Spotlight Series
Guest Name: Desi Wightman
Credentials: LDEM, CPM, RD – Motherheart Midwifery
Desi Wightman: okay awesome
Dr. Betty DeLass: so um Desi is C it was called to Midwifery in 2020 she trained under many exceptional Utah midwives and completed the requirements for her CPM and LDEM in early 2024 a proponent of client centered care Desi loves to guide mothers to their best choices for nurturing the Next Generation as a registered dietitian and herbalist Desi also carries a passion for wholesome nourishing foods and herbs that build strong bodies improve health outcomes and nurture Generations she believes in and teaches small simple sustainable changes to promote longevity and vitality thank you so much Desi for being on the spotlight series
Desi Wightman: thanks for asking me Betty
Dr. Betty DeLass: yeah absolutely so let’s jump right into the questions of what made you decide to be a midwife and tell us your journey to that because you were called into this so
Desi Wightman: yes um I I’ve run a farm for probably about well since 2011 and we had a co-op and met lots of wonderful people who would come and help us and when 2020 started one of those people called me and said I’m pregnant and I’m really worried about this covid thing if I can’t deliver in the hospital will you deliver my baby and I just was stunned because I said said why are you calling me and she said because you know you help all your animals birth babies and I said no I don’t I just let them do it themselves but in that moment um the spirit just hit me hard and said she’s not going to be the last to ask you you need to learn as much as you can as quickly as you can
Dr. Betty DeLass: wow
Desi Wightman: and I was very stunned and completely like it was just it just came out of nowhere and I have a special needs child my youngest of seven and takes pretty much round the-clock care and I just thought how on Earth am I going to do this I I don’t know how I’m going to follow this prompting with her but at the same time it felt so right everything in my life had been leading up to this and it felt so right that I thought why didn’t I start this 20 years ago and I just knew that it was my path and what I was supposed to pursue so then I set off on the Journey of trying to find out how to do that with this special Niche child that I have lots of programs will require you to fly to fly to different states for training or or just the the cost of college at that point was just out of the question for my family and and with her needs and so I finally remembered that I have a friend down the street who was a doula and I asked her and then she hooked me up with an amazing Midwife in Utah County and from there I met so many wonderful people and learned about the preceptorship program where you could train as a midwife right where you are and being a Apprentice to many midwives and so I’ve worked with probably about 12 different midwives and it’s just been such a blessing because I I feel like I stand on their shoulders right I am I am nothing but they have helped me develop and grow into a midwife and I’m so grateful for that program that allows you to do study on your own you do all the study you take a national exam at the end of that a board exam but you get all your experience through working with these amazing women and there’s all sorts of styles of Midwifery out there and I just got to see a whole breath of that through working with these amazing midwives and I would just love to name them all but I’m afraid I would forget them but the Midwife Community is just amazing in Utah and they have been such a blessing to my path and my journey and helping me fulfill this mission that I am supposed to be embark on so that’s amazing glad to finally be at this end of it
Dr. Betty DeLass: what a cool story what a cool story K what do you feel like Makes You Different in the way that you deliver care
Desi Wightman: um one thing is that I am I’m a classical Midwife I I’ve trained with a lot of classical midwives so I don’t know that that’s super different but it’s not the medical model of Midwifery it is a holistic very client centered um care where you’re collaborating together as as the Midwife and the client I also am passionate about plants and herbs that’s probably my first Passion I don’t know why I raise animals I raise a lot of plants too and a lot of herbs I have a lot of herbs on my farm that I use and I make my own herbal products but that’s not so distinct either so I don’t know that what makes me distinct because I just love these women who are midwives but I do have a deep faith and trust in life and life’s processes whether that be life death um probably the most thing that makes me most distinct is that I have the special needs daughter who had a complicated birth and complicated labor and and pregnancy and I have learned to live day by day and to trust the Lord and bottom line like I never know what’s going to go on with her and I just have to turn over all my control to heaven and that’s what I do when I go into a birth space is I know this is the Lord’s plan and I’m instrumental in in really tuning into what he wants me to do and then really trusting the outcome and all those outcomes have been good so far so you know sometimes things arise in women’s lives where it is unpredictable you know and and the pregnancies are complicated and having those resources and that compassion and empathy is is such a blessing because I’ve been there and I know what that looks like and I know how life-changing it can be and so hopefully we don’t work with too many of those patients because we refer them on but in the beginning when we’re screening for that I understand I understand that part of their life
Dr. Betty DeLass: totally totally what a unique perspective there for sure okay um who would be an ideal fit for you
Desi Wightman: I love clients who are motivated to take responsibility for their health and who who want to direct their care I love to give suggestions and promote Wellness but I need I prefer working with clients who want to who recognize that their stewardship is thems and their baby and their body and that I’m just there to guide their choices and to give them the information so they can make the best decision for their not only for their pregnancy but for their lives and for their growing families so really motivated clients
Dr. Betty DeLass: yeah or anybody who would like to learn to be right right okay uh what does the process look like to work with you then did someone just call you do they go to your website how do they how do they start working with you
