Charlene (Lainna) Wheatley

Charlene Campbell Licensed Midwife, LM, CPM

I have enjoyed serving birthing families since 1985. I grew up in a large family with a mother who modeled natural birthing and breastfeeding. I began my study of midwifery as an apprentice and after practicing for many years in a non regulated province, went on to receive a formal education in midwifery. During this time, I also birthed my own 5 children with midwives and helped my four grandchildren in their journeys from the womb. After traveling to Jamaica to gain more extensive clinical training, I received three degrees from the Midwives College of Utah; an Associate of Science in Midwifery, a Bachelor of Science in Midwifery and finally a Master’s of Science in 2005.

One of my greatest joys is to assist families in welcoming their sweet children to this earth. I am passionate about supporting and encouraging women and their families to trust their intuition and become informed to make choices that reflect what they truly desire and want.

I feel blessed to be involved with midwifery students as they make this journey toward becoming midwifes and love the motto at MCU which is “Midwifing Midwives”. I have worked since 2003 in  a variety of positions with the Midwives College of Utah, including: Course Instructor, Course Developer, Academic Dean and Midwifery Department Head. My work with MCU continues to be a rewarding and joyful experience. I have recently recieved my Washington State  Midwifery License. I am truly honored to serve and assist couples as they welcome their sweet babes into this world in a safe and gentle way.

A Little about my journey to Midwifery….

When I was a young girl, I remember watching my mother bring home each baby from the hospital and laying the newborn on her bed so tenderly. We all stood around to view the sweet little addition to our family with awe and respect. My mother breastfed all of us and did not hide in a bedroom to do it… it was part of daily life and we just accepted this as the normal thing. I never once saw a bottle in our home. I did not know how unusual this was until I grew older and realized that bottle feeding was the norm at that time. When I took a class called childcare 12 in high school, my mother explained how she had natural childbirth with all nine of us. As a nurse she saw how women were medicated and did not remember or have control over their deliveries because they were so drugged. She was determined not to have this experience and read a book while pregnant with her first baby called “Childbirth without fear” by Grantly Dick Reed. She shared how she at times would have to fight off the anesthesiologist with comments like, “My doctor says I don’t have to have that.” or “I’m fine, I really am, I don’t need that”, They would continue to offer medication throughout her labors! Anyway, I did a presentation in my childcare class on “Natural Childbirth” complete with hand drawn diagrams of the dilating cervix and contracting uterus!

When I became pregnant with our first baby, it became apparent in my third trimester that my doctor was not the person who would be the best caregiver for me at my birth. There were no registered midwives at the time and I was able to find a doctor who would work with my midwife/childbirth educator in the hospital.  We had a beautiful “La Boyer” birth complete with the little warm bath, low lighting and gentle touch. The next birth brought with it unexpected circumstances which led to a cesarean section delivery.

With our third baby, I planned to birth at home but the midwife who had worked with us through our first two births was in the process of becoming regulated and was not supportive of a home delivery for me. I knew from the reading i had done (Silent Knife by Nancy Cohen) that the hospital procedures (routine IV, “trial of labor”, negative attitude of staff regarding VBAC birth, etc) would not be conducive to a healthy outcome for me.

I had one friend who I had met who had just completed her midwifery training and expressed her full support of my decision. I will never forget her amazing care as she came to my home each night for several weeks before the delivery to massage my lower legs and feet with oil. They would be swollen and sore with the stress of the upcoming birth weighing on my mind…by the time she left for home I would be as limp and relaxed as a rag doll and in a deep slumber only to fall into a deep and restful sleep for the night. It was miraculous. Who was this amazing woman? Someone that i admired and wanted to emulate….. I went on to have a beautiful home birth with the support of my friend.

This was the beginning of my serious study of midwifery, a calling and passion that  has remained throughout the past 25 years. My friend began a small school in her home and a few of us began our intense journey of learning and discovery. I apprenticed with her for several years and attended my first birth as a primary care midwife in 1987. In 1988 we moved to Vancouver Island where I joined a wonderful study group on Hornby Island. I attended many conferences all over North America and also studied with Apprentice Academics distance midwifery program. I birthed two more children at home with my friend who traveled out for my deliveries from back east where she worked with the Amish people. I was so happy to have someone I trusted and loved at my births. Paulo Luigi, my last baby, was born with the comforting and pain relieving benefits of a water birth. What a joy filled experience! Thus the name of my practice “BirthJoy”!

We moved to Calgary in 1997 as a result of a job change for my husband. I was very lonely and when I expressed this to a friend who lived up north; she proceeded to find me a friend online….home birthing, homeschooling woman in Calgary! We met and she introduced me to a group of women who were serious midwifery students. Midwifery had finally been regulated in 1997 and those of us who were primarily apprentice trained where looking for more formal ways to qualify for licensing. The group decided, after researching all of the possible schools available, that MCU was the best one out there! We began our study that year. I felt confident in my ability to be successful with the distance style of learning because there were so many us and we had scheduled times to meet each week to support one another. I was disappointed when I learned that my husband’s job was changing again and I would be moving back to BC after all. I would have to be independent in my study habits and commitment.

I worked hard, rising each morning at 5 am to study and complete tasks. I consistently set and re evaluated goals for my progress. I was teaching my five children at home and so I had to work around their schedules. I would bring my work (all on hard copy back then) to every piano, dance or violin lesson and worked hard every minute I could to achieve my goals.  I would also schedule time to go the library and have a sitter come in or family friend watch the children. I used many techniques to help with overcoming my learning challenges such as brain gym, EFT, aromatherapy, etc. I completed my associate degree in 2001!

I was inspired by Jodi Fisher, the schools president at the time to go on and get a bachelors degree and with the support and loving guidance of Diane Bjarnsen, I was able to complete that in 2003 when I also began teaching for MCU. I decided to continue and received a master of science in midwifery in 2005.  In 2005 I co authored the following article: Second Attendants in British Columbia: A New Training Model and presented my thesis on Second Attendants at the the Midwifery Way conference held in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Canadian Institute for Health Information (2005).

Since then I have been blessed to assist in course development, revision, and teaching. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with so many students who I have been able to empathize with so deeply and passionately. I know the struggles and the challenges of this mode of study and want to help others become successful! This desire led to the creation of the training DVD’s for distance learning students. I would have given so much to have something like this when I was learning and wanted to be able to give something meaningful to the future midwifery students of the world!

The Newborn exam was the most recent of the three DVD’s with Midwife’s Assistant Orientation being the first of the three produced. Midwife Assistant Orientation was a mixture of a live workshop for midwifery assistants and a number of emergency skill demonstrations. General Skills for the Student Midwife was created based on a course, Health Skills 131, at the Midwives College of Utah and covers all of the skills from the first section of the Practical Skills Guide for Midwives. The Newborn Exam for the Student Midwife has a live twin waterbirth. They all contain at least one waterbirth and the last two show footage of land and waterbirths as illustrations of various skills and concepts.

My Mother and I…