Constance Sinclair, CNM

	Joined May, 1997 Department: Obstetrics & Gynecology (OB/GYN) Title: Certified Nurse Midwife Degree: CNM Interests: Needlework and crafts Languages: some Spanish Practitioner Homepage
Bio My grandfather was a minister and, as the minister's wife, my grandmother was frequently called upon to attend births of the neighborhood women. They homesteaded on the Canadian prairie and I have seen the remains of the Saskatchewan sod home where Grandma herself birthed 2 babies out in the middle of nowhere - where coyotes still roam! I am awed at the courage that it took in those days to bear children or to assist a neighbor or friend in birthing a baby. Midwifery is in my blood! Dad immigrated to the United States to attend college, where he met my mother. He became a minister and a college professor. I grew up in various states on the East Coast, the oldest of four children. My family moved to California when I was starting high school. My mother trained as an Ob/Gyn nurse-practitioner and retired from Kaiser Permanente in the Los Angeles area. I have been a registered nurse since 1970, when I graduated from Santa Monica College with my RN and an AA at the age of 18. Over the years, I have worked in intensive care, the emergency room, and maternity nursing, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed, but attending birthing women has always been my favorite work. In 1982, I went back to school to complete my Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Cal State Los Angeles, with the goal of becoming a nurse-midwife. I then relocated to Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania. I earned a Master of Science degree in Nursing in 1984, specializing in nurse-midwifery. I found this educational experience to be challenging and fulfilling. It was completed by a final "internship" working in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania with Amish families in a home birth practice where I delivered babies on the farm by kerosene lantern! After graduation, I stayed on in Philadelphia for several more years practicing as a midwife. I served on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. I have worked in a number of different clinical settings providing full-scope midwifery care. My favorite midwifery position is here at Kaiser Santa Rosa, where I have worked since 1997 and intend to stay until retirement. The nurses and physicians are supportive of midwifery care and we enjoy close working relationships. Working as a committed, motivated group, we are able to maintain high standards of care and are able to implement innovative programs to improve your hospital experience and health care. Since September 2004, we have offered nurse-midwifery care in Labor and Delivery around the clock, seven days a week. I enjoy working with women who want to give birth with as little intervention as possible as well as those who want to take advantage of all the latest technology. My goal is to support you in your plans for your baby's birth in a safe manner. I believe that when a woman is nurtured and supported in her labor and delivery experience, she is empowered and has even more to give as she begins motherhood. It is truly "touching the future"! I am one of those very lucky individuals who has a profession that I dearly love. At Kaiser Permanente, where mothers get good care and where my colleagues feel like family, I love coming to work. Each birth is celebrated as the unique and miraculous moment that it is. I want you to experience this special time in your life with deep satisfaction. It is my privilege to be present and to attend you through these miraculous moments.
My Medical Specialty
My specialty interests and affiliations within my field: Writing is my other professional passion. I have written for various journals, and contributed chapters to some textbooks. I have also written two books about maternity care and midwifery. The first was called Handbook of Obstetrical Emergencies. The most recent, published in 2004, is A Midwife's Handbook. "Look inside" at Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0721664318/102-704 If I ever write another book, it will be a juicy novel or maybe some poetry!
Interests
Family life is my priority in my off hours. I volunteer at school events when I can. I love doing all kinds of needlework and other crafts and teaching them to my daughters. We enjoy a day of making Christmas gifts together during the autumn. We also enjoy cooking together and, every December, a day is set aside for the girls and me to cook. The girls are getting proficient in cooking the family recipes! We all enjoy music. I play the piano and rewarded myself with a dulcimer when I graduated from my midwifery program. One daughter plays the piano and the other a guitar. We sing a lot--mostly to each other! I am also interested in genealogy, and have really enjoyed working on my own family's history. I trace our family's roots to Scotland, Ireland and England, Germany and Russia, with one Grandma from Spain. During a recent visit, I was pleased to overhear my daughters videotaping their Grandpa telling the story of going to school: five miles by horse-drawn sled in Saskatchewan. They are learning to treasure our history. My favorite book or author: I have too many favorite authors to list; but I await each of Amy Tan's new publications with great anticipation. Recently I enjoyed The Secret Life of Bees and The Kite Runner very much.	Hobby Photos & Links: My midwife grandmother, Margaret Sinclair and her family Cooking Christmas dinner 2004
Family & Friends
People in my life: In 1991, I moved to California where I could live in a mountain cabin near Yosemite and commute into Fresno to work as a midwife. It was there that I met my husband, Steve, on a blind date. It did not take us long to decide that we belonged together. My children and people I care about: We were blessed to have two daughters! We moved to Santa Rosa in 1993 with a baby and a one-year-old! They are middle-schoolers now. I love the feeling of living with two young women. They make life complete!	Photos of my Family & Friends: My husband Steve and I enjoying a picture we framed of the River Kwai. My sweet daughters!
My pets: We have a cranky old cat named Simba and a very enthusiastic terrier named Blackberry.	Pet Photos: Blackberry (Simba, typically, refused to pose!)
Travel
An adventure I've had: Favorite place in the world: I guess there couldn't be anywhere more romantic than Paris. One of my recent trips: My husband has traveled a great deal, and we have begun taking family trips now that the girls are a little older. During the summer of 2005, we took an exciting trip to Thailand where we spent two weeks. Bangkok, especially the Royal Palace, was nothing short of spectacular. We visited the River Kwai where we rode elephants, ate on a family-run raft-restaurant, and slept in a rattan raft-hotel on the river out in the jungle. Probably my favorite part of the trip, however, was in the north of Thailand where difficult-to-traverse mountains kept the countryside isolated for many years. Some tribal peoples still survive with their culture intact and we visited several. Always, the mamas are proud to be photographed with their babies!	A Photo of One of My Favorite Places: Paris, on my honeymoon Trip Photos: My daughter and I riding an elephant! A woman weaving, her son alongside A Lisu woman and her child A tribal woman holds her baby while we visit A child of the Karen tribe A Thai mom and her son
Other Links & Photos