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My Dear Website Visitors & Potential Clients:
PLEASE NOTE: I HAVE, FOR THE MOST PART, RETIRED FROM PROVIDING THIS SERVICE.
I will consider taking on a birth client under special circumstances, but I consider myself semi-retired as a active midwife to the general majority of homebirth clients. I am devoting my time and energies into research and writing and keeping my website up to date, which is a very big task all by itself.
I hated to do this after 27 years, but my age and my growing health issues has taken it's toll on my ability to move about. I will miss having all the hands-on care I have provided, but, alas, I am no longer a fit, young, spring chicken... just an old, plump, cluck now-a-days... and I have to accept the fact. However, if you feel you are a fully homebirth dedicated mother-to-be and are looking for a Pagan-Wiccan oriented midwife and you are willing to work with my limitations and would like to be considered "special circumstances", please feel free to call me at 978 744 5583 and we can talk.
Since I am retired / semi-retired, I no longer am charging standard midwifery fees for my services I will still provide. I will accept donations towards these services and traveling expenses in place of established fees. This is often a big savings for the birthing client and her family. These can be discussed at our initial consultation.
The Special Circumstances Criteria given below is not etched in stone, but it is a major guideline for me in choosing who I will and who I won't take on as a client these days. I am not trying to have a great number of births every year. I don't want them since I don't have the physical stamina I did when I was in my 30's. If I get one or two a year at the most, I am very happy. It's just enough to keep my toes wet, so to speak, and in the birthing frame of mind. It is not my financial support, although the donations help with expenses.
Since moving into the retirement phase of my life, I can be extra picky about who I choose to take as a client.
Massachusetts is an alegal state, meaning as long as things go well, no problems with legalities, but if things don't go well, I can loose everything I have, including my freedom. Unlike physicians, we don't have malpractice insurance available to us. My major contribution to midwifery today and in the future is this website and sharing of information gathered from doing research. This keeps me plenty busy. I occasionally do non-client consultations by e-mail or phone.
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES CRITERIA:
- Healthy mom expecting a healthy baby. This goes without saying. I have tightened up my scope of practice and prefer to accept completely healthy moms without any unhealthy lifestyle habits. No Mental or Emotional Issues requiring medication or other treatment. No Drugs - recreational or otherwise. No Alcohol. No Smoking during Pregnancy.
- You must be fully dedicated to the idea of a homebirth. I don't want clients that are sorta-wishy-washy about it. These make lousy clients. I don't want clients that don't want to do the things that may be or are recommended (such as not eating a proper diet or drinking a nutritional herbal tea because you don't like tea). You must be willing to read, learn, experience, grow, to change or adapt to and be committed to your birth choices.
I don't want you to choose a homebirth because it may be cheaper than a hospital birth. This is one of the worst reasons for choosing a homebirth. I want you to have a homebirth because this is the best way to bring your baby into the world... drug-free... healthy... aware... and safe. I want you to know it will be a lot of work and preparation on your part but it has it's rewards. I want you to want your baby to have the best experience he/she can have with the best beginning you can give him/her. Dedication, commitment, and follow through.
- You must be willing to breastfeed your baby for the first several months of your baby's life. Don't worry, I can help you. I breastfed 5 children plus wet-nursed several others over the years. Your baby needs to have the colostrum and the breastmilk to begin a healthy life and receive immunities from you. You need to breastfeed for helping you to get your uterus back into pre-pregnancy condition, prevent bleeding problems, and helps you to burn pregnancy "baby-fat" getting your body back into a pre-pregnancy shape. It is important bonding time for you and your baby. You will both need that time together. It helps with hormonal surges and helps prevent postpartum depression. Besides, there is not a formula on the face of this planet that is as good as or as healthy as a mother's breast milk. You will get past the engorgement and sore nipples. It is all part of nature's way of sustaining quality life.
- Since I am a Pagan-Wiccan High Priestess and Midwife as well as an ordained minister, I prefer to only accept clients that follow these Earth-based religious orientations. If you are not Pagan-Wiccan, but have spiritual pathways similar to these paths or don't mind working with a Pagan midwife, I will also consider you as a client. I would be very happy to provide spiritual support along with midwifery support.