Desi Wightman: yes I have a website or they could contact me I think the first thing is to have a consultation either by a zoom or um by a phone call or person whatever they prefer I think it’s really important that people realize that not every Midwife is a match for every person and that there are so many amazing midwives in the valley and you need to find that person who you feel safe with and who you want at your birth who you can trust and really um bond with because in midwif free care it’s all about that Bond it’s all about that trust of your provider that matters right it’s not just a one-time interaction I see you and catch your baby and walk out and see you six weeks later it’s a whole journey of really promoting trust and safety so that when you’re in that vulnerable labor birth stage and postpartum that you want that person in your space and so I recognize that not everybody is a fit for everybody and it’s really important to sit down and interview and get really comfortable with who you want in that Earth space and so that’s what I encourage just a free consultation to see if we’re a match
Dr. Betty DeLass: awesome awesome cool and then talk to us about your clinical ethos on recovery and what recovery means what does it look like postpartum um you can go any dire there’s multiple directions you could go with that but give us the a a short and simple version of like what does recovery mean to you clinically
Desi Wightman: that is what I love about being a midwife is that no woman is left alone after she delivers because that is the fourth trimester and In classical Midwifery we we meet with those patients the day after they have a baby um a few days after they have a baby you know a week after they have the baby two weeks and then at the sixth week and anytime in between when that woman needs an extra boost um we love to refer for herbal supplements food based supplements if if people are struggling with mental challenges after they have their baby we love to refer to um pelvic floor therapists like Reborn Health if if women need help with Cy cells or rectus cells or or prolapsing or just aren’t feeling up to themselves right and so we’re just there to either do what we can with lactation with with um um healing and emotions and then we refer to Providers when it’s out of our scope of care so it is just so critical for me to connect with other people in the community who are there to take care of women and to give them the resources they need so they’re not just left to struggle on their own because that fourth that four trimester can be really challenging and no woman should be left unsupported it’s the groundwork for her her mothering of that child and that that child’s position in that family and it lasts a long time those six weeks or eight weeks really matter we like to give women those resources
Dr. Betty DeLass: amazing amazing love that Kate what’s something that most people don’t know that you think that they should know about what you do
Desi Wightman: I think that most women or most people believe that birth is dangerous and that it’s scary and that it has to be medically managed and I of course would love to help people understand that birth is a physiological beautiful experience I say I respect birth I don’t necessarily trust birth right birth can be many many Avenues of all sorts of things but as a midwife in an outof hospital setting we are looking for pink flags not red flags right we’re looking for those warning signs and seeing do we have the scope and the skills to manage this at home and we often do and we can change those pink flags into green flags um if the pink flags continue to be dangerous then we transfer for care needed in a hospital and we’re so grateful for the collaboration of hospitals and medical people who have greater skills for dealing with complications and so our our ideal and my ideal is I’m there to keep your birth and your baby and your body safe and I really believe in communication with you with a client you know to say hey this is what I’m seeing here’s the risks here’s the benefits here’s the Alternatives here’s what happens if you do nothing and then we can make a decision together what what the best course of action is by and large most births are so amazing when women start prenatally with good nutrition and and build that trust in their providers it is the most amazing empowering experience which helps women for the rest of their lives become the mother and the wife that they want to be
Dr. Betty DeLass: absolutely so cool okay um what is there anything special that you want to promote to the audience watching whether that’s like an event coming up or something that you have going on
Desi Wightman: well I I am a registered dietitian I love nutrition and I am an herbalist self-taught but I’ve been studying herbs plants for 30 years and I also do placenta encapsulation so anybody who contacts me from this let’s give you 10% off of of placenta encapsulation or a nutrition consultation or herbs that you might want to to pick out so just mentioned Betty the last interview and we’ll give you 10%
Dr. Betty DeLass: that’s so generous of you thank you so much for our audience okay um what’s this is my favorite question what is the main thing that you want to be known for
Desi Wightman: I I had a client who gave me this necklace and it says faith on it and I want to be known for someone who is full of faith and has faith enough to move mountains right and that’s how I feel like when I am I’m the hand a hand of God a servant of God and my love for him and respect for his work outweighs everything and is the guiding hand in my life and so if I can grow in faith and be a woman of faith that is my goal and mission in life
Dr. Betty DeLass: amazing that’s that’s wonderful thank you so much K where can we find you website social media anything like that that you can share with the audience so they can locate you and and work with you
Desi Wightman: so you can search Google Motherheart Midwifery I’m located in Herriman I travel to clients homes um or pick up placentas wherever I’m hired um yeah if you just look up Motherheart Midwifery I should pull up on Google I do have a website link there and I also have my phone number and contact information so
Dr. Betty DeLass: wonderful well thank you so much Desi um for being on our Spotlight series it’s been a pleasure chatting with you and thanks for all that you do in our community here
Desi Wightman: thank you so much Betty and same to you so grateful for pelvic floor therapists they’re amazing
Dr. Betty DeLass: you’re welcome