Hands-On Care
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Photo by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography
In joining the world of licensed midwifery, I have stepped into an environment of fear and distrust that threatens what I do and who I am. Who else will suffer before we become who we are called to be—caregivers apart from the medical hierarchy?
Photo by Jonathan Borba
AJ was the first pregnant woman to test HIV-positive at The Childbearing Center at Morris Heights in the Bronx, New York, in 1996. She was devastated to find out that she was infected with HIV. It was a privilege to care for her. And I know that our specialized care made a difference in her life and her births.
Read more…. Extra Special Care for Birthing Women who happen to be HIV-positive
Photos provided by Author
Traditional midwifery cannot be understood on a timeline or through protocols. Nor is it a fascinating compendium of “tricks.” For the same reasons that it seems a lost art, I believe it will never disappear. For wherever a woman plants her spirit and says, “I’m with you,” a tradition is carried on.
Hace mas de 15 anos que observo a bebitos viajando con su placenta, es que la placenta se desprende de la matriz al nacer el bebe. Read more…. El Cordón y la fuerza de la vida—Algo Extraordinario
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
Photo by Khadeeja Yasser
“I set out to be an educator but was called upon by my community to do more, and I could not say no.” Raven’s Birth Book, currently out of print, is considered a classic in North American birth literature. Numerous prominent authors cite Raven’s work and credit her as both inspirational and educational.
Read more…. Raven Lang: A Founding Mother of Modern North American Midwifery
Photo by Toa Heftiba
Nurturing and protecting birth as a normal, natural process is the goal of our care during pregnancy. It is simple, noninvasive, necessary and deserved by pregnant women. Until we provide the care that each woman needs, we will continue to see more intervention and more unhappy families.
Photo by Timothy Meinberg
As midwives we are ever involved in measures to prevent maternal, fetal and newborn death. In the last couple of decades, we have added measures around HIV infection in order to prevent death of women and their babies from AIDS. But are we doing enough?
The midwife will perform a massage at every prenatal visit, during the birth and at postpartum visits. The mother’s mother may also massage her, as will her mother-in-law. The mother will then massage the new child. Read more…. The Primal Touch of Birth: Midwives, Mothers and Massage
Photo by Toa Heftiba
Prenatal massage and compassionate touch during the childbearing year are more than a primitive practice or luxurious pampering; they are an essential and vital part of holistic maternity care. Traditional healers and midwives still skillfully integrate the ancient healing arts of massage and midwifery.
Read more…. The Primal Touch of Birth: Midwives, Mothers and Massage
Look at your hands. These hands are holy-ordained by God to receive babies. What is the substance of this divine trust? What is the responsibility? Midwife, partera is a high calling. Read more…. Hands-On Care
Photo by Peter Oslanec
A very small percentage of babies are at risk of developing cerebral palsy in the perinatal period. But these are our most vulnerable of charges. If there is already some neurological damage, spare these babies hypoxic stress, if need be, by surgical intervention.
