Cait Sumner—apiaryphotography.com
Photo Album — Issue 137
Photo provided by Colleen Uszak
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.
Photo by Isabel Retamales
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.
Read more…. Case Study of Loss of Prenatal Care during Covid-19 Lockdown in Kathmandu, Nepal
Photo by Arleen Weise
Midwifery & Childbirth News – Issue 132
Photo by Kevin Keith
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.”
Photo by Anna Civolani
In these most interesting times, on March 19, 2020, I had to cancel the last two days of my Art of Birth workshop, in which 34 women and one man gathered with me for two weeks, in deep, eight-hours-per-day immersion. Read more…. Some Blessings for the Homebirth Community during Covid-19 Times
Photo by Sasha Freemind
I see myself in her. But I’ve been taught that that’s bad as a professional. I’m her prospective midwife—not her friend. I reinstate my professional role and gut my personal self out. Read more…. A Provider Who Cannot Provide
Photo by Numan Malik
The power and superiority of homebirth is not in statistics, politics, academia, wimyn’s empowerment, or even the realms of species preservation. The power of homebirth is that it belongs to the Village. Read more…. Village Birth
Photo provided by Colleen Uszak
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.
Photo by Héctor Martínez
Country Contacts – Issue 132
Photo by Cheryl Holt
This article addresses the 20-week ultrasound that is now standard for some pregnant women and a case in which not having one done saved the mother from a cesarean.
Photo by Andrijana Bozic
What diet is optimal in pregnancy? The answer seems simple: Any diet, including vegan, that provides adequate but not too many macro- and micronutrients, when combined with uncontaminated water supply, daily exercise, and a healthy lifestyle free of physical abuse, excessive stress, and alcohol and drug addictions will have optimal outcomes. Read more…. Pregnancy Diet: Birth Outcome Depends Less on Diet than on Frequent Use of Interventions in Hospital Birth
