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Midwifery Today turns 19 years old in February of 2005. For me, that is nearly 20 years of working to change birth with Midwifery Today, plus over 10 years of homebirth practice, changing birth one motherbaby at a time. Read more…. Happy Birthday, Birth Change
The term “protocols” is confusing sometimes because it is used differently from location to location, state to state. In general, protocols have to be very carefully written, or midwives damage themselves legally. Read more…. Protocols vs. Guidelines
Photo by Anton
As midwives, we often struggle against medical interventions that have dubious value for mothers and babies. But a few medical interventions, when used appropriately, are lifesavers. I believe antiretrovirals to be one of these lifesavers.
Photo provided by author
There is a special midwife in Nazareth named Izdihar Abu Eid. Her name means “progress” in Arabic, her mother tongue. She lives up to the name given her by her Bedouin parents and does all she can to advance the cause of her profession, to empower midwives and birthing women.
Photo by Anna Kolosyuk
We must keep in mind that “protocol” derives from the Greek word “kolla,” which means “glue.” To follow a protocol is to give up freedom. Freedom is the prerequisite for any artistic way of behaving. This implies that if it is an art, midwifery is incompatible with the concept of protocol.
Photo by Tatiana Zhukova
Oxygen for resuscitation of newborns was adopted with little research, and maternal oxygen “for treatment of fetal distress” had even less. The use of a high proportion of oxygen was rapidly adopted in the 1970s—not without opposition! Debate continues, even though large studies were designed to settle the questions.
Read more…. The Air We Breathe – Oxygen: Tradition and Heresy?
Photo by Alex Pasarelu
We are a profession separate from OBs, paediatricians and physiotherapists; we should not allow others to be responsible for writing our protocols. Yes, where there is overlap, we could work as a team to create guidelines for the working area. But ultimately, we should be creating a framework that works for us.
Photo by Marilyn Nolt—www.doula.com/marilyn
Birth is not fixed, nor should protocols be. The path can be paved for a viable working relationship between institution and midwife. When we transport we must adjust our protocols to include the interventions needed. Establishing a balance that allows protocols to adjust and change is practicing the art of midwifery.
Marion’s Message: Unchanging Protocols: The basics of birth are unchanging; there is an elemental simplicity. Safe midwifery care during placental delivery and the hours that follow is based on physiological processes and needs that are unchanged over the years. These basic protocols can prevent serious problems for childbearing women.
Photo by Moritz Knöringer
In the first scorching hot days of summer our Tamil friends sprang a ceremony on us. My daughter and I were told it was to call out her baby, convincing him of the happy friends awaiting his arrival. We thought he was nowhere near due to stir, not for another nine weeks; but the women planned the event spot on time.
Photo by Faye Cornish
The Blessingway is an alternative to the baby shower, focused on honoring the transition to motherhood. It evolved out of a Navajo ceremony. There are usually plenty of laughter and tears at a Blessingway, and each woman leaves feeling blessed and honored to be a part of this great circle of womanhood.
Photo by Nabil Saleh
If the message sent to the public continues to portray birth as a frightening medical procedure, how will women come to trust their bodies and resist interventions? If birth with drugs in hospitals continues to be normalized in the media, how will women understand the benefits of midwifery in out-of-hospital settings?
Read more…. Cultural Lack of Birth Experience Empowers Media Representations, Not Women
