Natural Healing: Practioner Profile: Aviva Romm
Midwife and herbalist Aviva Romm shares her insights on alternative medicine.
By Kelli Rosen
March/April 2001
Name: Aviva Romm
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Age: 34
Hometown: Canton, Georgia (just outside Atlanta)
Occupation: Certified professional midwife and clinical herbalist; director of LifeCycles Midwifery and Herbal Health Center; executive director and director of education and certification at the American Herbalists Guild; executive editor of the Journal of the American Herbalists Guild; author of Naturally Healthy Babies and Children (Storey, 2000), The Natural Pregnancy Book (The Crossing, 1997), ADHD Alternatives with husband Tracy (Storey, 2000), and two soon-to-be-published books, Vaccinations: A Guide for Thoughtful Parents (Healing Arts, 2001), and Natural Health for New Mothers (Healing Arts, 2001).
Education and Training: Bachelor of Science degree in women’s health studies from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts; self- and apprentice-trained in midwifery; attended Dominion Herbal College in British Columbia.
How did you first become interested in alternative medicine?
I began college to become a physician when I was just fifteen years old. I read an essay by Stanislav Graf entitled “The Perinatal Roots of War,” where he talks about how babies are born into the world and how it shapes their consciousness. If they’re violently born into the world surrounded by medication, they become people who are immersed in violence and drugs. His solution was to create gentle births. This really appealed to me, especially the political, spiritual, and environmental components of his argument. And as a teenager, it was the time to be revolutionary. I left school at sixteen and began to study midwifery and herbal remedies on my own. I read everything I could get my hands on.
What would you say to someone considering alternative medicine?
Trust your common sense and your body. Listen to your self as its own authority and don’t get swept up in fads and gimmicks. Understand from a deep level what is going on. Herbal medicine has a long tradition of looking at lifestyles, experiences, and circumstances. It’s much bigger than just, “Take these herbs and they’ll fix you.” Look to what’s been time-tested and consider a thoughtful blend of both traditional and scientific thinking.