Midwifery Today Membership Content

This category can only be viewed by members. To view this category, sign up by purchasing Midwifery Today Online Membership - 12 months, Midwifery Today Online Membership Student Special - 12 months, Midwifery Today Online Membership - 6 months, Midwifery Today Online Mini-Membership - 1 month or Monthly Membership Subscription.

Photo provided by Colleen Uszak

The Choice to Birth My Baby

by Colleen Uszak October 19, 2020

I found out I was pregnant for the fifth time in May of 2019. I would have been considered high risk under traditional obstetrical care due to three prior miscarriages and a heart-shaped uterus with a cesarean scar. Due to my firstborn son Oren being breech in my womb, I was coerced into scheduling a cesarean at 39 weeks as a first-time mother. This is an option for those in my position, but it was presented to me as the only way to birth my son. I have since come to believe that risk is subjective. I had grown a healthy, full-term baby all on my own before and knew I could do it again, if this baby were to stay.

This post is only available to members. To purchase an online membership, go here.

If you are already an online member login here.

Read more…. The Choice to Birth My Baby

Photo by Arleen Weise

Midwifery & Childbirth News – Issue 132

by Editorial December 24, 2019

Midwifery & Childbirth News – Issue 132

This post is only available to members. To purchase an online membership, go here.

If you are already an online member login here.

Photo by Isabel Retamales

Case Study of Loss of Prenatal Care during Covid-19 Lockdown in Kathmandu, Nepal

by Joy Hearn October 13, 2020

Sarita (name changed) is a sweet 29-year-old first-time mother in Kathmandu, Nepal, loved by her husband and family, generally healthy, and of a happy disposition. We first met at church when she was five months pregnant although because it was winter and she was wrapped completely in a wool shawl, I didn’t notice. Somehow my being a nurse and midwife came up in our conversation, and she disclosed that she was expecting. When I asked her how she’d been feeling, she said she’d been very tired lately, had headaches, and wasn’t feeling very well.

This post is only available to members. To purchase an online membership, go here.

If you are already an online member login here.

Photo provided by author

A Revelation in Birth—Home VBAC

by Leslie Warren February 25, 2022

Avery Judith Warren was born at home into pure love. Her birth was a magical home VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). But in order to express the impact her birth had on me, I must include the birth of my son, Mason.

This post is only available to members. To purchase an online membership, go here.

If you are already an online member login here.

Cait Sumner—apiaryphotography.com

Photo Album – Issue 137

by Editorial March 18, 2021

Photo Album — Issue 137

This post is only available to members. To purchase an online membership, go here.

If you are already an online member login here.

Heart of a Lion, Warrior Woman Gives Birth

by Mary L. Cooper October 19, 2020

On February 4, 2020, I had the privilege of helping Vincent and Colleen with the birth of their second-born child. Their firstborn, a son, was born by c-section, due to his breech position and her bicornuate uterus.

This post is only available to members. To purchase an online membership, go here.

If you are already an online member login here.

Photo by Héctor Martínez

Country Contacts – Issue 132

by Anna Ishaku, Zhang Hongyu and Lieve Huybrechts December 24, 2019

Country Contacts – Issue 132

This post is only available to members. To purchase an online membership, go here.

If you are already an online member login here.

Photo by Ana Tablas

Honoring Birth and Babies

by Jo Anne Lindberg July 10, 2020

My birth journey started during my childbearing years. My first child, a daughter, was a full-term stillbirth. Nothing could have prepared me for that experience. It was also my first up-close-and-personal experience with death. To say it changed me in many fundamental ways would be an understatement. I waited the suggested one year and got pregnant immediately.

This post is only available to members. To purchase an online membership, go here.

If you are already an online member login here.

Homebirth in the Time of Covid

by Nancy Wainer November 18, 2020

Many homebirth midwives found that their telephones were ringing more often than usual sometime during the spring of this year. Couples who had planned to have their babies in the hospital were re-thinking that decision due to the Covid-19 virus. We began hearing certain themes: “I don’t want to go into a place where all the sick people are going.” “I don’t want to be separated from my husband/partner.” “My labor assistant (notice that I did not use the word doula, as my Greek friends tell me that the word is derogatory) can’t be with me; she would have to drop me off at the door at just the time when I would most likely need her the most.” “I am scared to be among people who have been exposed to so many others who may have been, or may become, ill.”

This post is only available to members. To purchase an online membership, go here.

If you are already an online member login here.

Photo by Josh Bean

Postmaturity

by Margie Dacko December 1, 2018

Using stories from her practice, Margie Dacko reflects on the conundrum of truly knowing a due date.

This post is only available to members. To purchase an online membership, go here.

If you are already an online member login here.

Marion’s Message: Shoulder Dystocia: Midwifery Care

by Marion Toepke McLean March 18, 2021

Shoulder dystocia (SD) is a complication that is rare, hard to predict, and potentially fatal to the birthing baby. Baby and mother can sustain lasting damage. No wonder it is commonly feared by birth practitioners.

This post is only available to members. To purchase an online membership, go here.

If you are already an online member login here.

Lora Denton—loradentonphotography.com

Destined for Breech Babies

by Jessica Gray December 1, 2018

Often a deviated uterus will lead to an automatic cesarean. Jessica Gray writes about how this difference in her physiology led to her happy breech births.