A doula shares her frustration with having to navigate natural childbirth in a sea of time limits and interventions.
Photo by Eneyda Spradlin-Ramos
Marsden Wagner with Midwifery Today conference attendees
The world lost a treasure earlier this year, but his passion and kindness will forever remain in our hearts. This tribute contains memories, stories and thoughts about Marsden from some of his midwife friends. Read more…. In Memory of Marsden Wagner – A Friend to Midwives, 1930–2014
Editor-in-chief Jan Tritten reminds us to not simple follow culture, but to use right practices when we are dealing with motherbaby Read more…. Changing Birth Practices
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.
La maternidad segura toma en cuenta los derechos humanos de las mujeres, el derecho a decidir sobre sus vidas reproductivas; éste incluye los derechos en el parto, en especial el derecho a la información precisa sobre los riesgos y beneficios de los procedimientos en el parto. La institucionalización del parto es, en Costa Rica, una regla que habrá que revisar para tomar como punto de partida lo más importante: los sentimientos, necesidades y opiniones de las mujeres. Read more…. Mortalidad materna: La Maternidad Segura se encuentra en el Protagonismo de las Mujeres mismas
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.
…why not allow women the option to choose [caesarean section]? Unfortunately, the option to choose (or demand) is not that simple. CS, even when elective, carries serious risks for mother and baby. Read more…. Choosing Caesarean Section
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 by Lisa Tucker
A student midwife takes on state governments’ encroachment of women’s rights to birth where and how they choose.
“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
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.
