= Membership Article.
To browse by issue, click here
Photo provided by Colleen Uszak
On February 4, 2020, I had the privilege of helping Vincent and Colleen with the birth of their second-born child. Their firstborn, a son, was born by c-section, due to his breech position and her bicornuate uterus.
Photo by Isabel Retamales
Sarita (name changed) is a sweet 29-year-old first-time mother in Kathmandu, Nepal, loved by her husband and family, generally healthy, and of a happy disposition. We first met at church when she was five months pregnant although because it was winter and she was wrapped completely in a wool shawl, I didn’t notice. Somehow my being a nurse and midwife came up in our conversation, and she disclosed that she was expecting. When I asked her how she’d been feeling, she said she’d been very tired lately, had headaches, and wasn’t feeling very well.
Read more…. Case Study of Loss of Prenatal Care during Covid-19 Lockdown in Kathmandu, Nepal
Tricks of the Trade – Issue 135
Jessica Wilson—instagram.com/thelifeofjessicawilson
Photo Album – Issue 135
Photo by Bank Phrom
MT 135 Midwifery and Childbirth News Read more…. MT 135 Midwifery and Childbirth News
Photo by Lili Popper
The winter moon was rising. No babies tonight, so I volunteered to go home. I called security to walk me to my car. Just beyond the parking lot, food stamps were being traded for something to make the pain of living recede. Gunshots often echoed outside the walls of the labor wing. I was an OB nurse, in the midst of a system that often created birth violence, working with bold midwives to protect birth.
Photo by Kimberly Farmer
Media Reviews – Issue 135 Read more…. Media Reviews – Issue 135
Photo by Belinda Fewings
What do you do to prevent postpartum hemorrhage? How do you handle it if one comes along? Have you used placenta, membranes or cord to stem it? Do redheads bleed more?
If all midwives and birth attendants had known about using the placenta, membrane, or cord for hemorrhage control, many lives could have been saved. If all midwives learned about this and were willing to use it, so many more would be saved. Hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death globally. Think of all the maternal deaths that could be and could have been avoided. These resources are always present at a birth. Membranes and cord can be used if the placenta is not born yet. Gail Hart taught me that. She said that the membranes and cord have even more oxytocin and other useful hormones than even the placenta. Read more…. Placenta, Membranes, and Cord to Stop Bleeding
Hemorrhage is the number one cause of maternal death worldwide, and in the US as well. In most developed countries it is a less frequent cause. A study of the differences between the US and other developed countries might yield clues to prevention of unnecessary maternal deaths.
Read more…. Hemorrhage in Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum
Photo by Ashwini Duce
Regular everyday events are rarely newsworthy. The media typically induces emotional reactions through constant reports of deaths related to emerging diseases, accidents, murders, human conflicts, and natural disasters. There is a widespread tendency to ignore the amplitude of chronic problems. Few people realize that bleeding is the single most common cause of maternal deaths worldwide. Read more…. Putting an End to the Global Slaughter of Women Bleeding to Death
Photo by Isaac Quesada
“But it didn’t hurt,” Beth told me straightforwardly as she cradled her sweet baby nuzzling in for a snack before nap at six weeks. I like to review births with mothers at various points during their postpartum, lying-in time. The 6-week or 40-day visit inevitably offers new perspectives. Beth had a herstory of excessive blood loss during childbirth.
