Midwife reunites with patient at Moses Lake event

Mothers bring questions, concerns and experiences to midwife's visit

MOSES LAKE — As midwife Hsiu-Li Cheng arrived at the Noon Moon Coffee House and Dessert Bar Saturday, she was reunited with 4-year-old Sasha Close.

Close, one of more than 5,000 babies Cheng has delivered, came with his mother, Cara Galbraith, to hear Cheng speak on her experiences.

Galbraith recently moved to Moses Lake a year ago from California, where Cheng has her practice.

"We've just been so amazed that out of all the places in the world this is where Hsiu-Li would show up," Galbraith said.

And Cheng has seen a lot in her four decades as a midwife, from her native Taiwan where she worked in some of the most primitive conditions, to England and eventually to the U.S., where she began her own practice in California.

Cheng told the crowd of nearly 20 that gathered Saturday to hear her, many of them already mothers themselves or soon-to-be mothers, that it was her grandmother who inspired her most.

"I learned from my grandmother how to make women feel good," Cheng said of her grandmother, who was also a midwife.

Being a doctor or nurse had been Cheng's childhood dream, which eventually changed as she began taking entrance exams and found the profession to be lacking in individualized care for babies and their mothers.

Cheng wanted to be able to take time to care for her patients, something she saw exemplified in her grandmother.

Today Cheng's practice in California, which has met with some hostility by the public and doctors, is serving up to 300 babies a month and continues to actively recruit midwives.

During Cheng's visit, mothers shared their experiences giving birth and Cheng demonstrated relaxation techniques that can be used once a woman has gone into labor.

Mother Jennifer McCarthy, who had both of her children at home, talked about her experience with home births and agreed with Cheng that learning to relax is one of the most important things a woman can do during labor.

After having used a hypno-birthing technique that teaches relaxation through hypnosis, McCarthy attributes the ease with which she gave birth the second time to learning how to relax.

"I'm such a firm believer of what a woman's body can do," McCarthy said.

With so much literature on giving birth, Cheng reminded the audience to not rely solely on information obtained on the Internet or to feel guilty if their delivery does not go how they planned.

Everybody's body is different and in some cases a C-section is necessary and that's OK too, Cheng said.