Theme: Labor
“Birth” is the theme of Issue 127 of Midwifery Today. This magazine will take you through many aspects of birth, from the amazing action and interaction of different body parts, to the role of fathers, to how doulas help military families giving birth away from friends and family. you can also read more in our continuing series “The Portable Midwife” by Regina Willette and midwives in history by Jane Beal, as well as birth stories, clinical information, and stories from midwives on the front lines of birth.
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Photo by Pablo Heimplatz
Despite two cesareans, this mother was able to have the VBAC she desired, with the help of the author.
Read more…. VBA2C: A Story of Grit, Commitment, and the Quest for a Natural Birth
Jennifer Hamilton—mamarazziphotographytx.com
About 5 to 10% of newborns are born with tongue-tie. The majority of newborns with tongue-tie have no problem breastfeeding or bottle-feeding and their mothers do not suffer nipple pain. Among women with unresolved nipple pain from breastfeeding, nipple pain was decreased significantly if the baby either had a frenotomy or a sham procedure. Frenotomy should be painless for the baby, cause at most two drops of blood loss, and the baby should not cry more than 10 seconds.
Photo by Jonathan Tajalle
The author shares the challenges of those in the military who may not have family around, and the organizations she helped create to serve them.
Read more…. The Military Birth Resource Network: Serving Those Who Serve
Photo provided by the author
The author (right) with Nicholas and Jocelyn de Anda and their
daughter, Elizabeth.
Richardson shares her experiences and challenges as a doula overseas, serving the military.
Kourtnie Scholz—kedocumentary.com
An introduction to doulas who serve women who must birth away from family.
Photo by Josh Johnson
Johnson shares her lovely introduction to becoming a midwife as her friend becomes a mother in Namibia.
Jennifer Hamilton—mamarazziphotographytx.com
Sister MorningStar spins her word magic about the subject of maternal mortality, using examples of women she has known.
Photo by Tregg Mathis
The author talks about the need to return to family-centered birth.
This interesting article discusses how the modern style of birthing on the back fails to account for the role of the clitoris in labor, as well as leading to more birth injuries.
An inspired midwife writes about holy birth.
Painting | John Singleton Copley [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Ann Eliot (born Hannah Mumford or Mountford) was a midwife in Roxbury, Massachusetts, just outside Boston, during the Colonial era in America. After she died on March 22, 1687, her family, friends, and neighbors commemorated her life by erecting a special monument for her. In a unanimous resolution, they voted to do so: “Mrs. Eliot, for the great service that she hath done this town, will be honored with a burial there.” (qtd. in Gregory 1857, 27). At the time of her death, she had attended more than 3000 births.
Read more…. In Memory of Ann Eliot, Colonial American Midwife
The author tells the story of the arrival of her baby and how she arrived at and worked through a dark place to reach that goal.
