CBS Midwifery | Owned & Run by New York City Midwives Since 1982

Barbara Sellars, CNM

The International Day of the Midwife

May 5, 2019

For forty years I have had the privilege of practicing midwifery, an endeavor more rewarding, demanding, and just plain fun than anything else in my life except motherhood. Thank you all for being a part of it - I have such wonderful memories!

As I midwife, one practices every day, in the same way a musician or an athlete, a yogi or an artist must practice. I would have happily continued to practice, learning new things and meeting new people, but the nights and the years caught up with me.

A year ago I stopped attending births, but have had the continuing pleasure of seeing clients for well-woman health care needs. Unfortunately, the office where I was subletting space at a very reasonable rate was closed at the end of March. Efforts to find affordable part-time space, suitably equipped, have been futile. WeWork doesn’t seem to have gyn exam rooms.

While I will no longer be practicing midwifery, I will always be a midwife. The email, texts, and phone calls will still reach me, and I maintain client records until the youngest child turns 21 years old, or it’s been more than 7 years since you were seen for other than pregnancy care.

Please stay in touch - I love seeing your photos and sharing your news. I will be gardening, traveling, and studying French.

Love and best wishes,
Barbara

Blog

THANKSGIVING MILESTONE!

On November 29, 2015

By Barbara

CBS Midwifery’s 3,500th client gave birth on Thanksgiving Day – we were all so grateful for a beautiful healthy baby girl and 38 years of our practice. Next up: Barbara’s 2,000th! (That’s babies, not birthdays). Stay tuned for the big announcement!

France with Friends

On September 25, 2015

By Barbara

I had a wonderful week at a chateau in the countryside near Lautrec (9/18-23) with 9 other friends of Catherine Carr, to celebrate her birthday. Catherine & I met in nursing school, then became midwives & dear friends.

Mornings at the Chateau D’Aragon began with a trip into the village for fresh croissants & pain aux raisins or citron. Then over our coffee or tea & pastries we’d decide who was going where with whom. I saw some of Toulouse, Castres, Carcassone, & Albi, & hiked “The Crests” tour around Lautrec. Each evening we had a fabulous dinner cooked by Cousin John, one of the party who’s a professional chef from San Francisco.

The actual birthday celebration featured a chocolate mousse cake from the local patisserie & the surprise announcement to Catherine that we had established a scholarship in her name through the American College of Nurse Midwives.

Many thanks to Nicole for taking good care of all our clients while I was having such a great time!

Catherine and Barbara hiking around Lautrec

We made crowns out of sparkly pipe cleaners for the party – here’s my royal look!

A fun few days at the Jersey Shore

On August 15, 2015

By Barbara

Barbara spent a fun few days at the Jersey Shore with her sister Daphne, granddaughter Clementine, & grandson Kieran. They played pinball when it rained & mini-golf when it didn’t, & had some beautiful beach days.

Here is Barbara sharpening her eye-hand coordination at the Silverball Arcade.

Barbara, her sister, & grandkids after a round of mini-golf

Summer

On August 4, 2015

By Nicole

Wow, I can’t believe it is already August! Some summer highlights include our annual Fire Island week where Eleanor was big enough (and brave enough) this year to swim in the ocean with her daddy, cousins, aunts, uncles and Nonna. What a delight to listen to squeals of joy as she jumped over the crashing waves. We also had a fantastic time, again, at the Newport Folk festival. A bit harder this year since Eleanor is on the move, and much of our time was spent chasing her through throngs of festival-goers, but as always, she made lots of people smile. We had a great time with our friends and we had the added treat of my in-laws joining in the fun. In July we welcomed the newest member of our family, my niece, baby Jessie who is absolutely darling. Summer in our new house has been incredible. We’ve spent countless days at the town pool and in our backyard picking blackberries and tomatoes, making new friends, swinging in the hammock and playing with the garden hose. We even cleaned out our backyard pond and got our very first pets–fish! Looking forward to many more BBQs before the summer comes to an end.