Membership Content

Since my second pregnancy in 1999, family and friends have hoped for a girl. You see, we always preferred to keep our baby’s sex a surprise. The more I learned about birth, the more I resisted using technology simply because it was available. Since so little in life is truly a surprise, we appreciated the wonderment that comes with not knowing. I always felt connected just by feeling our baby growing and moving inside me; I didn’t need to know the gender.

 Read more…. An Unconditional Love

“Homebirth after cesarean” is a phrase that garners mixed reactions—most of them negative. “Why?” or “Are you insane?” they ask. The people who make these comments, however, usually have no idea about the realities of birth in the US.

 Read more…. Homebirth after Cesarean: The Myth and The Reality

Birth stories…these are what nourish midwives. We relive them; we love to share them. They are the electric connection among us, the energy that keeps us going. They are the affirmations that this calling is worth the sacrifices.

 Read more…. An Unexpected Natural Birth

Midwifery sometimes requires the balancing of choices. In this story, the midwife must decide which of her clients needs her more, while ensuring that the other ones’ needs are met.

 Read more…. 2 Homebirths, 14 Minutes Apart

All births have a profound effect on the participants. Diana Janopaul shares a risky birth that bound her to that baby for life.

 Read more…. Leonard’s Cord

I am a doula. I never really planned it; instead I became a doula by default. I had a lot of friends who were having babies, and I had a lot of babies, too. I always loved babies. As a little girl, I’d play mama to all of my stuffed animals and dolls. In junior high, I couldn’t imagine a greater rush than that of holding a new baby. In high school, when everyone was talking about which university they would attend and how rich and successful they wanted to be, I’d chime in with “Six kids—that’s all I want and I’ll be happy.” (26 years and six children later, I’ve achieved my life’s goal!)…

 Read more…. Doula by Default

Technology…. It has helped us to grow as a nation, but in what direction? Here in the US we think we are so great with our technological advancements…

 Read more…. What Can You Do to Make Changes with Care Today?

You may have run into them when “Googling” something on the Internet: small communities of bloggers with common interests and common goals. In a world where finding time to gather together has become increasingly difficult…

 Read more…. Blogging to Boost Your Birthing Business

The interview with Lara was uncanny. The process of interviewing midwives was strange anyway, as I’d always been on the other side of the table, fielding the questions rather than asking them. I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to ask. It never occurred to me that I’d interview midwives—wouldn’t I just pick one of my colleagues?

 Read more…. Face to Face: A Midwife’s Birth Story

My objective here is not to write anticipatory fiction, but to focus on one factor that will undoubtedly have an effect on the history of obstetric techniques and obstetric technology. Until now obstetric technology has thrived on a deep-rooted quasi-cultural lack of understanding of the basic needs of laboring women and of newborn babies.…

 Read more…. The Future of Obstetric Technology

In the ancient Roman world childbirth was a dangerous event with uncertain outcomes for mother and child. Rates of infant and maternal mortality were high, as they are in modern communities without obstetric care.(1) Pain relief and general sanitation were lacking and traditional methods of childbirth were largely influenced by folklore and religious practices in an agrarian environment.

 Read more…. Childbirth in the Ancient Roman World: The Origins of Midwifery

At 5 am the phone rings; a man with a hint of an accent says, “Hi, this is Amos, Lydia thought I should call to tell you we might be needing you to come by later today.”

 Read more…. Just a Plain Birth