|
Facebook for Midwifery
Facebook is a really interesting place. I have been posting questions, mostly of a clinical nature, on my profile page and the most fascinating conversations are taking place. What an education! As with all forms of education, you have to be really discerning on Facebook, picking out only what you believe is true. Even if you do not believe something is true, you can file it away in your heart and brain and you might need that information later. Midwifery is really an art and these conversations on our pages are really helpful.
Here are some of the questions I have posed recently that received lots of great answers:
- What is your protocol for listening to the baby’s heartbeat (FHT) in labor—early first stage, active first stage and second stage? Does anyone actually have evidence for the timing?
- Do you do waterbirths? What are the advantages to having a waterbirth? Are there any disadvantages?
- Do you check for the cord around the neck after a baby’s head is born? I have found that midwives in many countries don’t routinely check for a cord. Is this just another ritual we haven’t questioned, or is there a real need?
- Shoulder dystocia doesn’t happen very often but is very serious when it does. I have had four in my small practice of more than 300 births. I think the position of the mother affects this. Three of these mothers were in a semi-sitting position and that may have been a factor. This was in the 70s and 80s! This is still only a little more than 1%. How are your shoulder dystocia rates and what do you think affects it?
Midwifery Today has five Facebook pages that we maintain—all of them have interesting conversations. Our main page, Midwifery Today, has more than 21,000 people on it. We also have the International Alliance of Midwives (IAM), Midwifery Today Conference: Eugene, Oregon 2011, Birth Is a Human Rights Issue, and Midwifery Education: Caring and Sharing.
Facebook may have its disadvantages, but there are really some remarkable ways to use it. These days of social networking have changed the way we communicate, learn and spread the word. However, unchanged in these times are the needs of the motherbaby during the birth year. Keep up the good work and please join us on Facebook.
— Jan Tritten, mother of Midwifery Today
Jan Tritten is the founder, editor-in-chief and mother of Midwifery Today magazine. She became a midwife in 1977 after the amazing homebirth of her second daughter. Her mission is to make loving midwifery care the norm for birthing women and their babies throughout the world. Meet Jan at our conferences around the world, or join her online, as she works to transform birth practices around the world.
Jan’s blog: community.midwiferytoday.com/blogs/jan/default.aspx
Jan on Twitter: twitter.com/jantritten
Midwifery Today on Facebook: facebook.com/midwiferytoday
International Alliance of Midwives: facebook.com/IAMbirth
Birth Is a Human Rights Issue: facebook.com/birthisahumanrightsissue
Midwifery Today Conference: Eugene, Oregon 2011: facebook.com/eugene2011
Midwifery Education: Caring and Sharing: facebook.com/MidwiferyEducation
 |
Consider chiropractic care for safer, easier births.
Our doctors offer special care for pregnant women and infants. Specialties include the Webster technique for optimal fetal positioning and gentle cranial and spinal techniques for your baby. Visit www.icpa4kids.org. |
Longer Breastfeeding Linked to Lower Infection Rates during Infancy
Longer breastfeeding leads to lower rates of infections during infancy, say researchers. A study that looked at 100 infants over the course of a year concluded that breastfeeding for at least six months lowers a baby’s risk of infection and lessens the severity of infections they may contract. “Exclusive breastfeeding helps protect infants against common infections and lessens the frequency and severity of infectious episodes not only in developing countries but also in communities with adequate vaccination coverage and healthcare standards,” researchers concluded.
— Ladomenou, F., et al. 2010. Protective effect of exclusive breastfeeding against infections during infancy: a prospective study. Arch Dis Child. Published online first, 27 Sep 2010.
|
Are You an RN Searching for a Proven Online MSN?
|
 |
Are you ready to enhance your career and develop a higher level of patient care? The University of Cincinnati’s CCNE-accredited MSN program combines the prestigious College of Nursing with flexible online studies. You can perform your clinicals in your own community, gain expert knowledge, and graduate in just over two years. This program is 100% online. Learn more.
|
During the twentieth century, it had been commonplace to raise the main questions regarding childbirth in a negative way. How to give birth without pain? How to give birth without fear? How to be born without violence? As long as the questions are raised in this way, they will usually lead to sophisticated and sterile solutions.
Now the time has come to formulate questions in a positive way. The primary and paradoxically unusual question should be: What are the basic needs of women in labour? This leads one, via the physiological perspective, to take into account that labouring women must maintain a level of adrenaline as low as possible in order to give birth easily. One can conclude that one of the basic needs of labouring women is to feel secure.
