http://www.midwiferytoday.com/ The latest news for midwives, doulas, and other birth practitioners. en-us Copyright (c) 2011, Midwifery Today, Inc. All rights reserved. Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:00:00 PST webdesign@midwiferytoday.com http://www.midwiferytoday.com/rss/rsslogo.gif http://www.midwiferytoday.com/ 88 31 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:00:00 PST The table of contents for the brand-new issue of Midwifery Today, the print magazine, is available. The theme for this issue (99) is "The Role of Story in Birth." A good birth story has the power to inspire, educate and entertain. Yet, the role story plays in birth goes well beyond the telling of our personal tales. Stories and storytelling "are fundamental to the development and maintenance of a woman-centered body of knowledge." This issue takes you inside the experiences of birthing mothers and dancing midwives, considers the impact of the negative birth story and offers tips for starting your own birth story circle. Clinical articles on intrauterine infections and shoulder dystocia, and a special series on midwifing stillbirths are also included. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/magazine/Issue99.asp Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:00:00 PST Please check out this YouTube video, the fourth of our Tricks of the Trade series: Shoulder Dystocia IV. In this video, attendees at Midwifery Today's Denmark conference share more tricks of the trade about shoulder dystocia, including repeated use of the Gaskin maneuver, and use of a forward lunge position. (You may wish to download the video first and then view it without streaming interruption.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIoFzp4xV6k Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:00:00 PST Conference: Join Debra Pascali-Bonaro and Robbie Davis-Floyd at the IMBCO International Day Tuesday, 18 October 2011 in Bad Wildbad, Germany. PLEASE NOTE: The IMBCO meeting is happening the day before the Midwifery Today Germany conference, in the same location. The IMBCO is a non-profit, non-governmental organization created to develop, regularly update and promote the International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative (IMBCI): 10 Steps to Optimal Maternity Services, worldwide. Discover what other countries are doing to implement the IMBCI and network with incredible people that strive for optimal MotherBaby care everywhere! http://www.midwiferytoday.com/conferences/Germany2011/#classes Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:00:00 PST E-News Issue 13:17 is now online. Jan's column Read about in the Art of Midwifery. Read about in the new column, Conference Chatter. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/enews/enews1317.asp Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:00:00 PST Article by Marion Toepke McLean: “In Africa and many other parts of the world, there was extensive conquest and colonization by the white races originating in Europe in recent centuries. Therefore, those of us who are part of Europe and the European diaspora, and those of us whose countries are presently militarily and economically powerful, must carefully evaluate our international projects.” This is an article excerpt from Midwifery Today magazine, Spring 2011. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/CulturalImperialism.asp Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:00:00 PST Article by Judy Edmunds, CPM: "I feel confident that at least most of the cesareans I have been associated with were actually necessary, many even life-saving. Yet looking back over my practice, I can easily pick out scores of women who surely would have had cesareans had they chosen care elsewhere." http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/7Steps.asp Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:00:00 PST Article by Gloria Lemay: " I feel confident that at least most of the cesareans I have been associated with were actually necessary, many even life-saving. Yet looking back over my practice, I can easily pick out scores of women who surely would have had cesareans had they chosen care elsewhere." http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/VBAC_MWcare.asp Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 PST Come to a Midwifery Today Conference! After studying hard in workshops for several days, attendees at the 2009 conference in Eugene, Oregon, dance enthusiastically to the exciting sounds of Zimbabwean marimba music played by Jenaguru Full Moon marimba ensemble. “We work hard ~ we play hard!” Come to conference! (You may wish to download the video first and then view it without streaming interruption.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-gOCJ1wmX0 Mon, 13 Jun 2011 00:00:00 PST Article by Alison Bastien: "The final question on the final exam for the Obstetrics I class I teach at our local midwifery school is this: A mother is in labor and has reached full dilation. It seems the contractions have slowed almost to a stop, and the mother appears to be almost resting--what is happening and what should you do?" This is an article excerpt from Midwifery Today magazine, Summer 2011. