Marion Toepke McLean, CNM, attended her first birth as primary midwife in August 1971. She received her nursing degree from Pacific Lutheran University in 1966 and her midwifery and family nurse practitioner degree from Frontier Nursing Service in 1974. From 1976 through 2001 she did home, clinic and hospital births, while also working as a family nurse practitioner. In 1980 she taught a year-long program for local midwives, returning to Frontier Nursing Service to teach during the summer. She had a homebirth practice until 1985, when she went to work at the Nurse-Midwifery Birthing Service, a freestanding birth center. In June 2000 she completed a BA in International Studies at the University of Oregon, with concentrated studies on Mexico. Since 2002 she has worked in a reproductive health clinic and attended an occasional homebirth. She lives in Eugene, Oregon, and is a contributing editor to Midwifery Today.
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.
Midwife Marion discusses the special role a mother plays in the life of a growing baby.
Synthenia Rosa — synethiarosa.com
The maternal mortality rate in the United States is rising. What does that mean to those of us who live in this country?
The blood in the heart and blood vessels must remain in a liquid form to maintain life. To achieve this, there is a balance between various elements, some that cause the blood to clot and others that allow it to flow freely.
Leilani Rogers—photosbylei.com
Group B streptococci colonize the vaginal and gastrointestinal tracts of healthy women, being present 15–45% of the time when recto-vaginal swabs are collected and cultured (Woods 2014). Women screened around the 37th week of pregnancy test positive 10–33% of the time (CDC 2010). These women should, according to the CDC Guidelines, re-ceive IV penicillin, ampicillin or an alternative antibiotic, when in active labor.
Earlier this year, I read two of Michel Odent’s books; Birth and Breastfeeding (2008) and Childbirth and the Future of Homo Sapiens (2013). Michel’s writing is very accessible with a conversational style. Over a period of time, I read first one then the other from cover to cover, and the books became my friends. I read for a half-hour with morning coffee and then an hour at bedtime. Read more…. Birth and the Human Future
A very useful article that presents poverty as one of the causes of hemorrhage.
Although many women experience coercive and traumatic hospital births, others fully trust their OB/GYN and prefer to birth in a clinical setting. Women must choose their allies in birth carefully while remaining mindful that castigating all OB care providers does a great disservice to those medical professionals who observe and respect human and childbirth rights.
Shea Richland’s story continues. “My labor records show that my doctor had used forceps to pull my baby from my unconscious body. The episiotomy he cut extended to a third-degree tear. He had manually removed the placenta.”…
Cultural imperialism can have a pervasive, sometimes subtle influence on the work of a midwife. Marion Topeke McLean discusses how to detect imperialistic attitudes and practices, and ways to nurture cultural sensitivity. Read more…. Working Internationally: How to Identify (and Avoid) Cultural Imperialism
Contributor Marion Toepke McLean offers a thoughtful overview of recent studies on the treatment of Placenta Accreta.
Marion reviews research on vaginal breech birth, defending access to safe, vaginal birth for breech babies.
