Theme: Group B Strep
Our Spring 2015 issue is dedicated to the topic Group B Strep (GBS). At 72 pages, it is filled with clinical articles, vital information, midwifery tricks of the trade, gorgeous birth photos and delightful homebirth stories from around the world.
The topic of group B strep, GBS testing, antibiotics and sick babies is not something that makes for pleasant conversation. However, it certainly is a topic that birth workers must be knowledgeable about. That is why we asked certain people to write on this topic: Michel Odent, Sister MorningStar and Marion Toepke McLean. Robin Lim has an article somewhat related to the theme, titled, “When Pregnancy Goes South: Keeping Birth Gentle.” Also included in the pages of this issue are two very powerful birth stories: one where Sister MorningStar midwifes a Nicaraguan couple via the telephone through the birth of their first child 1000 miles away; the other is a wonderful story of surrogacy. I hope you enjoy curling up with this issue of Midwifery Today. Get ready to learn a lot and to be inspired!
Learn what a Midwifery Today Online Membership can do for you. = Membership Article.
Synthenia Rosa — synethiarosa.com
How to explain that group B streptococcal (GBS) infection, today the most significant cause of neonatal bacterial sepsis, suddenly emerged in the 1960s?
Read more…. Group B Streptococcal Infection: Beyond the Mysteries
istockphoto.com/portfolio/maya23k
Sister MorningStar midwifes a Nicaraguan couple via the telephone through the birth of their first child 1000 miles away. Read more…. Crossing Borders with Andrea
Photo by Wanda Walker
Diana Paul gets readers up to date on the Birth Revolution. ‘The Birth Revolution is like the slow food movement–it takes time to cook, it tastes best in community and a small taste leaves you wanting more. Read more…. The Revolution So Far
Kayla Grey—austinbirthphotos.com
It is late evening and there is a definite chill in the air as I make the five-minute walk to my birth center from the nearby hospital. I wrap my arms around my torso in an effort to keep my body heat contained and I say a little prayer of thanks. I am thankful for many things. I’m thankful that I have a place to take my families when they need hospital-based care. I’m thankful that when we do have to make this trip, the mothers are treated with respect and compassion. I’m thankful that I am blessed to have excellent physician colleagues that I can call at any time to con-sult with. In order for me to provide excellent out-of-hospital care, all of these things are critical. Read more…. Collaboration Is Key
©istockphoto.com/photos/erik-trampe
A very informative article on nutrition in pregnancy, highlighting the importance of fish oils.
Leilani Rogers—photosbylei.com
Group B streptococci colonize the vaginal and gastrointestinal tracts of healthy women, being present 15–45% of the time when recto-vaginal swabs are collected and cultured (Woods 2014). Women screened around the 37th week of pregnancy test positive 10–33% of the time (CDC 2010). These women should, according to the CDC Guidelines, re-ceive IV penicillin, ampicillin or an alternative antibiotic, when in active labor.
Lynsey Stone—dfwbirthphotographer.com
It was my daughter’s third birthday and this was her question that started our day. Then, as we walked to nursery school, she asked, “When Halloween goes, where does it go?” I’m still working on an explanation for the spiraling movement of time, and the effort is helping me understand why my daughter talks so often about what she will do when she is a baby again. If Halloween will return next year, why not her babyhood, too?
There has been a huge increase in postpartum nipple thrush since the onset of the standard of antibiotic treatment in both GBS+ mothers and cesarean section births. Nipple thrush is frequently overlooked since the symptoms do not show up until anywhere from one to six weeks postpartum. Even then, the symptoms are very often poorly diagnosed as just poor latch, normal initial tenderness or let-down. There are clear differences between these symptoms and symptoms of thrush, but many times the mother is told to “tough it out” instead of getting the treatment that she and the baby need. Clearly, vast education would aid in being able to recognize the differences. With let-down, the sensation is as if there are threads (sometimes with little knots in them) that are behind the chest wall being pulled through the nipple and out.
Photo by Jan Tritten
It is interesting how visions and dreams work out. I always had a feeling that I would visit Fiji. There was a sweet spot in my heart for this country long before I set foot on it. Read more…. Fiji, the Land of Smiles
Vicki (far right) with a couple and their new baby ready to discharge from the birthing tent to go back to their own temporary homeless shelter. Volunteers: Tara Greeley, Michelle Pixianho, Jen Bunquin, Christy Martin, April Flores, and Vicki Penwell
Midwife Vicki Penwell shares the experience she and other helpers from Mercy In Action had in their successful attempts to provide midwifery care to those affected by Hurricane Yolanda. Read more…. After the Disaster: What Comes Next in the Philippines?
Photographs—Randy Verlie
Mothers, father, grandparents, midwives, nurses, doulas, doctors and concerned citizens are calling out for human rights in childbirth. Yet, this worldwide push is relatively small when we consider how many women, newborn babies and families are affected by human rights infractions in childbirth. The bullying of mothers and their families, just when they should be enjoying the miracle of birth, is all too often, all over this world, accepted as the norm, as though women should suffer in childbirth. I cannot imagine that our divine Creator meant for women to suffer.
