Midwife and researcher Judy Slome Cohain dissects currently available published research and finds that hospital birth is never safer than a planned, attended homebirth for low-risk women.
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.
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
We seem to have spent the last few years reeling from assault after assault on the concept of normal birth. Have you wondered, as I have, what is going on? This isn’t a matter of chance; it’s a concerted effort. Read more…. The Assault on Normal Birth: The OB Disinformation Campaign
As midwifery is poised to go mainstream, we must be very clear on our foundation: What is essential to our work, and what is momentary or temporary? In other words, what about midwifery has endured, and what must endure if we are to continue to provide what women want when they seek midwifery care? Read more…. The Enduring Qualities in Midwifery
Someone asked me what things are done differently with vaginal births after cesarean (VBAC) as opposed to a first baby. Midwives usually reply to this question with a reassuring, Oh, we treat you normally, but there are differences in the two situations that can be distinguished in midwifery practice. Read more…. Midwifery Care for the VBAC Woman
Women pregnant after a previous cesarean section have special needs and concerns. Read more…. A VBAC Primer: Technical Issues for Midwives
I went to a totally beautiful and undisturbed birth today. Five of them, actually! The mother had the most natural births as we looked on, not disturbing her but just being “with woman.” With woman—with kitty. Read more…. Lessons from Kitty Birth: Using Placenta to Control Hemorrhage
Photo by Hal Gatewood
Without adequate testing of Cytotec (misoprostol) for labor induction, obstetricians simply began to use it on their birthing women. They were taking advantage of a huge loophole in our drug regulatory system. Read more…. Cytotec Induction and Off-Label Use
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
