From the Editor

Jan tells us about how she received her midwifery education, how it has changed over the years, and the role of Midwifery Today in educating midwives. Read more…. From the Editor: Aspects of Midwifery Education

The face of Midwifery Today is changing. I am retiring. Midwifery Today (MT) needs to live on, so I have found the ideal midwife-visionary to carry her into the next years: Lois Wilson. You can read a bit of her story here. Read more…. From the Editor: Gratitude for Midwifery Today

So many women go into their birth experience with fear, rather than believing in the strength of their bodies or the matter-of-factness of birth. Jan and Harriette illustrate this changed view of women’s bodies with an example seen at an art showing. Read more…. From the Editor: Birth Evangelism

A midwife is responsible for knowing and recalling all she is able about any complication that may arise. We have lives in our hands, so we want to know as many techniques for any given situation as we can. Most do not happen very frequently. Shoulder dystocia is one of our big ones; learning all we can and reviewing our knowledge base often is very important. Read more…. From the Editor: Complications and Fear

If all midwives and birth attendants had known about using the placenta, membrane, or cord for hemorrhage control, many lives could have been saved. If all midwives learned about this and were willing to use it, so many more would be saved. Hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death globally. Think of all the maternal deaths that could be and could have been avoided. These resources are always present at a birth. Membranes and cord can be used if the placenta is not born yet. Gail Hart taught me that. She said that the membranes and cord have even more oxytocin and other useful hormones than even the placenta. Read more…. Placenta, Membranes, and Cord to Stop Bleeding

Midwifery Today is now an online publication—which is very exciting to us! This change allows us to include value-added material with articles. You will find links that provide further information, videos, or sounds, and there is no limit to the length of articles—long or short. We can include photos without coming up against page limitations that prevent us from fitting them in. I think that offers a lot to our readers.  Read more…. Let’s Keep Making Birth Better

Midwifery Today has been trying to influence birth for the better throughout the world since our first issue came out in 1987. It took us a long time from idea to publication: to get the first one done, we started a full year before. We had a column called Working Abroad in the first issue and then began to receive contributions from other countries. Henny Ligtermoet, from Australia, wrote “My Mother was an Elderly Primagravida.” She talked about how if she were born today (then 1987) the OB would put fear in her mother, but since she was born at home in 1921 that did not happen. International issues and ideas have been a great journey and I have enjoyed it immensely!  Read more…. The Journey of International Midwifery