All content © Amanda Feldmann dba Exodus Midwifery 2000-2006 except as noted, all rights reserved. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Amanda. No information or images on this site may be reproduced without the express permission of Amanda Feldmann.
A B O U T
Original Web Site & Logo Designed By: Birth Designs
"It is not those who are healthy who need a physician,
but those who are sick."
- Matthew 9:12
Contact Amanda:
401 Olympia Ave NE
Suite 246 Box 27
Renton, WA 98056
(425) 235-4674
(866) 435-4674
Midwifery acknowledges pregnancy and birth as normal life events, rather than medical emergencies. Certified Professional Midwives offer personalized, informed, gentle care for pregnant and birthing women, and their infants. Home birth gives women the opportunity to birth safely and peacefully surrounded by loved ones in the comfort of their own homes.
Amanda Feldmann, Licensed Midwife and Certified Professional Midwife, is passionate about returning birth to the family as a joyful life event. She has attended hundreds of homebirths since her practice began in 1998. Washington state recognized Amanda Feldmann as a licensed midwife in 2001. She also attends births in out-of-hospital birth centers.
Guardian of the Space
Amanda's philosophy of birth is that God designed birth PERFECTLY. The less the low-risk pregnant and laboring woman is interfered with, the fewer complications will be created by meddling hands. The most important work of a midwife is guarding the space that a woman needs to accomplish the amazing work she was made for.
As a Certified Professional Midwife with unique knowledge and experience, Amanda aids clients in becoming informed of the risks and benefits of each procedure during the course of their care. She is supportive of true informed choice. The woman and her midwife are partners in creating a personalized care plan that is safe and satisfactory for all involved.
The Making of a Midwife
Many people ask me, "Why would a single woman who has never herself had a child choose midwifery?" My answer is that God chose me and called me to this noble profession. Even from a very young age, God began gently leading me to the ministry of home birth. During an interview at the tender age of seven I was questioned about my interests and hobbies. You can imagine the shock on my math teacher's face when I thought a minute, then answered, "Well, birth, for one…"
I never questioned that I was called to have a ministry in the medical field, as I always excelled in the sciences through school, and was fascinated by the study of living things. My visions of "medicine" had many different faces over the years, however. Nursing, pediatrics, and neurosurgery were some of the fields I considered before I finally settled on veterinary medicine. This was my goal until 14 or 15. It was at this time that I became impressed that God's priority for me was to work with people, not animals. It then became clear to me that God intended for me to be a midwife.
It was several years later that I began formal schooling through the Medical Training Institute's midwifery program. I apprenticed with local midwives in the fall of 1996. My preceptors included Carol Gautschi, CPM, Charlotte Geddis, LM, Kathie Golden, ND, LM, and Suzanne Thomson, LM, CPM, to name a few. Each of these women contributed unfathomably to my current knowledge and competence as a midwife. Each midwife taught me a different perspective. Together they have lent me balance in thought, practice, and life.
I took on my first client (under supervision) in the fall of 1998, which was the commencement of my own practice. In June of 1999 I graduated from the MTI midwifery school with an Academic Award, and in 2001 my Mastery Award. When I applied for a license, the state of Washington was unsure of what to do with me, since I chose a non-traditional educational route. As always, God was faithful, and I became licensed in the fall of 2001, after a long, drawn-out licensing process.
Training and Certification
- Licensed midwife in the state of Washington
- Certified Professional Midwife certification
- Mastery Award from the MTI School of Midwifery (graduation June, '99 with Academic Award, Mastery achieved in January, 2001). Three year comprehensive midwifery course including training in:
- Anatomy and Physiology
- Gynecology
- Normal and complicated pregnancy
- Normal and complicated labor and delivery
- Nutrition in all stages of a woman's life
- Herbal and Traditional medicine
- Breastfeeding
- Postpartum care
- Counseling
- Childbirth Education
- Certified currently in NNR (neonatal resuscitation) and CPR
- Week-long counseling seminars in Seattle, '90, and Indianapolis, '93
- Served as a representative of student midwives in a workgroup for laws re: licensure of midwifery students in WA state
- Basic Life Principles Seminars (Training in personal and interpersonal conflict resolution) 1989, '90, '91, '92, '93; '94, '95; Advanced seminars (3)
- Childbirth Educator Training : Seattle Midwifery School , 2000
- Doula training: Doulas Make a Difference; 2001
- Current member of MAWS, WARM, and CFM
Experience
I have experience with many normal births as well as observation and/or participation in handling the following situations and complications:
1. Postpartum hemorrhage
2. Shoulder dystocia
3. Fetal distress
4. Neonatal resuscitation
5. Group B Strep infections (maternal and neonatal)
6. Prolonged rupture of membranes
7. Prodromal labor
8. Vaginal birth after Cesarean (VBAC)
9. Nuchal cords (cords around the neck)
10. Meconium staining
11. Vaginal twins births
12. Vaginal breech births
13. Sexual abuse issues
14. Placenta accreta (placenta does not detach) and manual removal
15. Suturing
16. Uterine rupture
17. Compound presentations
18. Birth defects
