Midwifery Today, Issue 81, Spring 2007

Theme: Primal Health
Cover photo by Shawna Wentz

The focus of this issue is Primal Health. The Primal Period is the time between conception and the end of the first year after birth. An event occurring during that time—whether it be drug exposure, death of a parent, or a stressful birth—can have irreversible effects on the health of an individual for the rest of his or her life. The state of health at the end of this period is called Primal Health.

Departments

Poetry

From the Editor: We Can Improve Primal Health

Jan Tritten

Editor in Chief Jan Tritten her response and the responses of three other birth professionals about The Lancet’s series of papers on solutions to maternal mortality internationally.

Networking

Tricks of the Trade

Midwifery Model of Care—Phase II: Networks in the Birth Community

Marion’s Message: MDG 5: Something We Can Work With

Media Reviews

Birth As We Know It (DVD), Having Faith: An Ecologist’s Journey to Motherhood, Nurturing Baby and Me during Pregnancy, A Midwife’s Story, Listening to Mothers II: Report of the Second National US Survey of Women’s Childbearing Experiences

News

Classified Advertising

Calendar

Photo Album

Features

Primal Health: History of a Concept

Michel Odent

Contributing Editor Michel Odent describes the genesis of the concept of primal health, defining the terminology and discussing resources to learn more.

Antisocial Behaviours from a Primal Health Research Perspective

Michel Odent

Reprinted from Volume 13, Number 4, of Primal Health Research, this article discusses a variety of studies that link events during the primal period to a variety of behaviors/conditions under the heading of “antisocial,” including schizophrenia, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other categories.

Trusting Birth Even More

Carla Hartley

The author shares the story of the births of two granddaughters, which reinforced her belief in women’s ability to give birth.

Group B Strep Prophylaxis: What are We Creating?

Mary Lou Singleton

A midwife and herbalist discusses the practice of (and in some cases, requirement for) the use of antibiotics in labor for women with group B strep and the potentially lifelong negative outcome for babies. She also offers some age-old alternatives to this regimen.

Epidurals: Risks and Concerns for Mother and Baby

Sarah J. Buckley

A discussion of primal health would be incomplete without the inclusion of epidurals in labor, since they are used in approximately two-thirds of US births and are common in most developed countries. Frequent contributor Sarah J. Buckley, MD, explains the effects of this intervention, providing a good argument against using it for uncomplicated births.

Nine Web Site Strategies to Generate More Clients

Sheri Menelli and Adriane Smith

This is another practical marketing article geared to helping midwives become more successful in their practices.

Who Is the Bully?

Marinah Valenzuela Farrell

This second article in our series on bullying discusses what bullies do and why they do it.

Manual Rotation Maneuvers for Persistent OP Position

Katherine Bramhall

Occipital posterior position is the most common malposition at delivery, contributing to low Apgars and birth trauma. The author explains why manual rotation may be a good option for helping to prevent these complications.

Psychological and Emotional Dystocia

Heidi Nielson Sylvester

Dystocia has not only physical causes, but emotional and psychological ones. This article identifies those causes and suggests some strategies that women and their carers can use to avoid or minimize this problem.

Foreskins for Keeps: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Gloria Lemay

Contributing Editor Gloria Lemay tells about her path to ending circumcision by January 2008.

A Lamentation of Birth

Jasmine Rae Ojala

The journey of one woman from an over-medicalized and unfulfilling birth to becoming a “radical birth activist.”

The Midwife’s Grandchild: When the New Grandmother Is an Expert on Babies and Birth

Becky Sarah

Being an “expert” grandmother—whether a midwife, lactation counselor, doula or other professional—does not guarantee that your own daughters or daughters-in-law will do things “your” way. This article, a prelude to a book on the subject, discusses some of the issues that may come up in such a situation.

The Language of Desire

Kathleen Furin

Based on her own experience, the co-director of the Maternal Wellness Center, proposes an alternative for birth education, including not just the mechanics but women’s desires and feelings about their upcoming birth.

The Business of Midwifery: The Financial Plan

Linda Lieberman

Midwife Linda Lieberman discusses how to develop a financial plan for uninsured families.

International Midwife

Cards & Letters

My Midwifery Practice in Israel

Ilana Shemesh

From high school to the present, Ilana Shemesh tells us how she moved to Israel and built her current homebirth midwifery practice.

Soaking in Midwifery

Andrea Boltz

Baby Breath

Sister MorningStar

A sweet birth story excerpted from the upcoming book, The Power of Wimyn.

Birth in Sweden

Nati Steverlynck

Learn about birth in Sweden through the telling of this birth story.