COVID-19

Homebirth in the Time of Covid

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.

 Read more…. Homebirth in the Time of Covid

Some Blessings for the Homebirth Community during Covid-19 Times

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

Maternity Care Amid Covid-19 Outbreak Story of midwives from a remote rural area in Bangladesh

Like most other countries, Bangladesh is facing the onslaught of Covid-19. In a near-lockdown situation, normal life has been interrupted, education institutions closed down, devotees reduced in mosques and temples, and gathering of any type in the community is discouraged. However, the frontline health care workers (FLW) are on their toes, providing services to the ailing people, both coronavirus-related and otherwise. Unlike most of us, they cannot stay at home. One group of these FLWs is the midwives. They are attending to duties in unprotected or partially-protected environments. The Midwife Led Care Centre (MLC) at the Charikata Union Health and Family Welfare Center (UH&FWC) in Sylhet, Bangladesh, is such a center where midwives are continuing their care and services despite unfavorable circumstances.

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…. Maternity Care Amid Covid-19 Outbreak Story of midwives from a remote rural area in Bangladesh

The Impacts of Covid-19 on Birth Practices in the United States

This rapid-response article (1) seeks to describe the quick and dramatic changes occurring in birth practices across the United States resulting from the pandemic of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and the life-threatening disease it produces, Covid-19. Long before the Covid-19 epidemic hit the United States, the medicalization of pregnancy had led to a broad acceptance of birthing as hospital-based—where it is often treated like a dysfunctional mechanical process and its normal physiology is ignored. We explore the question of how Covid-19 is causing women and birth providers to look at birth differently, given that hospitals are now more than ever being perceived as sites of contagion. We show that Covid-19 offers a testing ground for ongoing debates about the efficacy of maternity care and the safety of hospital versus out-of-hospital (OOH) births. We conclude by suggesting specific policy changes to generate effective maternity care in the face of future pandemics and other disasters that are bound to increase in our era of the climate crisis.

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 Impacts of Covid-19 on Birth Practices in the United States

Country Contacts – Issue 134

How has Covid-19, the disease from the novel coronavirus affected your country?

Have you done anything different with pregnant and birthing women during this time?

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…. Country Contacts – Issue 134

Initiatives for Pregnant and Birthing Women in India during Covid-19 Pandemic

he world is witnessing a huge outbreak of deadly Covid-19, or novel coronavirus. Similarly, India is also struggling with fast-growing coronavirus. The first case of coronavirus in India was reported on January 30, 2020, in a student who was brought to Kerala from Wuhan University (China). Thereafter, it rose to three cases, confined to Kerala, and all were students who returned from Wuhan University. No significant increase in cases was seen in February.

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…. Initiatives for Pregnant and Birthing Women in India during Covid-19 Pandemic

Covid-19 in Nigeria

The novel coronavirus, which causes Covid-19, is a new life-threatening disease. Covid-19 is a worldwide health hazard that is now spreading throughout the world.  Read more…. Covid-19 in Nigeria

Covid-19 in Iran

Iran is an ancient country in the Middle East, with 7000 years of history and a population of more than 83 million. Every year around 1,300,000 children are born in Iran, and there are more than 55,000 midwives currently available.

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…. Covid-19 in Iran

Keeping Waterbirth Safe During Covid-19

All the research shows that water reduces the rate of infection in all three participants—mother, baby, and provider—and in some cases makes contaminants non-viable. This was the answer I gave to the first person, a hospital midwife from Italy, who asked about restrictions for using water for labor and birth during the Covid-19 outbreak. She sent a message on March 20 and I recommended that they continue with their established hospital waterbirth practice and, where and when necessary, use full personal protection equipment (PPE). Read more…. Keeping Waterbirth Safe During Covid-19

Ecuador’s New Life Birthing Centers at the Time of Covid-19

Times are challenging right now all over the world—especially in areas of low resources, where supplies are already stretched thin and cultural barriers exist.
New Life Birthing Centers is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which plants and operates holistic birthing centers that offer free evidence-based care in low resource countries. We currently operate in the Andean area of Ecuador and are opening in the Dominican Republic.

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…. Ecuador’s New Life Birthing Centers at the Time of Covid-19

The New Coronavirus and the Future of BCG

Between 1921 and the mid-1970s, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) was identified and studied exclusively as a vaccine to prevent tuberculosis and leprosy (infections by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae). Let us recall that BCG contains a weakened strain of Mycobacterium bovis.

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 New Coronavirus and the Future of BCG

Pregnancy, Birth, and Breastfeeding with Covid-19

We are in the midst of a pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, Covid-19. Midwives and pregnant women need guidance on how to proceed and whether their babies are at risk. Read more…. Pregnancy, Birth, and Breastfeeding with Covid-19

Skip to content