The Battle Is in the Mind
We are mammals. Most mammals birth fine. So what happened to us? We used to birth fine. Women in "primitive" cultures birth fine. What happened to modern women? Read more…. The Battle Is in the Mind
Jan Tritten
Happy Birthday, Birth Change
Midwifery Today turns 19 years old in February of 2005. For me, that is nearly 20 years of working to change birth with Midwifery Today, plus over 10 years of homebirth practice, changing birth one motherbaby at a time. Read more…. Happy Birthday, Birth Change
A Circle of Midwives
As midwives, we are called to serve many kinds of women and families. These may include those with whom we do not resonate for one reason or another. You could be asked to serve a member of an ethnic group that is traditionally hostile to yours, a woman with widely divergent beliefs… Read more…. A Circle of Midwives
Drugs in Labor
My soul is flooded with grief. My frustration overwhelms me. I cry for countless mothers and babies—for the births that could be. I am overwhelmed because I have felt the strong light of a powerful birth. Read more…. Drugs in Labor
ICM and Hemorrhage
The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and the Federation of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO) recently made a clandestine and potentially dangerous decision about midwifery practice. Read more…. ICM and Hemorrhage
Midwifery Today: Past and Future
Midwifery Today is 18 years old this year. I like to reflect deeply at special milestones. To me, the beginning of the year is always a time of intense planning for the future and pondering where we have been. Read more…. Midwifery Today: Past and Future
Hands-On Care
Look at your hands. These hands are holy-ordained by God to receive babies. What is the substance of this divine trust? What is the responsibility? Midwife, partera is a high calling. Read more…. Hands-On Care
A Trip to the Tropics
Marina Alzugaray and I went to the Bahamas on our way to the Trinidad International Confederation of Midwives conference to check into doing a Midwifery Today international conference there in September 2005. Read more…. A Trip to the Tropics
A Knowledge Base Fit for All Midwives
The question we must ask ourselves is this: Can a midwife survive a medicalized education and still come out an authentic midwife? Read more…. A Knowledge Base Fit for All Midwives
Healing in Mexico
We began the Oaxaca, Mexico, conference with an exercise in global healing. Marina Alzugaray and Yeshi Sherover Neumann created the idea of splitting our group of about 275 people into "conquered" and “conquerors.” Read more…. Healing in Mexico
Two Important Keys: Autonomy and Working Together
Is our profession a barrier to instinctive birth? Are we, whose calling it is to protect and care for motherbaby in the birth year, actually forming a barrier? If so, how do we change our profession to meet the real needs of women in pregnancy and birth? Read more…. Two Important Keys: Autonomy and Working Together
Misplaced Fear
I find it fascinating that women are afraid of the wrong thing when it comes to birth. They are afraid of birth when it is what they are perfectly designed to do. The thing they should be afraid of is whom they put their trust in and where they birth. Read more…. Misplaced Fear
