My Yoga teacher invites steadiness in us as she calls us to be “the calm face on the
boat.” That’s how I see Katarra. She is the kind, truthworthy, steady midwife that we
looked to and felt safe with.
Our family loved working with Katarra. I would choose homebirth midwifery care again
and again as a woman. I was offered such compassion, time, holistic personalized care
during my pregnancies. I remember she came one evening early on in my third
pregnancy to our home, so that my husband and two sons and I could all hear the
heartbeat together for the first time.
She’s also the midwife who’s clinical knowledge, wisdom, and attentiveness I completely trust.
​When she said she had been guided by the wisdom of all the midwives
she trained with that at 41w3d it’s time to start helping move things along, I knew I could
trust her. Katarra has a beautiful way of giving a woman space, sharing her medical
opinion, and ensuring informed consent and a team vibe. It’s brilliant and it’s one of the
pieces of her practice I love the most. So 11 days overdue and successfully naturally
induced by some herbs and breastpump, we called upon Katarra late one hot August
night, after a particularly hot Chico summer.
Through love and sweat and toil, a few hours later I pushed out my massive third baby
boy, 9lbs, big head, big broad shoulders that bordered on should dystocia, some
intense pushing, and a final hoorah of getting him out by stretching forward into a lunge.
Katarra had given us sacred space and privacy to labor in the earlier hours of the night
and then later was beside me patiently using her skill set to guide me along the intense
ride of hard labor. She had been the “calm face on the boat” when a cervical lip, strong
close contractions, and a big baby made for a challenging end to the labor. I heard her
voice, I trusted her medical decision-making, I felt safe because she had built trust
through her compassionate and excellent care. In the end, once he was in our arms, I
also felt the joy of celebrating with her. Midwifery care and homebirth are truly magical.
If you are reading this, you are considering Katarra Shaw as your midwife. Say yes!
~ Maureen Crowley

In my family, home births are the norm! Katarra knows that since she has been a part of 7 births in my family! My first birth provider ended up not working according to plan and resulted in my husband and mother delivering my 9.5lb daughter (she was a biggie! D:) When I found I was pregnant with my son, I knew I wanted Katarra to be there throughout the pregnancy and birth after all the positive stories and experiences with my family.

My birth came a few days later than the projected due date and was right in the middle of winter holidays. The contractions started in a crisp and early December 27th morning. The contractions began mildly in my mother's living room with her medical bed as the centerpiece and I was the stuffed turkey on top! I laid there bracing for each contraction while my husband slept comfortably down the hall. But as time progressed, I knew that today was the day! I began to prepare with a piping hot shower and pacing the hallway to get my steps in, (daily 2 miles!). During the day I arranged to have my brother and sister-in-law take our daughter for the remaining day and night and my husband began slaving away in the kitchen to make my special meal of chicken and dumplings. My partner and I walked around the block to help progress the birth. As the night approached the contractions got stronger and closer in time. We let Katarra know and she began to prepare to come for the birth. When she arrived with Breann, they went to work checking on me and seeing where I was and how I was. After getting their work done, they got work on that soup! Boy was that yummy! :P With my special meal almost gone, I knew I had to get my baby out so I could eat my share before it was finished! Katarra helped guide us with thinning the cervix through movements she recommended, while knitting a hat to keep my head warm. When the time came to push she was right there encouraging me and guiding my husband to catch the baby. She made sure I didn’t rush and tear despite the pain and suffering. When I finally popped out that log, the relief! He weighed a whopping 8.5lbs, I think from my daily walks and strict pregnancy diet helped with that, but it felt just as tough as my 9.5lb daughter. However, I was ready to binge on those chicken and dumplings now that I had an empty stomach! In the end, with a beautiful baby boy, a full stomach, and the comfort and joy from my company, Katarra stated that next time I wouldn’t need her there! But I wouldn’t want to experience pregnancy and birth without her! Next time I know Katarra will be there since I’m requesting tamales!
-Homebirth Mama

​

 The Birth Story of Gryphon Frank                                                                                         
​Are there really any births that go as planned? As teenagers we were told how easy it was to get pregnant. All it takes is “just one time!” Not so for us.
 
