Photo by Jadell Films
Wisdom of the Midwives – Conversations from Facebook Issue 132
Photo by Regina Willette
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
Paige Driscoll—antacruzbirthphotographer.com
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.
Emily Robinson—emilyrobinsonphotoblog.com
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.
Photo by Lisa Tucker
A student midwife takes on state governments’ encroachment of women’s rights to birth where and how they choose.
Photo provided by author
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
Photo provided by the author
Alicia Kaye and new baby girl, Delilah Alexandra Pearl Kaye, relax with dad, Benjamin Kaye, and big brother, Calvin LaVere Kaye
After watching her mother grapple through a Pitocin/Cytotec induced birth, the author starts her quest to find a better, more natural, way of birthing.
“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.
Photo provided by Marsden Wagner
An intimate portrait of a legend in the birth field, Dr. Marsden Wagner.
Photo by Caroline E. Brown
Women are being undermined in subtle, yet important ways inside the typical American labor and delivery ward, concludes certified nurse-midwife Sandra Stine Tallbear in this succinct essay about learning to truly listen to a mother’s needs.
