Category: Claire Watry

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The Adorable, Rewarding, and Sometimes Difficult Task of Birthing Babies

 by Claire Watry, Terra Linda HS

A common misconception is that the only job of a midwife is to deliver babies. In reality, the duties of a midwife begin long before the baby is born. A midwife can screen for diseases, prescribe certain 

medications, help the mother stay healthy during pregnancy, monitor the baby’s growth before and after 
birth, provide emotional support, discuss care options and breastfeeding, support the mother and
her child after birth, and provide many more services in addition to the delivering the baby. As a 
midwife, upcoming MSS speaker Sheri Matteo is responsible for the health and wellbeing of a woman
and her baby for the entire length of the pregnancy and beyond. The video below shows the benefits of 
midwifery for women. 



 Matteo explained that midwifery in the U.S. has undergone many changes throughout history.
“Before the early 20th century, most babies in the US were delivered by midwives at home. Then 
medicine, mostly male doctors, brought birth into hospitals and birth became a medical condition. 
Women were put to sleep and babies were delivered with forceps. Moms were encouraged to bottle 
feed. Midwifery pretty much vanished. In the 1970’s, with the rise of feminism and the “natural birth” 
movement, midwifery as a profession started to grow again. Unlike many other industrialized countries
with better childbirth statistics where midwifery care is the norm, midwifery in the US has stayed on 
the fringe and been seen as an “alternative” birth option. In the 15 years that I have been practicing, 
I have seen many midwifery services grow and disband based on whatever economic issue was driving
healthcare at that time. Healthcare in the US is still largely driven by economics and legislation, but 
midwives and other “mid levels” or “allied health professionals” are rising in use and stature. We 
have rigorous education and certification maintenance programs and are fully integrated into healthcare
teams with nursing, case managers and social workers, as well as doctors. The profession is growing in
numbers and strength and our good outcomes are more commonly recognized by clients and medicine
professionals.” According to Time magazine, approximately 8% of babies born in the U.S. – a record 
high – and about 24% of babies in New Mexico were delivered by midwives in 2009. While delivery in 
the U.S. usually takes place in a hospital in the presence of obstetricians, more and more women are 
turning to midwives. 

Read the rest of the interview with Sheri Matteo for a sneak peek preview of her upcoming MSS 
presentation “Birthing Babies: What it Takes to be a Nurse Midwife”. 



How did you decide to become a midwife?  
I was premed in college and always thought I wanted to be an obstetrician. I was also a singer and performed in HS and college plays. I spent my junior year abroad studying acting in London and when I returned I realized I no longer wanted to go to med school. I received my BA in Theatre Arts at Brown University. I worked as an actress in NYC, off-Broadway and as a member of a theatre company. Working on a play with an older actress, I discovered her daughter was a midwife. I didn’t even know midwifery was a profession at that time! Shortly after, I met a woman who was an obstetrician. I was really inspired hearing about her work. She invited me to “take call” with her one night at the hospital. I saw a birth and I was hooked! Midwifery appealed to me more than medicine because of its emphasis on childbirth as a natural part of life, not a medical condition that needs to be “treated”.


How does one become a midwife? What sort of training or education is necessary?  
There are many different kinds of midwives in the US and several different ways to become one. There are “lay” midwives who receive traditional training as an apprentice of another lay midwife. These midwives are sometimes state licensed and sometimes not. They are not eligible to work in hospitals so they only do home birth.  To be a Certified Nurse Midwife, I had to enroll in nursing school with the plan to continue onto graduate school. I went to Columbia University School of Nursing in NYC. They have a special nursing program for people who already have a baccalaureate. Instead of four years, I earned my BSN (Bachelors of Science in Nursing) in one and a half years. I continued on to complete my Masters in Nursing (MSN) in another one and a half years, for a total of three straight years and two degrees.
What are the responsibilities of a midwife? What is a typical day?  
Certified Nurse Midwives can perform nearly all aspects of women’s health primary care. We screen for diseases, including cervical cancer, breast cancer and STDs. We can prescribe medicine including birth control and antibiotics. We perform prenatal care, making sure moms stay healthy in pregnancy and their babies are growing well.  We can deliver babies in the hospital, in birth centers, or at home. We support women with breastfeeding and take care of them postpartum. We do a lot of client teaching about their health, bodies, and care and treatment options. Though we do not perform surgery like c/sections, we are hands-on surgical assistants. A typical day involves either working at the clinic seeing prenatal patients (between 12-20 in 8 hours) or working in the hospital supporting moms in labor and delivering babies. Because I am the Director of my group of 12 midwives, I also have office work and a lot of meetings to attend. I work on marketing my group’s services, hospital quality and safety and employee satisfaction and performance.



