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You Sure Can Tell

Once she was transferred to the postpartum unit, Lori found that most of the nurses were kind, friendly and generally supportive of her desire to exclusively breastfeed her baby. A few of her observations and experiences, however, revealed that some nurses were not so encouraging of breastfeeding. Read more…. You Sure Can Tell

Being A Midwife

Being a midwife starts with the ego. Our “ego selves” see the status, admiration and responsibility of the job as an attraction. What the ego cannot see is that the aspiring midwife has placed her foot on a road by taking up the work. This road will take her on a journey, which she will only finish when they chisel the word “midwife” on her gravestone. Read more…. Being A Midwife

The Ties that Bind – How Belief Creates Birth Realities

Women believe that birth is a dangerous medical event. The fact is that normal birth is safer than many things we do each day without a thought. Read more…. The Ties that Bind – How Belief Creates Birth Realities

The Role of Fear in the U.S. Birthing Process

The once natural event of female-centered birth has effectively been medicalized. Power and control have been removed from midwives and women and shifted to science and the surgical specialization within medicine, today known as obstetrics. Read more…. The Role of Fear in the U.S. Birthing Process

Maturing Midwifery

I have the good fortune to be attending births with younger midwives right now. I see the future of midwifery right before my eyes. These women are smart, alert and have the same vision of care that I do. Read more…. Maturing Midwifery

Lessons from a Homebirth Practice

The first thing I noticed about homebirth was the serene joy of the parents, which in those days was something I never saw in my hospital experience. The second thing I saw was that an intense bond automatically takes place between mother and baby in the first half-hour, not in the first few weeks… Read more…. Lessons from a Homebirth Practice

How to Treat a Vaginal Infection with a Clove of Garlic

Garlic kills yeast. Those who bake bread know not to add garlic while the dough is rising or it will kill the yeast. Instead, garlic is added to the dough after it has risen, just before baking it in the oven. Read more…. How to Treat a Vaginal Infection with a Clove of Garlic

Preventing Complications with Nutrition

Nutrition in pregnancy—a no-brainer, right? Who would think it was so controversial? Disagreement over a healthy diet during pregnancy continues to rage, with one side saying that what a woman eats will have no effect on her pregnancy and the other saying it has an enormous impact. So what’s a woman to eat? Read more…. Preventing Complications with Nutrition

Misplaced Fear

I find it fascinating that women are afraid of the wrong thing when it comes to birth. They are afraid of birth when it is what they are perfectly designed to do. The thing they should be afraid of is whom they put their trust in and where they birth. Read more…. Misplaced Fear

Cytotec Induction and Off-Label Use

Without adequate testing of Cytotec (misoprostol) for labor induction, obstetricians simply began to use it on their birthing women. They were taking advantage of a huge loophole in our drug regulatory system. Read more…. Cytotec Induction and Off-Label Use

Take Birth Back

The colonizing countries dominated birth with destructive medicalization at a time when Western powers were decimating cultures. Medicalization rode on the wave of imperialism. This force is still going today and is an effective tool used against normal, instinctive birth. Read more…. Take Birth Back

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