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/GettingPushy.asp Mon, 13 Jun 2011 00:00:00 PST Editorial by Jan Tritten from Issue 98 of Midwifery Today magazine: "One of the most important issues [in second stage] is the fear it seems to provoke in midwives, often leading them to try to 'deliver' the baby as soon as the head emerges instead of waiting for the next contraction and letting the mother deliver her baby on her own time. Fear can lead to some horrendous circumstances." " http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ed_waiting.asp Tue, 24 May 2011 00:00:00 PST Review by Teri Myers: "With this comprehensive textbook, Leslie Stager has produced an essential resource for massage therapists and birth practitioners alike. While much of the book is geared toward the massage therapist, anyone in a hands-on field who works with pregnant or birthing women will find much that will be of use." http://www.midwiferytoday.com/reviews/nurturing_massage.asp Tue, 24 May 2011 00:00:00 PST Review by Cheryl K. Smith: "This book could not be more timely, in light of the fact that the broken health care system in the US is on the radar screen of citizens and politicians alike. The cesarean rate in the US is fast approaching one-third of all births and is currently the most common major surgery performed. … [This book] methodically lays out the case for slowing this epidemic, which will help to heal mothers, babies, health care providers and the system that is being so damaged." http://www.midwiferytoday.com/reviews/understanding_dangers.asp Tue, 24 May 2011 2011 00:00:00 PST Article by Beth Bailey Barbeau: "Time first becomes an issue in medically attended pregnancies when the due date is established. Early ultrasounds are now the routine authority on when a baby is "due," regardless of a mother's personal sense or determination of her dates. This date is critically important, as it is the basis of medical expectations of when birth should occur. Perceptions of the normal window of birth have narrowed from "two or three weeks on either side of your due date" to "let's schedule your induction if you haven't birthed by 40 (or even 39) weeks." This is an article excerpt from Midwifery Today magazine, Spring 2011. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/TimeInABottle.asp Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:00:00 PST Article by Megan Myers: An apprentice midwife takes a critical look at our sexualized culture and defends the right to breastfeed in public. This is an article excerpt from Midwifery Today magazine, Spring 2011. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/breastfeed_public.asp Tue, 19 Apr 2011 00:00:00 PST Article by Sister MorningStar: "It is easier to see how a woman's culture affects her than to face how our culture affects us in relating to her. What if our cultures have moral differences? What if we identify with a birth culture that saves mothers and babies?" http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/CultureWithin.asp Tue, 19 Apr 2011 00:00:00 PST In this video, Jan Tritten interviews Sister MorningStar, author of "The Power of Women" by Motherbaby Press. Sister MorningStar tells of the types of birth in her lineage. She discusses the importance of Story, and the commonality of Story between cultures. She tells the story of the ministers of health "assessing" the capabilities of indigenous midwives in Mexico. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vBplSIxzVE Wed, 2 Mar 2011 00:00:00 PST In this video, Jan Tritten interviews Sister MorningStar, author of "The Power of Women" by Motherbaby Press. Sister MorningStar describes "Instinct" as a billion years of wisdom, explaining why relying on instinct is more important than waiting for stats to "prove" that what a woman in labor feels is right for her. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d744r7B3zjc Wed, 2 Mar 2011 00:00:00 PST Article by Ina May Gaskin: "As anyone who has read Spiritual Midwifery knows, the development of my vision for midwifery in my community was a rather quick process. ... Envisioning a system of midwifery to serve a population of 280 million people is far more complicated than envisioning a system to serve 1500 people who know each other quite well and who share both a lifestyle and a view that birth should, whenever possible, take place at home." http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/avision.asp Fri, 18 Feb 2011 00:00:00 PST Article by Ina May Gaskin: "Because our society includes such extremes, the arrival at some measure of unity among self-respecting midwives and those who advocate for them is much more challenging than in many other countries. Even so, I continue to believe that a goal of unity (focused vision) is well worth striving for." http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/Unity.asp Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:00:00 PST Review by Jan Tritten: "This powerful film shows several lovely ecstatic births with happy and satisfied mothers, in both home and hospital situations. The great narration by well-known midwives, doctors and activists adds a tremendous amount of information to the film, which depicts the medicalization of childbirth in the hospital as well as the sweet intimacy between each of the couples." http://www.midwiferytoday.com/videos/Orgasmic_Birth.asp Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:00 PST Conference: The archived programs of the Midwifery Today conference in Strasbourg, France (2010) is now available online. Photo layouts have been put up on the following scrapbook pages: Russia, 2010, Eugene 2003, and Philly 2008. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/conferences/photos/ Mon, 6 Dec 2010 00:00:00 PST Please check out this YouTube video, the second of our Tricks of the Trade series: Shoulder Dystocia II. In this video, attendees at Midwifery Today's Denmark conference share more tricks of the trade about shoulder dystocia. (You may wish to download the video first and then view it without streaming interruption.