What is the most exciting, rewarding, or difficult aspect of being a midwife?  
Watching new families grow! Helping women be and stay healthy. Meeting all kinds of people from all different cultures. Working with women and empowering them to believe in their natural ability to birth and mother.
What advice do you have for young people aspiring to be in a healthcare profession?  
It is very hard work but also very rewarding. Never forget to treat all people with dignity and respect.

  

To learn all about midwifery and birthing babies, attend the Marin Science Seminar presentation “Birthing Babies: What it Takes to be a Nurse Midwife” with Sheri Matteo, RN, CNM of Prima Medical Foundation, Marin General Hospitalon Wednesday, March 26, 2014, 7:30 – 8:30 pm, Terra Linda High School, San Rafael, Room 207. See the flyer here

For more information go to:
Our Bodies Ourselves Health Resource Center
Dimensions Healthcare System
Student Medics
Time Magazine

Image credits:
https://drewstarr.wordpress.com/pictures/early-american-midwifery/
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/birthanddeath/childbirthandmedicine.aspx
http://healthsciencetechnology.wikispaces.com/Midwife

http://organichomebirth.com/
http://firststepskent.org/welcome-home-baby/welcome-home-baby-book/

~Claire Watry

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A Renewed Sense of Porpoise – An Interview with Jonathan Stern

by Claire Watry, Terra Linda HS
Harbor porpoises have returned to the San Francisco Bay after a 65-year absence. What does their return mean for the other animals of the bay? Why did they leave? Why might they have returned? This week’s Marin Science Seminar speaker Jonathan Stern will address these questions and provide insight into the world of local harbor porpoises. The video below is a tribute to the harbor porpoise’s return to the bay by the National Wildlife Federation California.



Fast Fasts about the Harbor Porpoise from the National Geographic Society:

Terra Linda High School graduate Jonathan Stern is a lecturer and adjunct professor in the Biology Department at San Francisco State University. He has studied minke whales since 1980 and currently serves as a Co-Principal Investigator at Golden Gate Cetacean Research, where he studies harbor porpoises, bottlenose dolphins, and minke whales locally in the San Francisco Bay. He has also studied an assortment of whales including gray whales, killerwhales, fin whales, humpback whales, and pilot whales. He was the first volunteer at the Marine Mammal Center when it opened in 1975.

How did you decide to study marine life?

My father was a ship captain, who traveled all over the world. When he would come home, he would bring me seashells from the places he traveled. I also watched Sea Hunt and Jacques Cousteau when I was a child and was fascinated by the sea.

From left: Lloyd Bridges stars in Sea Hunt, Seashell collection, Explorer Jacque Cousteau

How do you conduct your research?

This varies depending on what specifically I am studying. I do my observations from the shore and a boat. I also spend a considerable amount of time doing data analysis. I sit with my computer and books about statistical analysis and modeling.


Harbor Porpoise sighting near the Golden Gate Bridge


What is the most difficult aspect of your work?
My works is not difficult; it is challenging physically (being out on the water in a small boat on the open ocean takes its toll over the years) and the data analysis and the writing of papers take time to get things right. The challenge is fun!
What is one of the most surprising or exciting thing you have discovered about porpoises?
We have seen porpoises mating. This sounds like it is not a big deal, but given that these porpoises are among the most commonly seen marine mammal, we are the first to see them mating. The real surprise though is that we can do most of our observations from the Golden Gate Bridge.


What advice do you have for aspiring young scientists?
Prepare yourself! Prepare yourself by taking as many math and science classes as possible. Prepare yourself by learning to keep your focus, but keep your eye on other branches of science. Prepare yourself by learning to ask questions. that is the most important part of science, asking questions. Do not be afraid of the challenge. Prepare to study, work, and have fun. Science is a process.



Report your porpoise sightings! Golden Gate Cetacean Research’s page for Porpoise, Dolphins & Whale sightings in SF Bay & the NorCal coast. http://www.ggcetacean.org/Contact_Us.html



To learn more about the return of the harbor porpoise and its ecological implications, attend the Marin Science Seminar presentation “San Francisco Bay Has a Renewed Sense of Porpoise” with Jonathan Stern Ph.D. of San Francisco State University, January 29, 2014, 7:30 – 8:30 pm, Terra Linda High School, San Rafael, Room 207. See the flyer here

Want more information? Check out the websites below.
National Wildlife Federation California 
Golden Gate Cetacean Research
National Geographic
NPR 
SF Gate Article

