Marion Toepke McLean

Bad news came among the holiday greetings in my mail this year. Two Oregon nurse-midwifery programs are closing their doors. This follows on the heels of other closures and downsizings, both locally and nationally.

 Read more…. Marion’s Message: Support Nurse-Midwives

“Honoring the Traditional Midwife” was the theme of a midwifery conference presented jointly by the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) of Mexico and Midwifery Today, in Oaxaca, Mexico, from September 24-28, 2003. [See Jan Tritten’s International Midwife editorial on page 46 for more on the conference.] This was a unique and vibrant opportunity to interact and network with practitioners and supporters from many different cultures and social classes. There were large numbers of traditional, indigenous midwives and healers, mostly from Mexico and Guatemala, as well as participants from Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and other locations.

 Read more…. Marion’s Message: From Mexico

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Midwifery Today, Issue 66, Summer 2003.Join Midwifery Today Online Membership Selena and Mac are country people.* I attended their births early in my career and learned a lot from them, especially when they had Sophia, their third baby and first daughter. Mac didn’t believe in hospitals or doctors. He and I had lengthy debates and I had pointed out to him that he went right to the emergency room when his leg was broken. However, he saw that as somehow different from childbirth. I made sure he knew what my protocols were and what kinds of situations I believed were safer in the hospital. Sophia turned to a breech position when she was 32 weeks along and Selena started doing the tilt board and some acupressure points to encourage her to return to head first. My phone rang a little after six one morning. It was Selena and her voice was a tearful wail. “I’m in labor!” she said. “I’ve been having cramps all night and I’ve been telling myself I ate something bad, ’cause I’ve had a little diarrhea too. But it’s not that! I can feel the pressure! Can you come and see if I’m in labor?” “I’ll be right there!” I replied. I pulled her chart from my files. Just as I thought, she was not yet quite 36 weeks. And possibly still breech! Hurriedly, I dressed and drove to their home. Selena was lying on the thick rug in their living room, her legs propped up on a big pillow. A quick exam revealed the irregular presenting part of a complete breech, covered by the taut, smooth surface of the waterbag. No cervix could be felt. “You’re complete,” I said. “And the baby’s still breech. And premature, Selena.” “What… Read more…. Marion’s Message: Making the Best of the Birth Environment

 Read more…. Marion’s Message: Making the Best of the Birth Environment

“I don’t think a 25 percent cesarean rate is too high.” The words jolted me to attention. The speaker is a woman I respect: my cousin, a family historian, who has farmed with her husband in the Midwest for decades. I forced myself to overcome my prejudices and listen to her seriously. “Not if it saves women from what my niece is going through,” she continued.

 Read more…. Marion’s Message: The Necessary Cesarean