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqYx2tesHog Mon, 8 Nov 2010 00:00:00 PST Please check out this YouTube video, part of our Birth Essentials series: Penny Simkin: Using Doulas for Birth Care. In this video, Penny Simkin talks about doulas in an interview at the Midwifery Today Conference in Eugene, Oregon, March 2009. The co-founder of Doulas of North America (now DONA International), Penny talks about using doulas for birth care and how the doula movement came about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs666wZZRrI Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:00:00 PST Article by Beth Barbeau: "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!" http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/SaferBirthInABarn.asp Mon, 13 Dec 2004 00:00:00 PST Article by Marsden Wagner: Cesarean section can save the life of the mother or her baby. Cesarean section can also kill a mother or her baby. How can this be? http://www.midwiferytoday.com/redirect.asp?id=1017 Mon, 13 Dec 2004 00:00:00 PST Meet some of Midwifery Today's writers and conference teachers on our biography pages. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/redirect.asp?id=1018 Wed, 16 Feb 2004 00:00:00 PST Article by Candace Whitridge: When a woman is in labor, a little fight goes on in the woman's brain. One part of here brain, the intellect, will tell her that she should do certain things. Perhaps those are things that we learned in childbirth classes; perhaps those are things that other people have told her that she should do to cope with birth. But from the other part of the brain will come an urge so deep within her that it will compel her to move her body and to use her voice in a completely different day. Those are her deep instincts about childbirth, but we have buried these for so long that most of us have forgotten that knowledge. Occasionally, though, I see women who remember.… http://www.midwiferytoday.com/redirect.asp?id=1019 Wed, 16 Feb 2004 00:00:00 PST Article by Janine DeBaise: Here is the plan for the birth of my child. I've taken words from the dreams of 200 women. I'm translating them for the hospital staff. 1. No blue hospital gown. No sterile drapes. When I give birth, I want to be naked. I want my body to choose the colour of its growing. 2. No enema. No antiseptic wash. No shaving of pubic hair. If I wanted to shave something, I'd shave my head. Like Jean-Luc Picard. I've always wanted to be captain of a star ship. When I give birth, I explore uncharted territory, I move and writhe into new worlds. I want to go where no man has gone before. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/redirect.asp?id=1020 Wed, 16 Feb 2004 00:00:00 PST Article by Robbie Davis-Floyd, PhD: A distressing cross-cultural trend is showing up in the growing body of anthropological literature about midwifery and birth in the developing world. From Tanzania to Papua New Guinea, anthropologists who observe professional midwives giving prenatal care and attending births increasingly note that, far from the midwifery ideal, professional midwives often treat women very badly during birth, ignoring their needs and requests, talking to them disrespectfully, ordering them around, and sometimes even yelling at them and slapping them. At the same time, and in direct correlation, the professional midwives are themselves often treated badly by the healthcare systems in which they work. They are almost always underpaid, are frequently mistreated by physicians who rank above them in the medical hierarchy, and generally work long hours under stressful conditions that often include inadequate facilities and equipment and too many women with too few midwives to care for them well. In short, professional midwives are often trapped in the biomedical healthcare system, a system that is failing to meet the needs of birthing women in developing countries. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/redirect.asp?id=1021 Wed, 16 Feb 2004 00:00:00 PST Article by Gail Hart: The timing of birth has major consequences for a baby. Too early or too late can mean the difference between life and death. Or so we have come to believe; and it's undoubtedly true at the extreme ends of preterm and postterm birth dates. Although few babies are born at these extremes of the normal length of pregnancy, much of our prenatal care is based on bringing babies to birth "in a timely fashion"—neither too early nor too late. But our understanding of "timely" is clouded, and some of our methods are self-defeating. By intervening in the natural timing of birth, we sometimes exacerbate the problems or create entirely new ones. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/redirect.asp?id=1022 Wed, 16 Feb 2004 00:00:00 PST Article by Lois Wilson: What is the role of the father who is present at the birth of his child? Is he a labor coach, advocate or partner? Is he a fifth wheel? A nuisance? A liability? In the twelve years that I have served birthing families in my community, I have heard many passionate opinions about the presence of fathers at birth. Over the years my own understanding of the role that fathers play in pregnancy and birth has developed to become much deeper and more complex as I have served different families, each with their own unique relationship, culture, expectations and beliefs. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/redirect.asp?id=1023