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Photo by Timothy Meinberg
As midwives we are ever involved in measures to prevent maternal, fetal and newborn death. In the last couple of decades, we have added measures around HIV infection in order to prevent death of women and their babies from AIDS. But are we doing enough?
Photo by Toa Heftiba
Prenatal massage and compassionate touch during the childbearing year are more than a primitive practice or luxurious pampering; they are an essential and vital part of holistic maternity care. Traditional healers and midwives still skillfully integrate the ancient healing arts of massage and midwifery.
Read more…. The Primal Touch of Birth: Midwives, Mothers and Massage
Photo by Peter Oslanec
A very small percentage of babies are at risk of developing cerebral palsy in the perinatal period. But these are our most vulnerable of charges. If there is already some neurological damage, spare these babies hypoxic stress, if need be, by surgical intervention.
Photo by Christian Bowen
Women have been programmed to give birth thanks to the release of a flow of hormones. The same hormones are involved in lactation. The strong connections between the birth process and the initiation of lactation make inevitable a series of questions about nursing the caesarean born.
Alsea Falls Oregon. Photo by Jennifer Rosenberg
Midwifery knowledge is knowledge of woman and nature. We must remember that all we know about birth comes from these primary sources. Increasingly, we rely on our opinions to tell us what is true about birth, or we quantify our experiences of assisting labor to find meaning in the face of its potential chaos.
Photo by Toa Heftiba
In my professional experience as a chiropractor, I have had the opportunity to work with many midwives. I have come to learn that midwives and chiropractors have many similarities in approaches to health care. Both groups share an acknowledgement of, and trust in, the body’s inner wisdom. Chiropractors call this wisdom “innate intelligence.” When allowed to perform without interference, innate intelligence coordinates the responses to the body’s needs at any given moment, thus maintaining the body’s optimal health.
Photo by Caroline Brown
I am a midwife. The name midwife is derived from the Old English med or mid meaning “with,” and wife meaning “woman.” As we know, midwife means “with woman.” Midwives empower women and provide knowledge, guidance and encouragement as well as the skills of their trade as needed. Midwives help women create sacred space within which to have their babies. Midwives are, as their name implies, “with woman.”
Photo by Nathan Dumlao
Midwifery knowledge is everything about woman. It is innate. It is what our bodies know without instruction when fear is absent. It is more than birth. It includes living, loving, sharing, crying, learning, helping and simply being silent while listening.
Photo by Chris Karidis
No matter what I feel is taking away from my energy as a midwife—whether it be my work circumstances or a lack of personal enthusiasm—after reading Midwifery Today magazine, my midwifery heart beats strong again and I yearn to attend to a birthing woman on the spot. Whatever had contributed to frustration before turns into a challenge, a potential source for additional satisfaction.
Photo by Mike Swigunski
Brazil is a huge country with different modalities of childbirth assistance in each region. We have 18,000 obstetricians, 6,000 obstetrical nurses and 60,000 traditional midwives. The midwives work in the rural areas of the northern part of Brazil and the obstetricians are concentrated in the urban areas.
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Four years have passed since I sat in an enclosed courtyard in the Guatemalan town of Concepción Chiquirichapa and spoke with 20 midwives ranging in age from late 20s to early 80s. We were separated by language and culture but united in heart and spirit as midwives.
Read more…. From Dream to Reality: Birth Center for Mayan Midwives
Photo by Travis Grossen
On one of my trips to the magical world of the library I was drawn, as if by a magnet, to the newly acquired books table where my fingers fell upon The Heart’s Code. In this work, Paul Pearsall offers a revolutionary view of the human body based on the most advanced scientific studies coming out of the field of psychoneuroimmunology—the study of the interaction between mind, body and social systems and how this interaction influences social systems—and bio-energetics or energy medicine—the study of energy generated within living things.
