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.
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 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.
Of 170 women given misoprostol (Cytotec) for induction with VBAC, eight have lost their uterus and two lost a baby as well, according to the combined data of two articles published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Read more…. Misoprostol: More on the dangers of Cytotec
The experimental use of misoprostol (Cytotec) to induce labor is putting an increasing number of pregnant women at risk without their knowledge or consent. Cytotec, a cheap prescription drug for ulcers, is not FDA approved for labor induction and has been linked to uterine rupture and fetal tachycardia. Read more…. Misoprostol (Cytotec) for Labor Induction: A Cautionary Tale
Off-label use of misoprostol (Cytotec) for labor induction has been steadily increasing for 10 years, even though this use is approved neither by the U.S. [FDA], other national drug regulatory agencies, the pharmaceutical industry, the Cochrane Library nor a number of national obstetric organizations Read more…. Adverse Events Following Misoprostol Induction of Labor
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
One of the greatest challenges before US midwives is teaching the value of hands-on care. Our culture’s love affair with machines, contraptions and gadgets has blinded literally hundreds of millions of people to the importance of human contact, feeling, experience and judgment in maternity care. Read more…. Teaching Respect for Hands-On Care
Women believe that birth is a dangerous medical event. The fact is that normal birth is safer than many things we do each day without a thought. Read more…. The Ties that Bind – How Belief Creates Birth Realities
What is a professional? How do we become professionals who serve women instead of ourselves? Is it possible? Read more…. Professional?
