About this site
Consult the Midwife is an independent publication launched in October 2022 by Tricia (Spears) Shelby. Tricia is currently in a season of restoration with her new husband, Rob, after both lost their spouses in 2018 and 19 respectively. They now joyfully split time between their beautiful home in Phoenix and their breathtaking off-grid mountain property in Northern Arizona. They often travel to fun getaways to see and explore as much as possible during these numbered years between becoming empty-nesters and becoming grandparents.
Tricia considers herself one of the original "crunchy mamas" of the early 1990's. When she became mom to a sweet baby boy and decided that she would walk the path less traveled - by embracing all things natural, holistic and alternative. She was an attachment parent, following her instincts as a protective mama bear, long before the term was officially coined. Tricia went on to have 2 daughters as well. She was blessed to have a friendship group where the topics of conversation often revolved around natural health, breastfeeding, herbal remedies, homeopathy, gardening, food preservation, non-toxic products, home education and many other similar topics. Those conversations throughout her early years of parenting, now a treasured distant memory, paved the way for a lifetime of study and eventually led to her career as a home delivery midwife.
In 2011, Tricia opened a Freestanding Birth Center in Northern Ohio that housed an Herb Shoppe - which stocked all her frequently suggested supplements, essential oils, homemade soaps, and even cloth diapers. Many years later she would open and manage a Wellness Center so she could expand her clientele beyond pregnant and newly postpartum mothers. She and her staff used many modalities to help clients detox their system and pursue improved health. That would be very short lived, as tragedy struck for a second time - when Tricia lost her beloved middle daughter to complications of Type One Diabetes in 2020. This would prompt Tricia to move from the Midwest to Arizona for a fresh start.
There has been a tug on Tricia's heart for many years to get all the stories and lessons she learned as a midwife and holistic healer out of her head and on paper - or a blog post, as it is currently. It was such a privilege to serve families during the childbearing year. In the small community, Tricia became revered as the "country doctor" of sorts [disclaimer: Tricia is NOT a medical doctor, and does not represent herself as such], and expanded her knowledge on an as-needed basis in order to best serve those who depended on her well-researched suggestions. It would be a shame for this hard-earned knowledge to lay dormant and eventually die with her – prompting the opening of this blog.
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