'I really enjoyed going to my prenatal visits. She takes her time and is never rushed. It was like visiting a friend not going to the doctor. She let me trust my body during birth and I truly got my "dream birth".'

"From the first email inquiring about services before I was even pregnant, to the 6 week postpartum visit, Charlie and Barefoot Birth provided exceptional care. I had experience with an ob/ gyn practice and also a midwife practice that delivered at a hospital with my first pregnancy and knew that I wanted something different for baby number 2."

I never thought as a (soon to be) midwife, that I would get duped into thinking that I was in labor… when I wasn’t.  But it happened. 

LOVED my home birth with Charlie. After having my first son in the hospital, I knew I wanted a more intimate experience with my second and my home birth was everything I wanted and more. 

"When we found out about baby #5 only a year after having baby #4 I felt my world was flipped upside down."

Barefoot Birth is excited to announce that we are expanding our childbirth education for clients! Six new classes are available for our clients to prepare them for their upcoming homebirth. The classes will be offered a rotation so we can support you throughout your entire pregnancy. These classes will replace the one day homebirth workshop. Education makes a huge impact on your labor and birth experience and we want to offer our clients every opportunity to learn and prepare.

I love this family and their sweet, quiet courage in planning their home birth after a rather traumatizing experience the first time around. 

Early in the summer of 2014 my husband and I announced that we were expecting our third baby, due in January 2015. We were planning our first home birth and we were going to be "team green" and wait until the birth to find out if the baby was a boy or a girl. During my first trimester I couldn't help but feel like something was different about this pregnancy. 

This short rant was posted to Facebook many years ago by a midwife by the name of Louisa Wales. It struck a deep cord within me and sang the words I have heard pass through so many sister midwives lips. It is beautiful and real- a raw glimpse into how beautiful and challenging midwifery can be. 

In October 1988 President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the entire month of October as National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage or infant loss. This is still something that is rarely talked about or shared in our society which leaves those affected with feelings of anger, shame, and loneliness. One way to cope with a loss is to talk about it and make an effort not to isolate yourself. Last year at the Community Roots Collective we held a lantern release for Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day and this year we are expanding our October events to reach more local families dealing with a loss. We want families to know they have a community there to support, acknowledge, and remember with them.

We have lost our way, we have strayed from the path of compassion and knowledge, & instead we are inundated with snarky comments and hateful chastisements, typed in anonymity, and regarded as truth. As women we must demand more from society at large, and from each other. We are powerful, resourceful, and innovative; we must not tear each other down, we must come to each other’s defense, we must offer kindness, and empathy in the face of self righteous posturing.

Charlie Rae Young, LM, CPM, CLC is a graduate of the Florida School of Traditional Midwifery and Florida Licensed Midwife (MW276). 

A Florida native, Charlie Rae was called to Midwifery after her own experience with the over-medicalized model of childbirth. She began her service as a doula by founding Barefoot Birth, and has worked as a strong advocate for better care for families alongside the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services, The Birth Survey, The Florida Council of Licensed Midwifery, and others. She has attended hundreds of births over the last 8 years, filling a niche with naturally-minded families as well as those who are often marginalized from conventional medical care due to social stigma.

Caring for families through several pregnancies is such an honor. I am so pleased to say I have walked with this family for all THREE of their babies coming earthside- from a birth assistant, to a senior student, to their primary midwife 2 babies later. They are such a beautiful family and I am grateful to have been invited to be a honorary part of the family over the past 6 years.

Being asked to be the midwife of a fellow birth professional is potentially one of the most joyful and humbling requests I have had in my midwifery journey. It means that through the years of someone attending births in many settings, with many providers, and in a community with many options that they felt you were 'their' midwife. Even just typing that gives me all the good feels goose pimples. Birth worker sisterhood is something fierce.

At 40 +5 I went to bed that night extremely tired as any past due pregnant Mama would be, and not at all thinking I would soon meet our baby. On 12/6/15 at 2:30 AM I woke up to that pop and gush everyone mentioned would happen when your membranes rupture spontaneously. I thought "this can't be?!" This was my fifth baby and I dreamt of having this water breaking moment like in the movies but never thought it would happen.

We may be a little partial to Shannon, The Green Mommy, as Charlie attended her last birth and she has been a huge supporter and sponsor of the our Barefoot Bus project. We love seeing all of her customers cute cloth booties and appreciate the advocacy Shannon does in the community at large.

Maternity care in our country is in crisis. We need change and change happens from the bottom up- by informing, supporting and empowering women and families to get in the driver's seat when it comes to childbirth. We advocate for each other as individuals and as a group. WE are the solution.

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is held the first week of every August. Each day this week, my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter newsfeeds have been full of beautiful, strong, and inspiring photos of breastfeeding moms and babies/toddlers. These images make me proud to be a breastfeeding mom and international board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC).

The theme of WBW this year is Breastfeeding: A Key to Sustainable Development. Studies have proven over and over again that moms who have support breastfeed longer. This in turn makes moms and babies healthier, improves economies, and strengthens families.

Here are 4 ways to set yourself for a successful breastfeeding relationship.

On January 21st 2015 I was given the news that a baby, whom I named Marley no longer had a heart beat. I was 15 weeks pregnant and just like that, I wasn't. I'll never know if Marley was a baby girl or a baby boy but none the less that was my baby.. One I'll hold in my heart and memory until my last breath. I never knew much about rainbow babies, like I assume most don't who haven't experienced loss but I knew right away I wanted another baby. I NEEDED another baby.

When I began my practice here in Tampa it was very important to me that we keep transparency about our statistics and outcomes. None of the birth centers or midwives I had previously worked for or with routinely did this- those who did never routinely published them. As a mother, I felt I would want this information when seeking out a provider. It is something I wish was mandated for all providers!