- Your partner has to be in complete agreement to your decision to have a homebirth experience. This means natural childbirth with no birth drugs in your home, active support throughout your pregnancy, birth and postpartum by your partner. I expect your partner to take active part in your pregnancy and your birth. I also expect your partner to read, to learn, and to ask questions about concerns.
- Since I have closed down my home-office lab and reference lab services for basic lab work, you will have to have other options available to obtain blood work and any other tests you may need to have done. I no longer provide any lab work beyond the urine dip stick tests done during prenatal visits. Most of the time this can be obtained through a local clinic or your own health care provider. An alternative to an M.D. would be to have services done through a Naturopathic Physician (N.D.). Many naturopaths also provide chiropractic services. I no longer will do PKU tests on newborns. I never liked to do them and I don't like hurting the babies when they have to give the blood samples. This can be arranged though a local clinic or health care provider if you choose to have this testing done. I no longer provide free pregnancy tests. These are easily available from your local pharmacy at a reasonable price and are as accurate as anything I would use and I don't have to worry about them expiring, date-wise, before they were used.
- You must live or plan to give birth within a short distance of Salem, Massachusetts. I will no longer be traveling to Central or Western Massachusetts or New Hampshire to assist with a birth client. I am sticking close to home and trying to save on traveling expenses (gas is too expensive to do much traveling, especially for donations instead of established fees). I must keep my mileage low on my car for car insurance purposes and my car is no longer a "spring chicken" either.
- You must be willing to work diligently on your nutritional habits and dietary needs. I only use herbal therapies when they are called for and needed. Your diet has to be in good shape before considering a homebirth. You cannot have any eating disorders (such as anorexia or bulimia) or bad dietary habits (like being a junk-food or sugar junkie). You have to be willing and able to eat plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and maintain a balanced diet. It doesn't matter to me whether you are very slender or overweight, as long as you are nutritionally sound. I am a big advocate of proper nutrition.
- Since I am accepting donations only, it is very important that once you make an agreement with me that you keep it regarding the amount of your donation. Any donations I receive go towards the expenses of maintaining and keeping this website on-line (which is very expensive) and to cover materials and traveling expenses. Donations also help me to make baby quilts and baby clothes that I donate to special organizations and individuals in need.
- Because of certain health issues, such as arthritis in my lower back, hips, knees and ankles, I am unable to climb stairs, stand for more than a few minutes, or walk great distances any longer. It is difficult to move my body into twisted positions and I have problems with getting down on the floor and getting back up during the birth process. You may need to be adaptable to any birthing positions you may want to give birth in. I am unable to climb into and out of birthing tubs any longer. This would have to be your partner's job. Although I can take antihistamines, I would prefer certain allergy producing items (such as dogs) be removed or put into another room during my visits. So please keep these things in mind. Cats are okay.
- I prefer to take on one birth client at any given time. This is easier on me since I simply do not have the stamina I once did early in my midwifery career. It also gives completely personal attention and care to the birthing mom. If I already have a client pending, I may not take you on. It would depend on your due dates and how well you fit all the other criteria. I prefer not taking clients on that may be expecting during the snow months, if at all possible. I have a great fear of falling on ice and breaking a hip due to osteoporosis issues. However, this may be flexible if you are located nearby.
- Personal, obstetric and medical health history must be in good shape. This goes along with being a healthy mom expecting a healthy baby. We can discuss these things and see how things are.
- You must want a "hands-off" birthing experience. I don't believe in manipulating things and "tinkering" with the birth process. I view birth as a normal physiological function of the female body and not as an illness that needs to be medically managed and my part as a midwife to be a supporter and a "keeper-of-the-normal". I am here to assist you in achieving your goals and try to prevent anything from interfering with this process. I do a great deal of listening and talking with you about these things. You must be willing to make choices for yourself and take the responsibility for those choices. I may offer suggestions or recommendations, but the choices will be yours to make.
