Birth & Midwifery in Turkey
RESOURCES FOR PARENTS AND PRACTITIONERS

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Some of the following sites may not be in English; an online translator may be useful.

Midwifery Today Country Contacts

Elizabeth Soubelet and Esra Çömezoglu

Elizabeth Soubelet says: "There is a lot of work to be done here as we have the same problem as Brazil: nearly 100% of middle-class women have cesareans! It is impossible to have a VBAC and there are no birth centers or independent midwives in the cities (the countryside is another story, of course). The positive news is that almost everybody breastfeeds for a few months at least and most doctors are well informed about the subject."

To contact Elizabeth Soubelet, Esra Çömezoglu or any other Midwifery Today Country Contact, please log in to the International Alliance of Midwives (IAM), or write to the IAM administrator.

Birth/Midwifery

• The Turkish Midwives' Association http://www.ebelerdernegi.com/TR/—(only in Turkish for the time being)
• Midwife Without Borders http://www.midwifewithoutborders.com/gamzesbirthstory.htm Gail Johnson, CPM, came to Turkey recently to help a Turkish couple realize their dream of having a home waterbirth. She has since created "Midwife Without Borders."
• Natural Birth Turkey Yahoogroup http://new.groups.yahoo.com/naturalbirthturkey A great group commited to starting to promote natural birth and parenting in Turkey.
• http://fullcirclehealing.org/ Julia Steils, the driving force behind the creation of the Natural Birth Turkey Yahoogroup, a Doula and Massage Therapist in Istanbul, is dedicated to helping women reclaim birth and heal the earth.
• Dr.Hakan Çoker, OB/GYN http://www.dogaldogum.com/—(Web site in Turkish only) Dr.Hakan Çoker, OB/GYN, is a Lamaze certified childbirth educator and a Hypnobirthing Practinioner in Marmaris. They organize courses in Marmaris and other cities in Turkey and also give private lessons if asked. Dr. Çoker speaks English and would be pleased to give help about any natural-birth subjects in Turkey.
• "Natural Birth" YahooGroup in Turkish: health.groups.yahoo.com/group/dogaldogum2008/