About Jules Moon & Turning Tides

Present: Clinical Training

Having completed my third and final year at Birthingway College of Midwifery in March 2010, I now get to enjoy the hands-on portion of my training. Once I had finished my classes, my girlfriend and I (along with our puppy) got to spend a few months in Hawaii, where I served as an apprentice with Home Birth Kauai and helped 13 mamas greet their new babies. When we returned to Portland, I got the wonderful opportunity to attend 34 more labors with Tracy Lawson-Allen and the other lovely midwives at Andaluz Waterbirth Center.

I'm excited to find out what's in store for me next. If you'd like to hear more about my journey, visit my blog, Midwife in the Making, in the menu to your left.

Future

Turning Tides is a project in its infancy. One day, I hope to provide midwifery and gynecological care as well as massage therapy, herbal recipes and yoga classes. I would also love to offer a Real Sex Ed class for teens and preteens. For now, however, I am happy to serve pregnant and postpartum clients as a massage therapist, doula and placenta encapsulator.

What's in a Name?

A “turning tide” represents great change, which is exactly what happens to your body, your family and your life over the course of the perinatal period. Furthermore, our reproductive cycles have long been believed to be influenced by the pull of the moon, just as it orchestrates the tides. This association between reproduction and the tides clinched it for me.

Since choosing this business name many years ago, friends and others have shared their own interpretations, adding to the depth of meaning and my own love of the name. Some of these include

• people are 70% water
• birthing parents tend to love laboring in the water; many people experiencing menstrual cramps also have an affinity for water
• labor is commonly described in terms of waves, building and receding
• my own last name is Moon (Okay, so I know this connection is cheesy, but it had been unintentional!)

If the imagery of a turning tide resonates with you for these or any other reasons, I'd love to hear about it!