Issue 133
Spring 2020
Theme: Third Stage
Third stage is the theme for our first online issue of Midwifery Today. It covers topics from information on avoiding active management to placenta encapsulation and unusual placentas and incidents, and more.
Cover photo by Jerusha Sutton (jerusha.com.au). Jerusha is a birth photographer, videographer, and doula based in Sydney, Australia. She became a birthworker in 2006, and has a deep love for both supporting and capturing pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period. She is deeply involved in the homebirth community and homebirthed her first baby in 2016. Jerusha is also one of the co-creators of a feature-length documentary about Australia’s maternity system, called Birth Time the documentary, created alongside Jo Hunter and Zoe Naylor. It is due for release May 2020. To learn more, visit: birthtime.world.
Pictured: This is Bronté with Ofelia, her second child. She homebirthed both of her babies with the support of her midwife Jo Hunter in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. Bronté’s son Llewyn and partner David were her beautiful support team.
Columns
- Let’s Keep Making Birth Better, by Jan Tritten
Editor Jan Tritten shares information regarding our new online format, and focuses on Ob/Gyn Rob Biter and his advocacy of mother-centered birth. - Marion’s Message: Physiologic Third Stage
“A working knowledge of the physiology of third stage allows a midwife to practice expectant management and then—if needed—step in to get the placenta delivered and stop bleeding, using active management procedures and skills.” This article describes how. - Wisdom of the Midwives: “Have You Ever Encountered an Unusual Placenta or Placental Incident?”
- Tricks of the Trade
- Quote of the Quarter
- Poetry: Poem for a Shackled Midwife, by Abigail Hofland
- Media Reviews
- Midwifery and Childbirth News
- Photo Album
Features
- The Future of Lullabies, by Michel Odent
An interesting essay on lullabies, baby talk, and the history of birth-related language. - The Benefits of Waiting, by Sara Wickham and Nadine Edwards
This article, excerpted from the book Birthing Your Placenta, discusses the question of optimal cord clamping. Rather than quickly clamping, this well-documented article shares data that show the need to wait; even a short wait is better than none at all. - Midwifery in a Refugee Camp, by Michal Beres
This short birth story is a slice of life (and birth) in a Somali refugee camp. - Village Midwife: Where Has All the Wisdom Gone? by Sister MorningStar
Sister MorningStar shares more of the wisdom she has gained from Mexican midwives and other indigenous cultures.. - Third Stage of Labor, by Chinenye MaryRose Nneoma Okonkwo
A brief summary of the third stage of labor, advocating against active management, with active attention and assessment instead. - A Mother and Daughter, Serving Mothers and Babies. The story of a mother-daughter team of placenta encapsulators, by Laurel Carpenter
This is the story of the journey into placenta encapsulation by a mother-daughter team. - Scribonia Attica: A Second-century Roman Midwife, by Jane Beal
If you like history, you will enjoy this current article in a longtime series by midwife Jane Beal. It tells the story of a midwife whose tomb currently exists at the mouth of the Tiber River. - Birthing at the Fork in the Road, by Sandra Tall Bear
Solo midwives will relate to this true story about a transport that disappointed both mother and midwife. She touches on burnout, expectations, and the need for a community of midwives to support each other.
= Membership Article.
