergency first responders when situations arise that need immediate attention, such as resolving shoulder dystocia (the baby's head comes out but the shoulders get stuck), correcting heavy postpartum bleeding to prevent hemorrhage and helping newborn to breathe if it needs assistance at birth.
Sherrie Legendre LM, CPM also offers Monitrice Doula Services
Services Offered by a Monitrice:
- Continuous Labor Support: Providing emotional, physical, and informational support throughout labor.
- Comfort Measures: Offering techniques like massage, hot and cold therapy, positioning, and water therapy
- Clinical Assessments: Performing vitals checks, fetal heart rate monitoring, and assessing cervical dilation.
- Support for a Hospital or Birth Center Birth: Providing support and guidance for families who plan to birth in a hospital or birth center.
- Postpartum Support: Offering guidance with breastfeeding, newborn care, and postpartum recovery.
- Prenatal Visits: Providing education and support throughout pregnancy.
What is doula?
Labor Doulas provide continuous emotional support. Offering wisdom and resources for pregnant women and their partners to prepare for labor and birth. Doulas give advice on comfort measures such as relaxation and positioning. The most crucial role of the doula is providing continuous emotional reassurance and nurturing though labor, birth or in the postpartum period. She is never the decision maker. She does not catch the baby at birth nor does she perform vaginal exams. The doula is often there in addition to the partner of the laboring person to form a support team.
Postpartum Doulas can be there to assist mom with any need that will help new parents get adjusted and feel supported. Also assisting with baby, so the birthing individual has a chance to wash, eat even rest and tend to self care needs.
MONITRICE DOULA
A "monitrice" is a birthing professional who provides a hybrid of doula support and clinical care during labor, often with additional training in nursing or midwifery. They offer continuous support and can perform clinical assessments like vital signs, fetal heart rate monitoring, and cervical checks, while also providing comfort measures and emotional support. Monitrices are particularly helpful for families who want to labor at home or have a hospital birth with the benefit of midwifery care.
CONTINUITY OF CARE:
Monitrices can provide more extended support throughout pregnancy, labor, and postpartum, potentially bridging the gap between prenatal care and hospital or birth center birth.
Midwife Sherrie contributes to the community by providing true informed consent and empowerment to the family unit as a whole.
Fathers are important, sibling inclusion is important. Families value the lessons in their own experience when given the dignity to choose and decide rather than having their health options dictated.
Sherrie LeGendre LM,CPM
I love birth. I love babies. I low seeing the joyful expressions on the face of the new parents as baby emerges into the world. I love the earth and wisdom in creation. I love empowering families to make their own well informed decisions . I enjoy helping women see the wisdom in their own body.
Embracing the unique relationship of trust I build with my clients, my aim is to make sure birthing individuals feel supported, and are equipped to journey through their experience with confidence In the choices they made.
As a Medical Board licensed, Certified Professional Midwife and Monitrice, I manage pregnancies from beginning to end , Catching babies And enjoying every moment.
I am a proud mother of four incredible children.
My own birth experiences opened my eyes to the need for more midwives like me. In pregnancy, feelings of vulnerability and fear often presented, I did not know I had birthing options. I found myself leaving the decisions regarding my life and my care completely in the hands of my medical care providers as if total accountability belonged to them.
Eventually I learned better and did better.
I attended and graduated from Nizhoni Institute of Midwifery and later achieved NARM certification and Medical Board licensure. Some other certifications include Lactation, CPR/Neonatal Resuscitation, Blood Borne Pathogen certification for Placenta Encapsulators, HIPPA Compliance,
ongoing..
I began my journey in birth work beliving I could make a difference in the alarming number of deaths and traumatic births happening to many birthing women.
For more than a decade I am proud to have served so many happy, satisfied growing families.
Shawn Smith - Billing Coordinator
Shawn brings her warm sunny glow to the Wise Roots Midwifery team, with her witt and personality. With over 20 years billing experience this professional mother of two oversees the successful completion of Wise Roots Midwifery business accounts, insuring the preparation and billing of complex client invoices in compliance with firm policy.
Onwia Gaskin - Labor and Postpartum Doula
Onwia brings her warm loving presence to support and hold space for birthing individuals in whatever way she is called. From helping find comfort and relaxation during early labor to caring for baby while the postpartum mom gets rest. Onwia always brings her best.
Kristina Dahlin - Birth Assist
I am a licensed Physicians Associate with a creative, open and safe approach on how I treat my patients. I’m a Women's Health Specialist with a background in comprehensive OBGYN medicine and pursuing an additional BS degree in Midwifery. PA’s are generally not offered residency programs in OBGYN so completing my studies in midwifery will provide me with a separate license, allowing me to attain a more specialized scope of practice. My work currently ranges from providing complete prenatal care with OB ultrasounds in a clinical setting to serving patients on a mobile unit (think…large RV) that is equipped to function as a fully stocked clinic with an ultrasound machine and a functioning laboratory. By day my job consists of traveling around providing OB supervised medical care / Women’s Health/ Running STI clinics, to houseless individuals or those in rehab centers. And then of course I moonlight as a birth assist on call with both my precepting Midwife and at Wise Roots Midwifery.
My birth working voyage began years ago when I was hired on as a Physician Associate at a community clinic in Los Angeles. My training was with an experienced midwife. Her skill, knowledge, gentle technique and overall approach to patient care was fresh, open, caring and innovative. I was hooked. I went home and started to map out my future. Although my CV has nearly a decade of professional medical work experience, I am developing my work artistry based around the Midwifery Model of Care which will find me to be a steady and committed assistant midwife. I am here as a supportive member of the birth team. I love helping birthing families become well informed with evidence based birthing Information. I will be present and bring my best to your birth.
I am a happy person and I truly love working with all kinds of people in all kinds of settings. I have three cute and funny little girls. We live in the heart of Los Angeles and enjoy every element of our city.
I am thrilled to be on the Wise Roots team. Midwife Sherrie is an inspiration to me and Wise Roots Midwifery is an exciting place to be.