- Any pictures taken during your prenatal care, birth and afterwards are mine to keep (or have copies of with one copy going to the birthing mother) and use to promote MoonDragon's Services and to help educate other women. This may be one-on-one or via my website. This is also part of the donation arrangement instead of the established fees. Names, places, and vital information are always kept private. Only a general explanation of the birth is given. If you have problems with this, we need to discuss it before becoming a client so we can have a meeting of the minds.
- I am a large woman. This is a simple fact brought about by years of medications given to me by doctors that caused the weight gain and the osteoporosis. It was one of those unfortunate side effects of the medications. I can't help it. I have to work with it. You need to keep this in mind when you are planning your arrangements for your birth. You will need to make sure there is plenty of room to move about and to be able to work with you, prenatally and during the birth. I have problems with climbing stairs and getting into weird positions to catch a baby. I also have to work with these things.
- You must not lie (tell untruths or omit important information) to me about your or your baby's health or circumstances. It is unfortunate that I have to even discuss this here, but this has happened too many times to be funny. Many of these clients have ended up having to be transported to a medical facility during their birth for a variety of reasons. Others ended up being extremely stressful for everyone involved. Most of these issues were not disclosed to me during prenatal visits and thus ended up raising their ugly little heads after going into labor creating problems which a transport to a hospital was necessary. I hate to doing a transport. Pardon my phrasing, but it "sucks!". It is hard on the mother and hard on the baby. I feel that many times they were preventable, if reasons were known and discussed during the prenatal care. Sometimes these women should not have been having a homebirth and should have been handled by standard medical management. When I take on a client, I expect her to be honest with me and she expects me to be honest with her. It will help prevent problems later.
If you are willing to work with these circumstances and criteria, I am willing to discuss with you the possibility of becoming a client for a homebirth. If not, There are still many helpful services in the North shore and Metro Boston Region of Massachusetts that will continue to provide similar services, though I like to think that maybe not as top quality as mine.
I will, however, continue to try to bring quality information to professionals and their clients through my website. Contact your current midwife or health care provider for other options available to you in your area.
Warmly,
Leather Dupris
Midwife / Owner & Webmistress
MoonDragon Birthing Services
Salem, MA
Beginnings are important. Every baby deserves a good beginning - the opportunity to be born safely, drug-free and aware, gently and lovingly into the arms of their mothers, surrounded by family, friends, and siblings.
Women and babies are designed to experience birth together. Women are strong, intelligent, intuitively capable human beings who are fully able to birth their babies safely and lovingly in a calm, loving, familiar environment with little or no medical assistance.
Midwifery Services
Please note: Some of these services may no longer be provided by MoonDragon's Birthing Services as of Jan 1, 2006 since I have semi-retired as a midwife (see Special Circumstances Criteria above). However, rather than change the available links and information below, I have left the original services intact, mostly for information purposes and for new midwives looking for information about setting up their midwifery practices.
- Safe Alternative Choice for Healthy, Low-risk Pregnancies
- Pregnancy Testing (no longer provided)
- Prenatal Risk Screening
- VBACs (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) Welcome
- Nutritional Counseling
- Holistic Prenatal Care
- Pregnancy Monitoring
- Laboratory Studies (no longer provided)
- Private, Personal Care & In-home Visitations
- Religious & Lifestyle Orientations Honored & Respected
- Private Tutored, Individualized Childbirth Education (Informal education during prenatals)
- Economically Affordable with Family Budget Flexibility
- Experienced HomeBirth Midwifery (Since 1979)
- Labor Support
- HomeBirth Services
- Postpartum (After Birth) Care
- Newborn Care
- Breastfeeding Support
- Contraception Counseling (Fitting services for contraceptive devices discontinued)
- Reiki Therapy
& Alternative Healing Options (Referrals)
- Chiropractic Care (Referrals)
- Massage Therapy (Referrals)
- Domestic Abuse & Substance Abuse Referrals
- Pagan Parenting Partnership Information & Support
MoonDragon Birthing Services provides holistic, preventive, homebirth midwifery care for healthy women and their babies by an experienced midwife in the safety, comfort, and security of their own homes.
