France Conference! Walk ins are welcome. There is still plenty of space to register for this important event.

You may call or fax in your registrations by Monday, 13 September. After that, only walk-in registrations will be accepted. PLEASE NOTE about TRANSLATION: All general sessions will now be bilingual as well as many more classes than originally indicated. See full program for details. Among the many translated workshops, the two-day Hands-on Midwifery Skills pre-conference class is not to be missed! LEARN MORE…

Mom’s sensitive, open tissues are going to be a-sitzing in this tea

Learn the art of the sitz bath in the E-News main article. Vulvodynia is the theme of the current issue of Midwifery Today E-News. “Vulvodynia (vul-vo-DIN-ee-uh), which means chronic vulvar pain, is a difficult reality for women who experience this condition. It can affect their lives in a variety of ways. … Frequently, this condition is undiagnosed and unacknowledged.” Respond to Question of the Week: Have you had luck treating or preventing vulvodynia? READ MORE…

Midwives Respond to Homebirth Study

Read the second midwife response to the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology report that questions the safety of planned homebirths. Judy Slome Cohain’s abstract: The recent Wax et al. meta-analysis (1) review of previously published homebirth research reflects the willingness of some medical journals to use data long ago dismissed as unreliable and pathetic lies about needing more data about maternal mortality to publish faulty conclusions in a flimsy attempt to discredit homebirth. READ RESPONSES…

The Autumn Issue Is Here!

The current issue of Midwifery Today is available. The theme for this issue is “First Stage.” Packed with informative, clinical articles related to the first stage of labor, this issue will help midwives understand the dangers of epidurals; the pros and cons of rupturing membranes; and the wonders of using homeopathic remedies for labor and birth. VIEW TABLE OF CONTENTS…

Whole Family Recipes: For the Childbearing Year and Beyond

Review by Cheryl K. Smith. “While not a vegetarian cookbook, Whole Family Recipes has a variety of nutritious vegetarian recipes, such as kale chips, Mexican tofu and vegetarian chili. It also has recipes for when kids are sick, as well as food for play, like peanut butter balls.” READ MORE…

Full Moon Birthing

“It was just the three of us. They wanted absolute privacy. After an hour or so, her water broke and she had a slight urge to push. The baby’s heart tones sounded wonderful. The night was warm and the moon was just on the horizon, yellow and full. She wanted to go to the tide pool.” [ ARTWORK BY VICTORIA TRUJILLO ] READ MORE…

Caesarean: just another way of birth?

Review by Elise Hansen. “ Mander calls, shouts, begs for more appropriate and applicable research to be done, including factoring in the birthing woman’s and her baby’s experiences, as well as taking a long, long look at the long-term implications for us all. She does not hesitate to discuss just who the beneficiary of this popular surgery might be and strongly implies that it may NOT be the women and babies it is supposed to be saving.” READ MORE…

Birth Emergency Skills Training

Review by Jan Tritten. “If you take the first letter of each word in the title, it spells BEST. The book is a comprehensive ‘Manual for Out-of-Hospital Midwives.’ It will help you serve women better because you will be armed with an amazing amount of information, right at your fingertips. It is spiced with many mnemonics to help you remember key information. It also includes many lists, tables, illustrations and photos—Bonnie is also an accomplished artist!” READ MORE…

Safer Birth in a Barn?

"She’s been in this box stall (when not out to pasture) for weeks, because she must be in a familiar environment to birth smoothly. There is her usual water and hay in the stall—never restrict their food in labor!" READ MORE…

Watch women reclaim their power as bearers of life…

…when you watch Born in Water: A Sacred Journey. This DVD is a fantastic collection of seven waterbirths, including a home waterbirth, and shows women surrendering to the power of their labor and giving birth without intervention. Anyone with preconceived notions of water birth as risky will find that this DVD dispels those fears and misconceptions about this gentle way to give birth. VIEW PRODUCT…

Learn about midwifery education!

Are you an aspiring midwife who’s looking for the right school? Are you a practicing midwife who would like learn more? Visit our Education Opportunities page to discover ways to start or continue your education. LEARN MORE…

Trick of the Trade

To bring on labor, try curb walking—it really helps. Walk along a curb, one foot up on the curb and one in the gutter, then turn around and go the other way.

— Calista, E-News 2:1

Quotable Quote

Women's bodies have their own wisdom, and a system of birth refined over 100,000 generations is not so easily overpowered.

— Sarah Buckley, Midwifery Today Issue 91

The H1N1 Primer for Pregnant Women

This article on the H1N1 flu and vaccines regarding pregnant women addresses such questions as, “I have heard that the H1N1 Flu carries more risk when I am pregnant. Is this true?” “What about risks to my baby?” “How likely is it that a serious complication will occur if I get H1N1 while I’m pregnant?” and “Are antiviral drugs really safe in pregnancy?” READ MORE…