Interventions and Mortality
The maternal and neonatal mortality rates in the US are disgraceful. Diana Paul discusses some of the factors that have led to this current situation and how we could learn from the British on improving it.
The maternal and neonatal mortality rates in the US are disgraceful. Diana Paul discusses some of the factors that have led to this current situation and how we could learn from the British on improving it.
Wisdom of the Midwives – Conversations from Facebook Issue 132
A practical article on the basics for a homebirth midwife’s birth bag.
Read more…. The Portable Office: A Peek into a Midwife’s Homebirth Bag
Sometimes it is easier to trust the innate intelligence in natural processes when science discovers or confirms through scientific studies the validity of something that is believed to be true, like upright positioning for birth, or something previously unknown, like the benefits of the human microbiota. Most recent is a growing respect of the microbiota at birth and its effect on long-term health.
A doula shares her frustration with having to navigate natural childbirth in a sea of time limits and interventions.
Midwife MorningStar speak of nature’s right timing. “Preparing a woman or preparing ourselves for right timing begins with not setting time limits. If a woman’s people take longer to grow a baby, she may, too.
A nice couple, organic farmers whom I had met the previous year, were pregnant and seeing my friend Lori,for their care as they planned their homebirth. This very healthy Jewish couple was looking forward to the birth of their first baby.
Sadly, when the mom was 34 weeks and four days, the mother felt that something was not right. Lori stopped by their home to listen and could not hear the baby’s heartbeat. She called me from the road as she drove to the hospital, ultimately for confirmation of the baby’s death.
A student midwife takes on state governments’ encroachment of women’s rights to birth where and how they choose.
A traditional midwife recounts her journeys to a newly post-soviet Russia, taking us on a tour of a changing birth culture, from the Roddoms of the cold war era to pioneering birth camps at the Black Sea.
Read more…. From the Roddom to the Black Sea: My Experiences in Russia
“There is more to the transport of a woman with her heart set on a natural out-of-hospital birth experience than communicating facts.” What is the midwife’s role in transport? How can she best support her client and help to facilitate communication with a hospital culture that is not always receptive to her efforts? Find out in this illuminating article from a CNM who has walked both sides.
How can we help ourselves and other midwives not burn out from the time-consuming, all-encompassing work that is midwifery? In this article, author Jodilyn Owen offers some sound advice based on her own past struggles with time management and burnout.
Read more…. The Mindfulness of Midwifery: Creating a Practice with Intent