Cecil Tamang
You are a midwife, assisting at someone else’s birth.
Do good without show or fuss.
Facilitate what is happening rather than what you think ought to be happening.
If you must take the lead, lead so that the mother is helped, yet still free and in charge.
When the baby is born, the mother will rightly say: “We did it ourselves!”
-Tao Te Ching
About Me and My Care
I am a mother and a midwife. I have two young children, and value my time as a full-time mother while working as a midwife on the side. I provide backup at homebirths for the other midwives in our collective, and offer homebirth midwifery care for a few women a year. In addition to homebirth midwifery, which is my passion, I also work casually at the Balclutha Maternity Unit providing postnatal and birth care, as well as co-facilitating the Positive Birth Classes occasionally.
I believe that every birth is unique and unfolds in its own perfection, and it is my privilage to walk beside families as they set out to welcome their babies in the gentlest and most loving possible way.
I see my midwifery practice as a balance of head, heart and hands:
The ‘head’ represents my midwifery knowledge and experience. I take time to stay abreast of current research, and feel strongly that women need quality balanced information to help them make choices that are right for them. I am passionate about growing the body of knowledge that reflects homebirth, and work to incorporate the midwifery perspective into interpreting research.
To me the ‘heart’ of midwifery is about forming genuine relationships that are based on trust and open communication. I find the open-hearted connections that develop with birthing families to be one of the most rewarding aspects of midwifery.
The ‘hands’ of midwifery represents all the physical aspects of my care through pregnancy, birth and postnatally. “First, do no harm” is a guiding thought in my approach; I believe that we cannot improve natural birth through interventions, we can only disrupt it. However, the ‘hands’ aspect of my care also encompasses emergency care measures which are so rarely needed in homebirth. I make time to review and practice these life-saving skills with my colleagues on a regular basis.
Motherhood and midwifery are both amazing journeys, and it would be a joy to share part of that journey with you!
Training and Experience
I gained a Bachelor of Midwifery from Otago Polytechnic in 2005. During my training and and following my registration I worked with the Auckland Homebirth Midwives Collective. I have been part of the Dunedin Homebirth Midwives collective since Jan ’09.
Area Covered
I provide home visits to women within an hour’s drive from my home. I am available as backup for the other midwives in any area.
Availability
I can provide midwifery care for 2-3 homebirthing families a year. I do not take scheduled time off, but I work 12 hour shifts in Balclutha (usually one per week) so am off call during this time. I work closely with my colleagues and you will know and meet the backup midwife involved in your care.
How to Contact Me
To contact me urgently, please call my pager number and leave a message with the operator. For non- urgent questions please ring me at home.
Pager: (086) 505 515
Home phone: (03) 472-8683
To send me a message please use the form on the Contact Us page.
I met Cecil towards the end of my pregnancy to be present at my second baby’s birth as a backup midwife. Cecil came to me highly recomended and i have to say accolades made in Cecil’s honor can not come close to the amazing gift that came to me by having Cecil present at Maple’s birth.
Due to my “rapid” labour Cecil’s role turned from a backup capacity into the lead midwife there to see Maple come home gently, safely and peacefully at our home. I can’t actually put words to how beautiful it was to have Cecil by my side, her ability to be there and support in such a way that i felt so safe and confident, yet a very subtle presence that was always just enough but never too much.
I have come to know Cecil as a women trueley gifted and wise beyond her years. My wee girl had some minor complications at the time of birth, she cleared herself very quickly and came around to her own strength in a brief time frame. I firmly believe that Cecil’s amazing level of professionalism, spirituality and calm knowing played a major role in our outcome being so positive.
If you are reading this you are one step closer to you and your baby being truely blessed by having Cecil present for the amazing journey that birth is.
Arohanui
Namaste
Cecil sweet Cecil xx