Hey friends! This past year has been l.o..n…g.
we launched our Well Care services
we began our apothecary Facebook group, Amethyst Apothecary
we began providing distance consults for all manner of things health & parenting related
Michele’s teenager turned 14 (and is just a couple months away from turning 15!)
Michele celebrated 19 years of helping families birthing babies
our business turned 15 years old!
Michele’s toddler turned 2
we created a community group for teens aged 12-18 focusing on education titled Rust Belt Teens Talk
Rust Belt Teens Talk had their first class series, Rust Best Teens Talk: Sex N’at 101, which was a series of classes providing queer & trans inclusive sex and sexuality education
Michele broke their femur, convalesced for 2 months in a skilled nursing facility, and is still healing!
we started working on a sex & sexuality class for kids aged 7-12 and another one for parents/adults
Michele applied to be a parent mentor for NurturePA and will soon complete their last interview
we accepted our first homebirth client for 2019 (our first client post-broken femur)
we helped our comrades over at Steel City Midwives welcome a new group of student midwives assistants on their journey to becoming trained midwives assistants (Michele will be helping to train them)
we are planning the foundation for a support group that will serve queer, trans, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming pregnant people and their partners/co-parents (look for more information soon)
So, you might have seen the following blurb attached to an article circling Facebook & Twitter:
“We are proud to be Pittsburgh’s premier queer, trans, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming inclusive midwifery practice, providing prenatal & postpartum care, homebirth attendance, parallel or concurrent care with other perinatal & health care providers, and basic well care & health screenings for individuals & their families.”
What does it mean?! One (cishet*) client of ours sent us a message and asked, “Does this mean that you won’t be my midwife again or do my PAP smear for me?” No! Of course that’s not what this means! We remain passionate about providing our services to low-income and IBPOC* clients always and forever. However, in the current atmosphere in the states, the midwifery world, and the world of health care in general, we find it exceptionally important for pregnant people and their partners/co-parents who are marginalised for being gender-diverse or queer to know that there are culturally competent providers who care about their health and well-being — that we are proud to be one of these providers. We especially want the queer & gender-diverse IBPOC community to know that we see them, we hear them, and we love them.
*cishet – cisgender (not transgender) & heterosexual (not queer) *IBPOC – Indigenous/Black/People of Colour
That’s right, yinz! We provide various health services for all genders and if you have a cervix or uterus, we can provide you with important cancer screenings. Your house* or our office, invite a friend/support person (or parent if you’re under 18), and let’s do this!
Did you know that we don’t use stirrups for our PAP exams AND we can do them without a speculum? We are also actively working with the lab that we use to be able to provide clients (and anyone) with self-sampling PAP exam kits. That’s right, soonlyish we will be able to help you do your own PAP exam. Taking care of yourself just got a whole lot easier!
Well Care Services Provided: Breast/Chest Exams Pap Exams (anyone 16+ w/ a cervix; though most people don’t need them until they’re 21) Pelvic Exams IUD Removal Basic Physical Exam (work/school/travel; anyone 13+) HIV/STI Testing (is coming soon) Caya Diaphragme & FemCap Cervical Cap Fittings/Education
We have a sliding scale to help you afford your well care. We also accept a myriad of payment types, occasionally accept partial bartering, and can work out payment plans with you if needed. Also, if you, your spouse (or parent if you’re a dependent) have an FSA, HSA, HRA, or MSA you can use the debit/credit card for your account to pay for our services. We also expect that our clients who are able to pay full price (or close to it) do so; this ensures that those needing subsidised care are able to receive it.
*your house – while we like to provide care in a setting that allows for maximum relaxation and minimal anxiety for our clients, due to our disabled status, folks with more than a flight of stairs will be asked to come to our home office or another more accessible location of their choice that will still ensure privacy for their exam & visit.
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We are accepting midwifery/homebirth clients for 2019* and folks have been calling and emailing! We are looking forward to getting back on our feet and welcoming babies Earthside! We are also looking forward to working with a pool of new #midwives #assistants who are busy getting trained. Are you expecting in 2019; if so, send us an email with your information: amethystmidwitchery@gmail.com We currently have 1 opening late February and openings in March & April.
Not sure if having a #homebirth is for you? We can help you decide by scheduling a consultation and risk screening. If you decide that birthing at a hospital or The Midwife Center is best for you, we can provide you with parallel or co-care and/or monitrice services.
*Most of our appointments for the rest of 2018 will happen at our home office while Michele is still healing their femur.