~Claire Watry

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Rethinking Buildings with Cyane Dandridge

by Claire Watry, Terra Linda HS
 
When I was asked by upcoming MSS speaker Cyane Dandridge, executive director and founder of Strategic Energy Innovations and executive director of the Marin School of Environmental Leadership, what the 5 “R”s are, I easily breezed through the first 3 – reduce, reuse, recycle – and managed to recall the fourth one – rot – but I could not think of the mysterious fifth “R”. Rethink is the fifth “R” and a very important one at that. As a community and as a society we must rethink how we use energy. For Cyane Dandridge and Strategic Energy Innovations, it begins with rethinking all aspects of buildings. People don’t normally think of buildings as the gateway to a more environmentally-friendly and energy-conscious society, but Dandridge maintains that they should be at the forefront. The various components of buildings – space for the building, resources for construction the building, electricity to power the building, even the stuff in the building – can be carefully considered, scrutinized, and altered to be more green.
Statistics from the EPA
Dandridge got an early start in the energy-efficient building movement. While attending a boarding school, Dandridge built a small house for two people using passive solar to capture heat. She then went to study physics at Reed College in Oregon. She served as a consultant to help people get solar installed. Dandridge then went on to MIT to study in the new building energy efficiency program. After her time at MIT, Dandridge worked for the EPA designing the energy star programs before founding Strategic Energy Innovations. 



Dandridge founded Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI) in 1997 to answer the question of how can we help communities engage in sustainable practices. SEI is based on four pillars – jobs, government, housing, and education – and a collaboration of the four pillars to achieve sustainability within communities. See the video below to see more of what SEI does. 

Visit the SEI website for more information


 The project-based boarding school that Dandridge attended served as inspiration for the Marin School of Environmental Leadership. The goal of the program is to create strong  leaders and use the environment to address critical issues. The students in the program learn imperative 21stcentury skills – how to be engaged, how to take initiative, how to communicate effectively, how to think critically, and how to be innovative through project-based learning. The goal is to expand the program and spread the model to other schools. 


Visit http://www.thesel.org/ for more information about the Marin School of Environmental Leadership.

Below are a few of the world’s green buildings

From top left clockwise to bottom left: School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, Acros Building in Fukuoka, Japan, California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, and 30 St. Mary Axe in London, England

Learn more about energy-efficent buildings at “Innovations for Combating Climate Change: Clean Energy, Green Building & Energy Efficiency” with Cyane Dandridge, executive director and founder of Strategic Energy Innovations and executive director of the Marin School of Environmental Leadership on Wednesday, November 13, 2013, 7:30 – 8:30 pm, Terra Linda High School, San Rafael, Room 207

Get the flyer here

Sources:
http://www.seiinc.org/
http://inhabitat.com/
http://www.epa.gov/
~Claire Watry


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Educational Video Games: No Longer a Contradiction

by Claire Watry, Terra Linda HS
The definition of a video game according to Merriam-Webster is: an electronic game played by means of images on a video screen and often emphasizing fast action. The definition does include the phrases “must contain violence,” “must be uneducational” or “guaranteed to turn children into zombies.” Video games are often stigmatized as a waste of time, and few realize that video games can actually be educational and help children’s learning rather than hindering it. With proper implementation, educational video games have the potential to transform traditional education and propel students into high-profile jobs in the tech-savvy world.

Video games are an innovative way to engage students in science. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution experimented with alternative methods of teaching science and created the video game Vanished where students are presented with the scenario that in the future all historical records are destroyed, and are asked by the people of the future to investigate the causes of this catastrophe by researching and recording data about present-day Earth. The game incorporates problem-solving and analytical skills in an interactive way of exploring science in the hopes that science is seen as an “engaging process of mystery and discovery” rather than the sadly common perception that is a boring process full of memorization. Vanished gives the students a hands-on experience by requiring them to go out into their neighborhoods to research and record what they experience instead of  just memorizing vocabulary and looking up the answers on the internet. Although the trial run of Vanished is over, researchers hope to use the game as a model to create interactive educational tools for teaching science.

A leader in the use of education video games in the classroom is the Redwood-City-based GlassLab (Games, Learning, and Assessment Lab). The goal of the video games is to engage the students in an interactive manner and stimulate their interest in the fields of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). For their first project, GlassLab took the commercially-successful SimsCity video game and modified it to be educational. The science-based video game titled SimCityEDU: Pollution Challenge! challenges middle-school students to run a successful town by considering the environmental impacts their actions have while maintaining employment levels and citizen happiness. For example, in the game a city will run out of electricity and the students must then solve the issue and return power to the city. The video game engages the students’ critical thinking and allows them to gain valuable insight into real world problems and potential solutions. The game follows lesson plans and assesses the students’ progress by tracking their progression through the various scenarios. Check out the video below to learn more about SimCityEDU: Pollution Challenge!.



For more information about GlassLab visit http://glasslabgames.org/.
Learn more about educational gaming at “The Making of an App—The First Official Rube Goldberg Invention Game” with David Fox, of Electric Eggplant, Marin County –Wednesday, September 25th, 2013, 7:30 – 8:30 pm, Terra Linda High School, San Rafael, Room 207.

Links:
Claire Watry

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