Birth in 2050
What will birth be like 40 years from now? If everyone works together, writes editor-in-chief Jan Tritten, we can transform birth for future generations. Read more…. Birth in 2050
Issue 94
Issue 94, Summer 2010
Theme: Birth is a Human Rights Issue
Cover photo by Philip McCormick is a street portrait of a boy at a marketplace in Bali, Indonesia. McCormick specializes in street photography, portraiture and landscapes. He has lived, worked and traveled extensively throughout India and Southeast Asia and has a large body of work from that part of the world. He now lives in the UK. To view his portfolio or contact McCormick, visit his Web site: pmccormickphoto.com.
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The International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative: A Human Rights Approach to Optimal Maternity Care
This article outlines the 10 steps developed by the International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative to help ensure that women everywhere are guaranteed the basic human right of humane and evidence-based maternity care. Read more…. The International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative: A Human Rights Approach to Optimal Maternity Care
The Issue of Birth Rights
Humans are instinctual creatures, writes Sister MorningStar in this potent essay on the issue of birth rights. “Disturbed, the bodily functions of an instinctual animal will stop,” MorningStar writes. “Humans deserve the right to birth in their natural environment where they feel safe and with their own ‘kind‘.” Read more…. The Issue of Birth Rights
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Shasti Ma
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Midwifery Today, Issue 94, Summer 2010. Subscribe to Midwifery Today Magazine When we were interviewing dais (traditional Indian midwives) about their experiences at births, their techniques, skills and rituals, everyone we interviewed, including one Muslim dai, mentioned Shasti Ma, the goddess of childbirth. The dais talked about how they remembered or invoked her at the time of birth and the postpartum rituals. I was working on the Jeeva Project in an area called Jharkhand, one of the poorest and most medically underserved parts of India. But this is precisely where dais continue to meet the needs, as best they can, of birthing women—and where younger women continue to learn traditional birth work from the elders in their community. During one interview, a village woman named Himani Nandi, who was listening to this conversation about birth, told a story about Shasti Ma, which described her link to the more familiar Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and wisdom, and explained the custom of eating bhassi khanna (or day-old food) on the day after Saraswati Puja. This is not a renowned story, which you would find in fancy books on goddesses and Indian religion, but that’s the beauty of India—each region, each area, has its own mythic narratives. This is what Himani Nandi told us: There was one old man. He had 60 sons and that’s why he was known as Sattha (which stands for the number 60 in Hindi). One night he had a dream; and in his dream an old lady asked him to look for brides for his sons and he would find them. The condition is that they should be married into a family that has 60 daughters. He asked the old lady where he would find such a family. The old… Read more…. Shasti Ma
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A Hidden Tragedy: Birth as a Human Rights Issue in Developing Countries
Author Vicki Penwell delves into one of the world’s greatest injustices: While a mother dies during childbirth every minute of every day, only 1% of these deaths occur in the developed world. Read more…. A Hidden Tragedy: Birth as a Human Rights Issue in Developing Countries
The Dangers of Planned Hospital Births
Midwife and researcher Judy Slome Cohain dissects currently available published research and finds that hospital birth is never safer than a planned, attended homebirth for low-risk women.
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Author Gloria Lemay holds a newborn.
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Dear Rose
In this simple yet touching tale, midwife Gloria Lemay remembers a birth she attended by penning a letter to the baby, Rose, who is now a full-grown young woman.
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The Phillips family, including mom Amanda, dad Ryan (second from left), and boys Asher (right) and Shepherd, celebrates with friends in India.
One Trip around the Sun
A father retells the story of his family’s year in India leading up to the birth of his second son, Shepherd Ketan.
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Medical Progress in 2110? A Parody
Moved by the thought that we should birth our children as we conceive them, a mother wonders what might happen if, 100 years from now, we conceive our children as we birth them—in a starkly lit hospital, monitors strapped on and specialists at the ready.
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Brazilian Love Rebels: Bringing Awareness and Consciousness to a Birth-broken Nation
Native Brazilian author Ana Paula Markel attends a birth conference in Brazil and finds a group of “Brazilian love rebels” leading a social revolution that questions unnecessary medical interventions and embraces empowered birth.
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Read more…. Brazilian Love Rebels: Bringing Awareness and Consciousness to a Birth-broken Nation
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Pushing Through: A Tale of Homebirth After Cesarean
Devastated by an unnecessary c-section, the author finds peace with her second birth: an unhurried home waterbirth attended by a midwife and doula.
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Read more…. Pushing Through: A Tale of Homebirth After Cesarean
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Author Vivienne Miranda, center, holds her new baby, Anuk, as midwife Ruth “Ruli” Delgado (second from right) and friends and family look on.
The New Generation of Rincoeño
A new mother recounts her homebirth, attended by Puerto Rico’s last traditional midwife, Ruth “Ruli” Delgado, who recently retired after more than 30 years and 400 babies.
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