I started talking to Katarra about a home birth with her as our midwife in the summer of 2016. I remember her exact words were, “usually people don’t call me until after they get pregnant…” 2 years and some change later we were back on the phone with Katarra, but this time we were ready to start planning. Our first born would be due in June and I wanted to have them in the privacy of my own home. I imagined how serene it would be having control over my environment with no beeps or boops of machinery. Diffusing some essential oils and listening to some powerful viking warrior women chanting in the background…our kid had different plans!
 
At about 32 weeks our journey began trying to get this kid of ours to flip upside-down. It was revealed to us he was in a “Frank Breech” position. We tried chiropractic treatments, lying at an incline, burning my pinky toes with Moxa sticks…it was fun times. Katarra was able to share some great hip positions/extensions, but nothing worked.
 
Unfortunately, a home birth would be impossible. We began planning for the alternate scenario of a c-section. My worst fear.
 
I cannot begin to explain how much stress and anxiety followed after my first visit at Enloe hospital with one of their doctors. Or even the anger I felt as they kept me captive running tests on me for 4 HOURS, the day of my baby shower no less, to make sure my breech boy was “safe”. Katarra supported us the whole way. But when you are a soon to be mama (of Scottish and Irish descent) AND feeling backed into a corner, you go into your stubborn
you-will-not-tell-me-how-to-have-this-baby-the-way-I-don’t-want-to mode. I jumped online looking for any glimmer of hope of having a natural and vaginal birth. I could deal with the hospital, but my midwife was going to be there and we were going to do things my way.
 
May 6th I found Dr. Annette Fineberg down in Davis, CA after reading a breech birth story online. Only 2 doctors in the entire state were mentioned as having permission to deliver a breech baby in the hospital. Luckily for us Davis was only just over an hour from our house. May 7th we were in Davis for the Longest Day. First thing, trying to manually turn that baby with her bare hands. Secondly, more screenings and imaging, pelvic measurements etc. Fortunately, Davis is fun, we were there until 10pm. But we walked away with a plan that had options! I was a perfect natural breech delivery candidate thanks to some wide hips (shout out to my grandmas), and we were set to deliver naturally at Sutter Sacramento anytime before 39 weeks. After that we were set for cesarean in Davis with Dr. Fineberg, who we loved. A win-win for our little family.
 
May 8th (yeah, the next day!) I started progressing into labor. Talk about last-minute Hail Mary, am I right? I don’t watch football, so I hope I used that appropriately. Anywho, by 11 pm I was having delirious, fever dream cramping and contractions. The next morning Katarra was there, I was only 1cm dilated and she was a boss at coaching me to get into a positive mindset. She suggested we pack up, head down to Sacramento and get a hotel until the contractions got more substantial (HA! They felt substantial to me). We did and I really tested the durability of our passenger side dashboard, head rest, and floorboards every 5 minutes or so as I pushed against them with the strength of a thousand [insert giant mammal here] the whole way to Sacramento. It made for an interesting drive for my husband to say the least. This was happening and there was nothing I could do, I was just the vessel.
 
Sutter Sacramento is so nice! But the motel across the street we stayed in was a dump. I even noticed it when I started transitioning to active labor, so that says something about how bad it really was. Luckily we weren’t there long before the stuff hit the fan. Katarra was on her way down with her assistant Joy in tow. We got in our car and drove across the street.
 
OBLIGATORY TEACHABLE MOMENT WARNING: Folks, if you do nothing else to prepare for this moment, do go to the hospital BEFORE you go into labor. Don’t do what we did and “wing it” like in the movies. Scout out the valet parking lot, don’t park in visitor parking and ride the elevator like a schmuck. Don’t stand (or in my case, crouch on all fours) in the visitor line as people gawk at the strange woman moaning on the floor with the kung fu grip on the little rope thingy waiting for someone to notice you are in labor and whisk you away to the maternity ward 2 floors up and in another wing, which took what felt like 30 minutes to happen. END TEACHABLE MOMENT.
 
