Issue 144
Winter 2022
Theme: All About Placentas
The placenta is an important organ that has only one function: to nourish and grow a baby. Learn about this marvelous organ, its function, and some things that can go wrong. This issue also includes an article on Prenatal Bonding, a wonderful birth story, two articles by Michel Odent, and more great midwifery history by Jane Beal.
Columns
- Poem: Ode To My Placenta, by Sara Wickham
- Tricks of the Trade
- Quote of the Quarter
- Jan’s Corner: The Gorgeous Placenta
Another ode to the placenta, with lovely photos and a poem by Harriette. - Marion’s Message: Placenta Accreta Spectrum: A Pregnancy Complication That is Becoming More Common
Marion brings us up to date on the placenta accreta spectrum, how it impacts birthing women and how it is treated. - Wisdom of the Midwives: What do your clients do with the placenta?
- Media Reviews
- Midwifery and Childbirth News
Features
- U-Turn in the History of Human Births, by Michel Odent
Using examples, Dr. Odent posits that we are going against natural selection when we interfere in the process of birth. - Fiery Birth, by Marlene Waechter
This is a humorous take on two births in which fire was accidentally involved. - Two Particularities of the Human Placenta, by Michel Odent
Dr. Odent tells us about how the human placenta differs from that of some other mammals–transferring antibodies and not being routinely eaten by the mother. - Michele Savonarola: His Fifteenth-Century Guide to Pregnancy and Pediatrics for the Midwives and Mothers of Ferrara, Italy, by Jane Beal
Learn more about what was believed regarding pregnancy and birth in the 15th century. - Opening the Pelvic Outlet in Labor, by Aneke Roach
Using photos and text, the author provides some tips for opening the pelvic outlet during second stage. - Bonding Analysis: Bonding-related Support in Pregnancy to Promote Prenatal Bonding, by Christa Balkenhol-Wright
This article explains how pregnant women can experience a different kind of pregnancy and birth process by getting into mental and emotional contact with their unborn baby. - Polycythemia and the Natural Emergence of the Placenta, by Christa Balkenhol-Wright
The author discusses polycythemia and reminds us of the need to not rush cutting the umbilical cord.
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