This great article illustrates, through discussion of actual cases, the many variations that labor may take and how diet, fear, and even religious beliefs may affect it.
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Lovely Labor
Every woman is different and every labor is different. In this editorial, Jan shares some of the ways labor can be experienced by different women.
What Do Doulas Really Do?
Doula Penny Simkin discusses the positive impact that doulas have on birth outcomes. They provide a unique form of labor support that is different from that of other caregivers involved in the birth process–but complements the roles of others. Simkins describes why this is so.
Doulas: A Global Phenomenon
In order to feel protected during this time of neocortical inhibition, some modern women naturally prefer to rely on a doula.
Learning to Trust Birth through Continuity of Care
Continuity of care, with the same care provider, can dramatically improve a woman’s pregnancy and birth experience, her recovery, and her ability to successfully process her birth journey. Deep bonds of empathy, mutual respect, and emotional safety can develop between the birthing woman and her birth attendant. These qualities, though rarely measured, enable and empower a woman to delve into the depths of her strength, self-reliance, and independence. This care-giving-and-receiving relationship, founded on trust and honesty, is an ideal model. It is profoundly satisfying, as a care provider, to experience what it means to be “with woman.” When we emphasize the importance of being present with a client—connecting, listening, and relating—we promote quality relationships and focus on key concepts in the context of a positive birth experience.
An Interview with Ray McAllister: A Blind Doula
An interview with a unique birth doula—a blind man who came to the work from massage therapy.
Peripartum Cardiomyopathy: Snatched from the Hands of Death
Complications can sometimes mar what seems to be a birth gone well. Learn about the sign of peripartum cardiomyopathy and its risk to moms.
Prenatal Care
Continuity of carer is key to a normal, physiological, and empowered birth. Midwifery is about relationship which develops in the course of prenatal care.
Cultural Differences in Waterbirth Practices
Many US practitioners are unaware that we do waterbirth differently than our European colleagues who developed it. Many of these European doctors and midwives are upset at that difference and would like US midwives to change the way we do waterbirths. There are two crucial differences in the way waterbirth is taught on the two continents.