So, we’re here and they’re prepping me and my OR for cesarean, which is protocol. Dr.
Fineberg isn’t there, but her colleague who also delivers breech, Dr. Jillman, is ready. The operating room is filled with a million men with masks all having something they think is really important to say at the moment I’m tearing my gown off in discomfort. Modesty left the building screaming the moment I was put on the gurney. Everyone arrives and we get active. I hear only the women cheering and coaching me and the voices in my head telling me this is a “for time” WOD, not an AMRAP and “get it in gear Beshwate!” Labor is weird…
 
I labored on my back until crowning, then flipped over on all fours, which is a standard breech delivery position and by that time Katarra had made it into the room for the birth. I’m glad I was in expert hands because although I researched and watched breech births, I wouldn’t have had the frame of mind to remember them. In less than an hour the final “pop!” happened and that sweet little wet baby was on my chest snuggling up. The care after was great. The nurses and doctors all shared our preferences on neonatal care. I cannot say enough nice things about our team and experience. I was never worried or scared, just peaceful. Gryphon Frank (both great grandpa’s name and his breech position) was born at 12:18 pm May 9th, 2019 at 36 weeks + 2 days. He was 7 lbs and 20 inches long and the best almost Mother’s Day gift.

Our son Cohen was born on March 7th, 2019, five days after his due date. Initially, we were planning a homebirth but with the Camp Fire and losing our home, our home birth was moved to our friend’s home (talk about a good friend). On March 6th, I started having contractions, but nothing big. If fact, we met Katarra and Joy for our weekly appointment that day and I think they both were thinking, “yea right, newbies, it’s going to be a while.” In fact, I think Katarra even hinted that it may be another week. 

We had dinner with friends and went to bed, but after the umpteenth bathroom trip in a trailer, I decided it was time that we went to our friend’s house in case things progressed. At 2 in the morning we arrived at our friend’s house and contractions progressed. Cohen was sitting on my right side, had been for the last couple months of my pregnancy, and was pushing on my back. Thanks, kid. At 2:30 am my water broke, and Brett called Katarra like any unsure newbie parent. “Try to get some sleep,” she advised and she would be by later. “I don’t know how you sleep through this,”  I moaned to Brett as I writhed in pain from side to side. 

At about 6:30am our doula, Kim, came over. Thanks goodness! She gave Brett a break and proceeded to massage my back and feed me a peanut butter sandwich and water for the remainder of my labor. Katarra and Joy arrived around 9, took a good look at me, and unbeknownst to me, told Brett and Kim that I had a long way to go, possibly another all-nighter, and that Brett should get some sleep. Katarra and Joy would come back later and that Kim was on mama duty.

Before Katarra and Joy were about to leave (Katarra did live just down the street) and we did some spinning baby moves in hopes of getting Cohen into better position and to quicken labor. A couple of inversions and shaking the apples later, I had an uncontrollable desire to go to the bathroom. It was there, on my friend’s porcelain throne that I transitioned. With the noticeable change in breath and tone, Joy asked if I could feel “anything”. “What exactly am I feeling for?” I thought, but no. Nothing. We moved into the bedroom and moaned and groaned a bit more (mind you Brett is still sleeping) when I asked for Joy and Katarra to check me. I could tell Katarra was hesitant to check because a lack of dilation could mean an upsetting setback for me, but I didn't care. All of a sudden the uncontrollable urge to push was not subsiding.

I’ll never forget that moment. As I was lying there, head where my feet should be, feet where my pillow lay, Joy called out, “there’s a head! I see a head!” Katarra ran to her car to get supplies, Kim ran to wake up soon-to-be-dad, and I lay thinking “I knew it.” Mama’s intuition, ladies. It’s strong. Twenty minutes and four pushes later, Cohen was here. Crying with a full head of hair and baby blue eyes. Healthy as can be. 
 