A midwife recognizes that there are physiological, mental, emotional, spiritual, cultural and sexual aspects to the labor and birth process. The midwife helps to create and support an atmosphere in which the birth can unfold naturally in the privacy of the woman's home and under the direction of the birthing woman.
Birth plans are encouraged as a guide for the birth attendants and midwife. The midwife is flexible when adaptations are made as needed and requested by the birthing woman. Informed consent is provided in all aspects of the prenatal, birthing and postpartum care of both mother and infant.
In a homebirth setting, there are no routine medical procedures, time limits, interruptions, staff changes, technological interventions, and disruptions. This comfortable familiarity and continuum of care throughout labor and birth helps to contribute to shorter, easier, less stressful labors, increased maternal confidence, and greatly improved outcomes for mother and infant. Homebirth provides more choices for the birthing woman. These choices are designed for the comfort and well-being of the birthing woman and her baby and not for the comfort or convenience of the birthing attendants or midwife.
Statistics and studies worldwide have documented that a birth at home is as safe or safer than a hospital birth for healthy, low-risk women and their babies when attended by a skilled, experienced midwife. There is significantly less risk of hemorrhage, infection, fetal distress, injury to both the mother and the baby, and drug induced complications, including neonatal breathing problems, since homebirths are drug-free. The cesarean rate is drastically reduced in a homebirth with a midwife. Many women who have previously had a cesarean birth are able to successfully have a vaginal birth (VBAC) with subsequent pregnancies in a homebirth setting, without complications, when surrounded by supportive, skilled birthing attendants.
Homebirth is a safe alternative choice for healthy women and their babies.
Midwife means "With Woman"
Midwives - Changing The World One Baby At A Time
MoonDragon's Other Services
Childbirth Preparation
Woman & Family-centered
Private Class
Presented In Your Home
Lending Library of Birthing Books
Flexible Schedule
Relaxation, Meditation & Comfort Techniques
Breastfeeding Instruction
Nutrition & Exercise
Complications & Unexpected Outcomes
Certified Childbirth Educator
Childbirth preparation is usually given during prenatal visits and is usually informal and private. It is specially designed for each woman and her partner, covering issues and concerns that are unique to her specific situation. Questions and answers are given, books are read to expand knowledge and awareness in the birth and parenting process.
Reiki Therapy
Non-invasive
Natural Energy Healing
Certified Reiki Therapist
Home Health Care
Personal & Home Health Care
Maternity & Post Partum Care
Certified Home Health Care Provider
Note: I am no longer providing home health care services for maternity or elderly clients.
Notary Public - Commonwealth of Massachusetts Commission
I will provide mobile notary services within the local Salem township area.
Ordained Minister & High Priestess / Matriarch of Clan of the MoonDragon
Spiritual Support & Counseling
Contact: Leather Dupris, Midwife
Director of Services
Salem, MA
Office: 978-744-5583
Fax: 978-741-2015
Website: www.moondragon.org
Email:
moondragon2@aol.com
We are an Equal Opportunity Service. Our services are available to all healthy, low-risk women and their babies regardless of religion, race, alternative lifestyles, ethnic origin or financial ability to pay for rendered services. We do ask of potential clients that they must be in good health, committed to their pregnancies, willing to learn, and that they must be open to alternative therapies and non-interventive pregnancy care and birth experiences in a home setting. We do not supply medical backup, but require our clients to provide their own backup, if they choose to have it. It is not a requirement for our services, but a client option. We do not accept high risk pregnancies as outlined in our birthing guidelines.
We have client appointments scheduled for days, weekends and evening visits in your home, as a service to working mothers and their families.
To schedule an appointment, please call (978) 744-5583. If we are out of the office, please leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible.
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Web Site Blessing
May the powers of The One,
The source of all creation;
May the Goddess, the Lady of the Moon;
And the God, Horned Hunter of the Sun;
May the rulers of the elemental realms, earth, air, fire and water;
May the powers of the stars above and the Earth below,
Bless this web site, and this time, and I who am with You.
I ask for you to protect these pages,
And that no harm to those who visit here.
So mote it be.
