Check Out Christie Davis’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christie Davis.

Hi Christie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I began attending births in 1999 after the birth of my first child. I worked as a doula – apprenticing under an amazing woman, Ginny Witty, who taught me so much and then introduced me to home birth. I fell in love and after a long and winding road, completed an apprenticeship as a Certified Professional Midwife in 2012. I’ve been working in private practice ever since. Through this journey, I’ve developed a passion for working with survivors of Traumatic Birth. I’ve found that the focus of my business has shifted. I am backing away from my home birth practice and have achieved several trauma-specific certifications and created The Perinatal Trauma Center at Blue Columbine where I am really lucky to be serving Birth Trauma Survivors on a one-on-one basis to process and heal. I am also holding seminars for birth practitioners with the focus on compassion fatigue, secondary trauma and burnout. This work is filling me with excitement and I cannot wait to see where it grows!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There has been nothing smooth about this road! I don’t know that you would ever meet a birth worker who would describe the road as smooth! The nature of the midwifery – being on call 24/7, never knowing when I’ll have to walk away from my home and family and not knowing when I’ll be home, holding responsibility for two lives simultaneously in my hands – it is intense! It’s beautiful, painful, vulnerable, rewarding and excruciating work. The transition to running the Trauma Center full time is also not without obstacles. What I’m offering is unlike any other program out there. The good news is I have a unique market, the bad news is that no one has any point of reference for this work! So the growth is slow – 100% word of mouth. But it is growing. And it is making a major difference in the lives of all that have gone through it with me!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The Perinatal Trauma Center at Blue Columbine is a labor of true love. In the program that I offer for Birth Trauma Survivors, we work together to understand the mechanisms of Trauma and how to heal. I also pull from my clinical experience as a midwife of many years to help as a knowledgeable, safe person with which to process and share. I work with both individuals and couples in this program, offering practical skills, comfort, support and education in the world of recovery from traumatic delivery.

For other birth professionals, I’ve been able to work with other midwives, doulas, nurses and OB’s to help process their own secondary trauma from the difficulties of the job. I have a unique perspective that aligns with their experience.

I’ve been completely humbled by the impact of my program. I’m very proud of what I’ve created and the ways in which it has healed and shifted perspectives of those who have experienced it!

The combination of my Trauma education with my Midwifery background puts me in a really unique position to work with Brith Trauma, both with birthing families and providers alike!

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I have been lucky to have found many mentors through my journey in the world of birth. But it can sure be hard to find the right people. I would say that if you want to find someone, you really have to go out and make it happen, and if isn’t a good fit the first time you work with someone, then find someone else! Networking implies groups of people, however, you are the only one that can create the network that works for you! Don’t compromise, stay open and advocate for what you need!

Pricing:

• 4 session Birth Processing Program $275 – but that’s going up at the beginning of the year so sign up soon to get that price!
• Single session for providers to process traumatic delivery/secondary trauma $125

Contact Info:

• Website: www.perinataltraumacenter.com
• Instagram: @perinataltraumacenter
• Facebook: Perinatal Trauma Center

Image Credits
Kate Carlton