Midwifery Knowledge Spread Around the World

by Jan Tritten

© 2009 Midwifery Today, Inc. All rights reserved.

[Editor's Note: This editorial originally appeared in Midwifery Today, Issue 89, Spring 2009.]

Cornelia Enning teaching placenta medicine in Germany

What is midwifery knowledge and what is midwifery or obstetrical myth? What do you need to know to be a great midwife?

To me, being a really good midwife requires a curious mind and a serving heart. I have met midwives from many different countries who exemplify these values. Some do not know how to read but are amazing midwives.

Naolí Vinaver teaching rebozo techniques in China

I ask again: What do we need to know to be a good midwife? I believe that we need to think about this because we are poised to be a real part of the health care system of this country. One answer to our health care crisis is midwives and out-of-hospital birth, where motherbaby has the best chance for a great start. That answer will also lead us to the kind of information we want to learn and spread around the birth world.

Angelina Martinez Miranda teaching cupping in Philadelphia

One of my main goals in doing conferences in different parts of the world is to gain unique knowledge, techniques and insights, and take that information to other parts of the world that can benefit from it. The other way to spread this midwifery knowledge from around the world is to bring it to the US at the conferences Midwifery Today presents here.

Penny Simkin teaching in China

I've seen that each culture that has not been taken over by interventive, mainstream medical birth culture has a lot to offer the rest of the world in terms of midwifery knowledge. When the Western medical model subsumes the practice of midwifery, we have to look to the old midwives in the culture to find the pearls of practice. This is not to say that we accept all of their ideas without discernment. There are, of course, many myths woven through the pearls of wisdom.

Sharing more rebozo techniques in Costa Rica

There are also the rich places where knowledge springs from the practitioners—either recent or newly incorporated into birth work. Some examples of this are cranial sacral therapy, massage therapy and homeopathy, which is older but still within that parameter. So much has recently been learned about the abilities of unborn and newborn babies that we can also study in depth.

Mayan midwives sharing techniques in Costa Rica

One of the richest places I have found in midwifery, herbal and healing knowledge is Mexico. It is unique in the world with the use of the rebozo in prenatal, birth and postpartum care. The "shawl" (see photo) is used to help women get pregnant, get babies ideally positioned, relax mom, move stalled labor along, "close the bones" postpartum and dozens of other specific uses. These midwives use many other massages in birth care. They also use the steam bath after birth and what looks like Chinese Medicine. Midwives from Mexico have taught this at many of our 50 conferences, thus midwives from other countries learn to use it. My friend Marta in Denmark used and taught it there and it has come into fairly regular practice among many midwives there. You see Naolí teaching it in China in the photo. She also taught it in Japan, Jamaica, Europe and the Bahamas and will teach it again in Denmark May 13–17, 2009. This cross-fertilization and respect that we learn to give each other gives so much hope to midwifery. Many different knowledge systems exist and we can learn so much from each other; if we just open our minds and suspend our judgment we can learn and then share.

Each one teach one.

Jan Tritten Jan Tritten is the founder and editor-in-chief of Midwifery Today magazine. She became a midwife in 1977 after the wonderful homebirth of one of her daughters. Her mission is to make loving midwifery care the norm for birthing women and their babies throughout the world. Meet Jan at our conferences around the world! [ PHOTO BY ANDREA NOLL ]   >  Editorials  Click here to read some of Jan's Midwifery Today editorials.   >  Curriculum Vitae  1947 Born in Los Angeles, California. 1965 Graduated from Placer High School in Auburn, California. 1966 Trained for one year as a psychiatric technician. Courses included basic nursing, pharmacology, microbiology, anatomy and physiology, psychology. 1966–1971 Worked at DeWitt State Hospital in Auburn, California as a psychiatric technician. 1968 Graduated from Sierra College with an Associate of Arts degree. 1970 Graduated with honors from Sacramento State College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science. 1971 Earned Lifetime California teaching credential with fifth-year program from Sacramento State College. 1972 First daughter born in a hospital. It changed my life forever. It was an unsatisfactory birth experience, but I had a wonderful postpartum experience with 2-1/2 years of breastfeeding. 1976 Second daughter born. She was born at home with a doctor who talked me into a homebirth. The difference between the two births sent me on a path to do something to help women have positive birth experiences. 1976 Began training as a midwife. Because I was raising young children and running a business, and because there were no CNM schools in my area, becoming a CNM was not within my reach. 1977 Began attending births with the Birth Co-op in Eugene while organizing courses in our community taught by CNMs, physicians, nutritionists, etc. 1978 Began a midwifery practice, New Life Care, with a partner, Chris Howard, and apprentice Monika Dunsmore. 1979 Son born at home. 1980 Did a one-year program with Marion Toepke McLean, CNM. Four of us completed the program, which was modeled after CNM curriculum at that time. She took a year off from her practice to teach us and to go to our births with us. 1982 First group of midwives certified by the Oregon Midwives Council. Our board was composed of CNMs and physicians. 1986 Slowed down practice and started Midwifery Today magazine.

I have joined MySpace and Facebook in an effort to connect with other birth change agents. My goal is to change birth practices around the world. I am also blogging more regularly for the same purpose. I invite you to read my blog (which is also pulled into my Facebook page), comment on it and link to it from your Web site or blog. Let's become "friends" on these sites!

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