My name is Crystal Wright, I am a wife to my highschool sweetheart and mother to 8. My first birth was very traumatic (for him and me). I wanted a better experience with my second birth so I made different decisions and had a much better experience! I discovered midwives before I conceived my third and used various types of midwives for the remainder of my pregnancies.
I had an emergency cesarean with my third baby and although it was not planned, I was so thankful to have a healthy baby in my arms. I knew when I was pregnant the next time that I didn't want to have another surgical birth so I waded through doctors and landed back in the arms of midwives. I had a successful VBAC for the remainder of my pregnancies. My last baby was born safely at home.
It was during my early motherhood days that I was drawn to birth. That passion grew and I finally made the leap into birth work in 2014. I became a birth doula in 2014, a HypnoBabies HypnoDoula in 2015, then a Lamaze Childbirth Educator in 2016. I knew I wanted more so, in 2017, I began a midwifery assistant program through the Oklahoma Midwives Alliance. This consisted of 9 modules and working alongside 4 amazing midwives in one of the most established practices in Oklahoma. 18 months later I was certified as an assistant midwife and continued serving families in the same practice totaling 6 years. I've attended around 250 births. I had the privelege of working and learning from 7 different midwives while I was apprenticing.
In 2019, I decided to take the next step and work towards becoming a midwife. I decided to go through NARM's (North American Registry of Midwives) PEP (Portfolio Evaluation Process), which is a way for direct entry midwives to study and gain the necessary skills to become a midwife. NARM sets the standard for the competency-based Certified Professional Midwife (CPM). During this process, you learn alongside registered preceptors to gain entry level knowledge, skills, and expertise to practice as a competent midwife. I have not sat for the NARM which means I am an unlicensed and uncertified midwife. Although I am unlicensed, I will uphold community standards in my midwifery practice. Traditionally midwives were unregulated in Oklahoma. In 2019, Oklahoma midwives worked together to write a bill allowing midwives to be recognized as licensed healthcare providers. This bill was signed by Governor Stitt in 2020. This bill protected "community midwives" which allowed uncertified and unlicensed midwives to continue practicing midwifery. You can read the bill on the Oklahoma State Legislature website (SB 1823 2020 Regular Session).
