My name is Jessica, I live on the beautiful west coast of British Columbia, Canada. In Canada it is next to impossible to get into a midwifery program. They only accept 10-20 students a year out of hundreds of applicants. I have always wanted to be a midwife so within the last few years I have started to get some experience that would help me get into the program. I took a doula course and a year at university. I have done a lot of volunteer work over the years on crisis lines and at women's centres. Last year I applied to the program and got denied. I decided I needed an edge so I started contacting midwives in my area, hoping that I could volunteer my time and assist them where needed. Unfortunately I couldn't assist unless I was a student apprenticing. So basically I realized that you can't get experience unless you’re a student but you can't become a student unless you have experience. A very helpful local midwife suggested I go down to Casa de Nacimiento and do a midwifery internship. I only could go for two weeks, but it was the most amazing experience of my life. I probably had the least amount of experience/knowledge of all the interns, but everyone was very encouraging and approachable. I have never learned so much in such a short amount of time.  Within my first three hours of arriving, I witnessed my first birth experience. It was everything I had ever hoped for. Throughout my two weeks I got to get a dose of what midwifery was really about. I got to work with amazing midwives, interns, birthing mothers and families. I even got to practice my horrendous Spanish! By the end of my two weeks I had witnessed 17 births, assisted at 4 and caught 2 beautiful babes.

I would recommend that if anyone has the chance to go to Casa, they definitely should! I am planning on returning this summer as I am in baby-catching withdrawal. My experience at Casa has not only reconfirmed that midwifery is what I need to do but it has given me the edge over other applicants. This year I was one of the 60 students who were offered an interview at McMaster University and they were very impressed that I took the initiative to go down to El Paso and get the experience I needed. So it looks like Casa may be my ticket to finally making my dreams come true!! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about my experience at Casa de Nacimiento.