Today we’d like to introduce you to Colleen Kennedy-Schroeder.
Hi Colleen, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I am a mother to four wonderful children, each with their own unique birth story. These experiences have let me to my passion for supporting and empowering families as they give birth, especially after a previous C-section or traumatic birth experience. I believe people are experts of their own bodies and birthing experiences, and I am there to maintain the safety while respecting their autonomy. I am a midwife, craniosacral therapist, birth activist, and soon-to-be a perinatal personal trainer. I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelors in cultural anthropology and international service and minor in neuroscience. Through my studies in anthropology and bodywork, I have learned to truly integrate the person as a whole- spiritually, mentally, and physically. Through my travels and service work abroad, I have learned to internalize and honor the boundaries and sacred space to which each individual is entitled. As an athlete, I have learned to persevere and push through discomforts and challenges while also respecting the body and resting when appropriate.
I apply these principles in my approach to all aspects of my life, both personal and professional.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Challenges and obstacles are part of what comes with any community practice. As a midwife, I am choosing to participate outside of the medical complexes, that in it of itself is one large obstacle. The public’s perception of birth and its community caretakers may not be seen in its full scope. So, in order to build this practice, we must be willing to fill in a lot of gaps and be held to judgements/misunderstandings along the way. The reward, for me, will always outweigh the difficulties. As a grassroots network of support, accessing funds and resources has been a difficult and painful challenge from the beginning. Birth is not just about a baby entering the world *which is kind of the easy part, honestly! For one birth, the obstacles could include finding translators, accessing care for a family who may not otherwise have support once their baby is here, transportation. This is what is required in order to be in service of families wholeheartedly. And it’s difficult and challenging at best.
Like I mentioned earlier, participating outside of the MIC is its own challenge, and although this is true, I’ve committed to the continuous and arduous challenge of building a bridge between community practices and the hospital. Birth does not always go as one planned; sometimes, that includes transferring from home to hospital. I dream of a day where I can be a trusted community midwife with 9 months of information and care invested in my clients and be seen as such when I bring a mother in for the care that she needs. I have to step into systems and trust providers when the care that is required is outside of my scope of practice. That transfer of care is often extremely challenging, but I do not believe it needs to be this way. All birthing families deserve safe and respectful care wherever they choose to give birth, especially if their choices include pivoting in response to the sometimes unforeseen obstacles of birth.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a homebirth midwife, craniosacral therapist, and community advocate for birthing refugees. We serve the greater Cleveland/Akron area.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I follow my intuition and trust my vision even when it makes no sense to others. There is risk here. I may be wrong; the birthing person I’m supporting may be wrong. But nevertheless, we have built a relationship based on trust, and that alone comes with risk. Being accountable for your own practice for outcomes is a risk. I believe life is full of risks; it is how you navigate them and how you move through and communicate. Being open to the unknown has allowed The Village to exist in its true identity – ever evolving with the needs and support of the community and the needs of our birth workers. Being vulnerable and honest about ideas, naming that we don’t know everything and we can’t do it all, has been a major risk with even greater returns.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thevillagecle.org
- Instagram: @thevillagecle @runvillagecle
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jointhevillagecle