A Birth Story: Ava-Rose Kamaria 
It was the evening before the Snow Moon when Katarra and her assistant Jessica came over for dinner and a prenatal check-up. During dinner contractions that had mildly started the day before intensified and we all knew that we would probably see each other later that night. Parting ways, we all secretly hoped that the night would go well, as this was a VBAC and during the first birth, I had excruciating hip pain in between contractions.
After Katarra and Jessica left, my husband, my 22-month old son, and I went to bed. An hour later, at 11 pm, I had to leave the bed and move to the kid’s room, to not wake anyone up because the contractions got stronger, and the hip pain slowly but surely got ahold of me. I labored by myself trying to rest in bed. At 1 am, I woke my husband up and told him, that I could not handle the pain by myself anymore. He timed the contractions and called Katarra immediately. At 1:30 am Katarra and Jessica showed up with all their gear in tow. Shortly after, Breann, another midwife followed them. Now, there were four adults and one screaming woman in a tiny kid’s room. This did not bother any of us, in fact, while Katarra and Breann set everything up, Jessica moved things around to where we could all comfortably fit in the room. At this point, I was already standing up because I could not handle laying down during active labor and pushing due to my hip pain. While the whole crew supported me, the clock kept ticking, the Snow Moon had passed its peak and before we knew it, it was 3:30 am. The hip pain got stronger, yet I still really wanted a homebirth. This is when Katarra told me, she could already see our baby’s head. She assured me; the baby would be born within 30 minutes. I confirmed if this was true. She affirmed and so I kept pushing with all the energy that I had left after laboring for two hours standing up. 10 minutes later, our precious baby girl saw the light of this world for the first time. Shortly after, my son woke up, walked into the room, and exclaimed full of awe: “Baby!”
Katarra, Jessica, and Breann made sure, we, as a family, were able to bond and have time with each other, while at the same time ensuring our baby’s well-being. Before we knew, it was 7 am, the house was put together, I was showered, the bed was made, a night had passed, nothing seemed like it had changed, except for the fact that we were now a family of four. The Snow Moon that had accompanied us throughout the whole night was still high up in the sky when the midwives drove home. It was a magical night during which our baby girl, Ava-Rose Kamaria (Bright as the Moon/Moonlight) was born! And as we were sitting around the kitchen table, my husband exclaimed, he could finally understand why families want to have homebirths!

I never thought I would be one to consider a home birth. A natural birth yes, but not at home without the assistance of doctors, nurses and access to emergency services. That was until I had the amazingly eye opening experience to be a birth photographer for a dear friend’s home birth. Watching her labor and seeing how calm, supportive and safe the atmosphere was is an experience that stuck with me and left me with the greatest feeling of purpose. My first baby was a cesarean delivery due to breech presentation, but I had always hoped to have a VBAC with my next baby. Shortly after I became pregnant with my second I fired my OBGYN when she told me that a repeat cesarean would be the best option due to my first baby’s size. My desire for a VBAC were met with a dismissive, “We’ll see how it goes.” I left that appointment feeling devastated and like there was something wrong with my body for not being able to do what millions of women had done before me. Rather than sit in my pity I dove head first into research. I met Katarra and everything clicked. I left her office feeling empowered in my choices and in my body.
The morning my labor started on September 28th 2020 I was 39 weeks and 4 days pregnant and wasn’t quite sure it was the real deal. It was 4am and I woke to feeling a cramping and tightening feeling that was much different from the Braxton Hicks that I had been dealing with frequently my entire pregnancy. I quietly timed them as my husband slept next to me. I did not ​want to wake him until I knew for sure. Four minutes apart and at a fairly steady rhythm. I sat timing my contractions for two hours before my husband’s alarm went off and when I told him what was happening we joked about it being a false alarm. By this point I was fairly certain this was it. We went about our morning as normal, but with an air of electricity in the air.
Ryan went to drop our oldest daughter off at our pre arranged friend’s house and stopped by the grocery store to grab a few things I thought we might need. He stayed on the phone with me and was present through my contractions that were still about 3-4 minutes apart, but were becoming harder to talk through. Between contractions I washed our sheets and made the bed, set up the birth pool and set out everything Katarra had told me we would need. I felt a calmness is this preparation. I remember getting into the shower and letting the water pour over my huge belly and as my husband snapped a quick photo of me it finally sunk in that I was going to meet our daughter today.
 