Starting from the need to feel secure, one cannot help recalling the most common strategy women have used through the ages in order to meet their basic needs when giving birth. They have always had a tendency to give birth close to their mother, or close to somebody who could play the role of the mother—usually an experienced mother or grandmother in the community. This is the root of midwifery. A midwife is originally a mother figure. In an ideal world, mother is the prototype of the person with whom one feels secure, without feeling observed or judged. The need for midwives is better understood than 30 years ago, but the reason for midwifery needs to be rediscovered.
It is significant that, in his famous book Childbirth Without Fear, Grantly Dick-Read never made a distinction between a birth attended by a doctor and a birth attended by a midwife.
— Michel Odent
Excerpted from "Fear of Death during Labour," Midwifery Today, Issue 67
View table of contents / Order the back issue
Looking for a good appointment book for the New Year? |
 |
The With Woman Appointment and Resource Book is just what you need. This handy spiral bound book lets you record 15 months of appointments and is perfect for midwives, doulas, childbirth educators and lactation consultants. You’ll appreciate the reference guides and resources, the place for listing client information and the handy pocket in the back that can hold business cards or a gestational wheel. If you’re a student it can help you keep track of your prenatals, births and postpartum visits. Not a midwife? With Woman makes a great gift for someone who is.
To Order |
View inside pages!
 |
|
 The new edition of
Paths to Becoming a Midwife
has arrived!
Paths to Becoming a Midwife: Getting an Education is just what any aspiring midwife needs! The fourth edition of this book includes several new articles on the various midwifery philosophies, new information on becoming an apprentice, dozens of recently updated articles, and a current directory of more than 150 schools, programs and other resources.
Order the book. |
Want the whole story? |
Subscribe to Midwifery Today print magazine and four times a year you’ll receive 72 pages filled with complete articles, birth stories, stunning birth photography and more. Midwifery Today E-News is just a taste of what you’ll find in Midwifery Today magazine. Subscribe. |
 |
|
Keep track
of the births
you attend |  |  | |
The Midwife’s Journal has room for you to record the essentials of up to 100 vaginal births and 20 cesareans. There’s also a section for addresses and telephone numbers and an appendix of forms and charts. Plus, the one-of-a-kind freestyle index lets you compile statistics or quickly find complicated cases or other significant events. Durable enough to be carried in your birth bag and subjected to the rigors of daily use, this unique organizer is ideal for midwives, physicians, doulas, nurses, and other childbirth professionals.
To order
|
Discover The Power of Women! |
 |
When you read this new book by Sister MorningStar, you’ll discover how healing words and empowering stories help women listen to their instincts during childbirth. Filled with inspiring, moving stories, The Power of Women will lift the veils from your eyes and let you view the world in a new way. Give it to the pregnant women you know. Help them see the power that resides within them.
Order the book. |
A Workbook-study Guide for all Midwives |
 Are you a student midwife attending school or on a self-study course? If you are, the Birthsong Midwifery Workbook is just what you need! Are you an experienced midwife preparing for an exam? Use this book as a refresher guide to help you study. The fifth edition has 13 chapters that cover the basics of normal birth and midwifery. To Order |
Read these reviews from Midwifery Today newly posted to our Web site:
- Deliver Me from Pain—Anesthesia & Birth in America—by Jacqueline H. Wolf
Divided into chapters that explore the various methods of anesthesia used during birth, from ether and chloroform in the late 1800s to the modern use of epidurals and planned c-sections, Wolf’s thorough study is so much more than a description of America’s nearly 200-year-old fascination with medicating laboring women. Instead, as she explains in her conclusion, Wolf’s history of anesthesia during labor is key to understanding the entire context of modern American obstetric treatment.
- Cesarean: Beyond the Wound—by Ana Alvarez-Errecalde, in collaboration with the organization, Birth Is Ours
A nice addition to the library of any midwife or doula working with clients who have had c-sections, Cesarean: Beyond the Wound, a trilingual (Spanish, Catalan and English) book of photography and stories, captures the emotions and physical scars that accompany cesareans.
