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The Primal Touch of Birth: Midwives, Mothers and Massage

by Kara Maria Ananda June 1, 2004

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.

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Hands-On Care

by Jan Tritten June 1, 2004

Look at your hands. These hands are holy-ordained by God to receive babies. What is the substance of this divine trust? What is the responsibility? Midwife, partera is a high calling. Read more…. Hands-On Care

Photo by Peter Oslanec

Marion’s Message: Cerebral Palsy Again

by Marion Toepke McLean June 1, 2004

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.

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A Trip to the Tropics

by Jan Tritten June 1, 2004

Marina Alzugaray and I went to the Bahamas on our way to the Trinidad International Confederation of Midwives conference to check into doing a Midwifery Today international conference there in September 2005. Read more…. A Trip to the Tropics

Photo by Jenean Newcomb

The Birth of a Collaboration

by Marina Alzugaray March 31, 2004

Ever since I met two traditional Oaxacan midwives at the 1993 Midwives of North America (MANA) conference in San Francisco, I wanted to visit Oaxaca, Mexico. Ten years later, it happened when Jan Tritten invited me to participate in the 2003 Midwifery Today/ MANA conference in Oaxaca. Read more…. The Birth of a Collaboration

Photo by Christian Bowen

Nursing the Caesarean Born

by Michel Odent March 31, 2004

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.

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Read more…. Nursing the Caesarean Born

Alsea Falls Oregon. Photo by Jennifer Rosenberg

Wild, Beautiful Birth

by Elizabeth Davis March 31, 2004

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.

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Midwifery and Chiropractic: Bonding for Life

by Jeanne Ohm March 31, 2004

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.

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Photo by Caroline Brown

Woman’s Work

by Chantal Molnar March 31, 2004

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.”

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Women’s Innate Knowledge

by Diane Barnes March 31, 2004

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.

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Read more…. Women’s Innate Knowledge

Photo by Chris Karidis

Impressions from Paris

by Verena Teschner March 31, 2004

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.

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Making Birth Humane in Brazil

by Heloisa Lessa March 31, 2004

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.