Active labor started around 11:30am and wow there was no denying it. Up until this point Ryan had been keeping our doula and Katarra informed about what was going on, but I was enjoying laboring alone with my husband. Now I asked him to call our Doula Karen. She showed up in what was probably ten minutes, but it felt much longer. When she walked through the door I was vocalizing through a contraction and she knew immediately that this was indeed active labor. I asked if she wold check me and she reported that my cervix was still very posterior, but felt very soft. After that I had the green light to get into the birth pool. It felt incredible! I ended up staying here for the majority of my labor from this point. About an hour later Karen called Katarra to let her know it was probably a good idea to head over.
 
I couldn’t tell you what time it was when I hit transition, but it was somewhere around the time when the waves of my contractions started building on top of one another. They were the most intense sensation I have ever felt. The pain is something that I was able to handle when I knew there would be a break in between, but this was incredibly difficult to cope with. Relentless is the best word I can find to describe what I felt. There was zero break for several contractions. I had been checked several times at this point and had not been progressing. Stuck at four centimeters and still very posterior. Baby sounded and felt good, but this mama was getting tired.
Katarra knew I needed to change positions. The way I was experiencing contractions put me at an increased risk of uterine rupture. Katarra asked me if I would like her to break my water and out of desperation to get things moving I agreed. Labor ramped up even further and while I was barely hanging on I was hopeful that this was what I needed.
 
They say when you hit transition you are less than an hour away from meeting your baby. That mantra is something I clung to in my head until we were several hours in with no end in sight. My energy was depleting fast and I still had not progressed. Katarra was quick to recognize where I was at and had an IV started. That helped tremendously with my energy, but my spirit was pretty shaken at this point. I asked for a transfer in spite of knowing full well that if I did I would likely be pushed towards another cesarean. My husband calmly talked me off of that ledge while Katarra called on my chiropractor. One house call and a gentle adjustment later and my body was finally getting on board with this whole birth thing. The daggers that must have shot from my eyes when Katarra suggested we do some spinning babies off the side of my couch, but I trusted her. I remember putting up a pretty pitiful protest out of exhaustion, but I was still determined enough to try.
 
A few minutes later I couldn’t take the urge to push any longer. In the middle of the spinning babies routine I got on to my hands and knees and started pushing with the waves of my body. Wave after wave crashed over me, but it was so nice to be able to actively push with the pain. My daughters head started to crown and Katarra reminded me to reach down and feel her head. SO. MUCH. HAIR. What an incredible feeling that was immediately interrupted by the dreaded ring of fire. During my pregnancy I wanted so badly to experience FER and the effortless birth that I had heard of so many women having in my natural birth groups, but when it came down to it I found way more comfort in pushing with my body. I wanted this baby OUT. My husband braced the upper half of my body as Katarra caught our baby and immediate handed her forward into mine and Ryan’s hands. That moment.
That moment is one where time truly stood still. As I held my tiny daughter I felt a rush of emotions flood over me. Pure intense love for the new soul before me, exhilaration that I was able to have my natural home birth and utter exhaustion hovering under the guise of adrenaline. It was 9:04pm at this point which clocked my labor at roughly 18 hours.
 
We sat tangled up together nursing and snuggling for an hour. Katarra checked me over and noticed that I was having a pretty moderate hemorrhage. Never once did anything feel chaotic or out of control. She and her assistant administered Pitocin into my thigh and a cocktail of herbs like Shepard’s purse. They got the bleeding under control and after delivering my placenta Ryan cut the cord and held our daughter while Katarra tended to the three small tears I had. My team helped me to the bathroom and into bed. Here is where the newborn exam was preformed. My husband got to weigh her (8lbs 11oz of perfect baby) and our baby never left our sight. After staying for a few hours to make sure we were ok and that I had eaten my amazing birth team left us be in the quiet still of the night to stare in awe at our tiny girl. No nurses walking in every hour to take vitals. Just the most beautifully quiet love bubble that I wished we could have stayed in forever. My home birth experience was intense, but it was the redemption birth I had always wanted and I am so glad I fought for it. We will one hundred percent be going the home birth route with Katarra again with our next baby.