- The Mama Bamba Way—by Robyn Sheldon
Sheldon gives some wonderful advice about kangaroo care, breastfeeding, touching for babies and other issues parents may find helpful postpartum when dealing with a new baby. She includes an entire chapter on grieving over the loss of a child, which is particularly difficult in our society.
 |
Start or continue your 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.
|
Midwifery Today E-News
Do you have a Web site? Does reaching more than 16,000 potential customers sound appealing? Purchasing an ad in Midwifery Today E-News, our biweekly e-mail newsletter, gets your message out and sends customers directly to your Web site. Each issue is archived and continues sending more customers in the future.[ Learn More ]
Advertise at Midwifery Today’s Eugene, Oregon, Conference
Reach a targeted, enthusiastic market by advertising at Midwifery Today’s conference in Eugene, Oregon. By advertising at “Gentle Birth Is a Human Rights Issue” you will reach an audience passionate about birth. Space is limited so learn more here.
Advertise with Midwifery Today Quarterly Print Magazine
With options ranging from classified ads to full page graphic ads, there is an option that is just right for your business. Ask about packages designed to fit your needs. [ Learn More ]
Contact our Advertising Director at: ads@midwiferytoday.com
View more advertising options at: http://www.midwiferytoday.com/ads/
Q: What role do you think fear is playing in childbirth today?
— Midwifery Today staff
SEND YOUR RESPONSE to mtensubmit@midwiferytoday.com with "Question of the Week" in the subject line. Please indicate the topic of discussion *and the E-News issue number* in the message.
Periglow, the best to support the perineum after birth. Periglow is a ready-to-use Swiss compress to promote healing the first weeks after giving birth. As a soak or bath. http://www.periglow.com
Tell our readers about your business. Just $35/issue ($125 for four) gives you 30 words to promote your products or services. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/ads/enews.asp or ads@midwiferytoday.com
Remember to share this newsletter
You may forward it to as many friends and colleagues as you wish—it’s free!
Want to stop receiving E-News or change your e-mail address? Or would you like to subscribe? Then please visit our easy-to-use subscription management page.
On this page you will be able to:
- start receiving any of our e-mail newsletters
- stop receiving any of our e-mail newsletters
- change the version (text or HTML) that you receive
- change the e-mail address to which newsletters are delivered
If you have difficulty, please send a complete description of the problem, including any
error messages, to our newsletter.
Learn even more about birth!
Midwifery Today Magazine—mention code 940 when you subscribe.
| | 1-Year Subscription | 2-Year Subscription |
|---|
| United States | $55 | $105 |
|---|
| Canada / Mexico | $65 | $125 |
|---|
| All other countries | $75 | $145 |
|---|
E-mail inquiries@midwiferytoday.com or call 1-800-743-0974 to learn how to order.
Or subscribe online.
How to order our products mentioned in this issue:
Secure online shopping
We accept Visa and MasterCard at the Midwifery Today Storefront.
Order by postal mail
We accept Visa; MasterCard; and check or money order in U.S. funds.
Midwifery Today, Inc.
PO Box 2672
Eugene, OR 97402, USA
Order by phone or fax
We accept Visa and MasterCard.
Phone (U.S. and Canada; orders only): 1-800-743-0974
Phone (worldwide): +1 541-344-7438
Fax: +1 541-344-1422
E-News subscription questions or problems
Editorial submissions, questions or comments for E-News
Editorial for print magazine
Conference
Advertising
For all other matters
All questions and comments submitted to Midwifery Today E-News become the property of Midwifery Today, Inc. They may be used either in full or as an excerpt, and will be archived on the Midwifery Today Web site.
Midwifery Today E-News is published electronically every other Wednesday. We invite your
questions, comments and submissions. We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at:
mtensubmit@midwiferytoday.com. Please send submissions in the body of your message and not
as attachments.
Disclaimer
This publication is presented by Midwifery Today, Inc., for the sole purpose of disseminating general health information for public benefit. The information contained in or provided through this publication is intended for general consumer understanding and education only and is not intended to be, and is not provided as, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Midwifery Today, Inc., does not assume liability for the use of this information in any jurisdiction or for the contents of any external Internet sites referenced, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advertised in this publication. Always seek the advice of your midwife, physician, nurse or other qualified health care provider before you undergo any treatment or for answers to any questions you may have regarding any medical condition.
Copyright Notice
The content of E-News is copyrighted by Midwifery Today, Inc., and, occasionally, other rights holders. You may forward E-News by e-mail an unlimited number of times, provided you do not alter the content in any way and that you include all applicable notices and disclaimers. You may print a single copy of each issue of E-News for your own personal, noncommercial use only, provided you include all applicable notices and disclaimers. Any other use of the content is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of Midwifery Today, Inc., and any other applicable rights holders.
© 2010 Midwifery Today, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Midwifery Today: Each One Teach One! | 
Happy holidays from everyone at Midwifery Today!
