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Midwife Marion Toepke McLean discusses the most essential midwifery skill of them all: to be able to recognize and support normal birth and to keep it normal.
Monet Moutrie—monetnicole.com
We’ve also all heard expressions of exhaustion and relief from the mother and seen a temporary lack of interest in her baby. The exclamations might sound more like these: “It’s over! I can’t believe it’s over!” “Can I just lie here for a minute?” “I can’t hold the baby right now. You take it.” ”Please just leave me alone right now.” “I’m so glad it’s over.” “We’re never doing this again!” Sometimes it takes a while before the mother can turn her attention from the intensity of the birth to her baby. Read more…. First Hours after Birth: Family Integration and Mutual Regulation
The fourth stage of labor, the time after the baby has been born (second stage) and after the placenta is safely delivered (third stage) has been defined medically as one to two hours postpartum. Culturally, I define it as the first 42 days following childbirth. I believe the fourth stage never really ends, as a postpartum woman is forever transformed by the significant rite of passage of childbirth. Read more…. The Fourth Stage: Sharing the Asian Way
Monet Moutrie—monetnicole.com
Back in 1970, if you wanted to be a midwife, there were very few options for training. There were two nurse-midwifery education programs then, but since I didn’t live in New York City or Jackson, Mississippi, I had no way of knowing about them. I just knew that I wanted to be a midwife. I was lucky to have the opportunity to witness the most gorgeous birth anyone could possibly have, and that birth launched my quest to become a midwife.
Read more…. How Being a Homebirth Midwife Enabled Me to Learn about Shoulder Dystocia
Leilani Rogers—photosbylei.com
Midwifery Today’s graphic designer shares her thoughts on the importance of birth photography to the normalization of gentle birth around the world. Read more…. The Bond of Midwifery and Art
Many people have noticed that some portion of waterborn babies seem a bit slow to come around. They aren’t stressed and they seem well-enough oxygenated, but still their transition to breathing air sometimes seems a little slower. They may be alert, have good tone and a strong heart rate (or maybe it is a bit slow as well) or sometimes they almost seem to be asleep, and they just don’t seem interested in breathing for a while.
Midwifery Today’s editor-in-chief celebrates MT’s 30-year anniversary by honoring 13 of the magazine’s most loyal contributors and gentle birth advocates. Read more…. 30 Years and Still Going Strong
Natasha Hance—birthunscripted.com
A female doctor with a shaven head and beautiful eyes stood between Lily’s legs, studying the monitor. We all heard the slow thudding. In an even tone, a Mary Poppins-like midwife said, “Get peds.” A pediatrician and a gaggle of pediatric residents entered the room as if they’d been standing at the door waiting for an invitation. The doctor picked up the vacuum and quietly announced that the time had come to use extra force. “The baby is so close,” she told us as she readied her equipment.
Read more…. Delayed Cord Clamping Requires a New Table for Stressed Newborns
Monet Moutrie—monetnicole.com
A thought-provoking article about the biases found in birth research. Read more…. Outside the Evidence: Births Missing from the Research
Monet Moutrie—monetnicole.com
Natural childbirth advocate and obstetrician Michel Odent discusses the importance of stress for the developing baby, particularly stress in the form of labor. Read more…. Stress Deprivation in the Perinatal Period
Photo by Alex Kahler
Even before conception, and during their life in the womb and the first year of extra-uterine life, all babies experience the feeling of being desired and loved, which is the source of all aspects of life, where there are no opposites, no judgments, no criticism, no condemnation, no discrimination; it is just pure love and surrender during the first phases of consciousness. …
Babies should be treated with the utmost respect, dignity and love. Their first birth minutes are their welcome to the planet. This is where they will first learn what being on earth is all about. Read more…. First, Do No Harm to Newborns
