The Story of The Pocket Midwife

Susan Fekety MSN, CNM(ret) was a certified nurse midwife for 30 years. She has helped many many women through pregnancy and birth. After graduating from the Yale School of Nursing, Susan spent several years teaching midwives at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Susan moved to Maine to practice at Women to Women in Yarmouth, and attended births at Mercy Hospital in Portland. A committed believer in the power of positive thinking in general — and in the use of affirmations specifically — Susan started writing The Pocket Midwife by collecting helpful thoughts as particular issues came up again and again. Susan retired in 2014. 

Author’s statement:

I know for sure that it’s common and normal for fears and worries to arise during the prenatal time. Usually, concerns like these inspire a pregnant person to seek support from a trusted friend, health care provider, or family member.

“Will I be a good mother?”

“Will the baby be normal?”

“Will I be able to get through labor?”

“Can my partner and I work well together as parents?”

“I have a strange symptom . . . is something terribly wrong?”

It was quite common for women to come to my office troubled about something someone said, something they’d seen on TV, something that happened to a friend, or some bad dream. Others wished to simply stay present and focused in the face of a “real” problem or medical risk factor.

Affirmations are a simple tool to use when one of these issue arises. Sometimes I would write one on a prescription blank for the woman to take home and post on the refrigerator or bathroom mirror. Over time, I observed the same issues showing up again and again, so I started keeping track of them . . . and The Pocket Midwife was born.

As a midwife, I was fortunate to have lots of time to support women to prepare themselves for the transitions to come. I suspect that as time pressures increase in many obstetrical and midwifery practices, opportunities to explore feelings and cultivate strength may be less and less available to women. After all, how far can you get in a ten-minute visit? Now more than ever, women need support to nurture and fortify their power to birth normally.

I’ve seen women connect with deep pockets of courage and determination they didn’t know they had, and I’ve seen them surpass internal obstacles and challenges in some pretty extraordinary ways. I believe sincerely that using affirmations, like the ones in The Pocket Midwife, really does help!”  — Susan