Photo by Ali Mosavi
Marion recounts her visit to Afghanistan, arranged by her friend Siri, to volunteer as a teacher and insert IUDs
Read more…. Marion’s Message: Working in Afghanistan with Siri
Associate Editor Marion McLean shares stories of the interconnectedness and complexities of dealing with birthing women and their mothers and mothers-in-law.
Read more…. Marion’s Message: Midwives, Mothers and Mothers-in-law
Photo by Matt Walsh
At the March 2005 Midwifery Today Conference in Eugene, we sat in a circle discussing third and fourth stage problems. A young midwife with a hospital background raised a question. “When do you push the panic button?” People looked at her with interest and she continued, “What I mean is, in the hospital, they always stress that over twenty minutes from the time the baby is born to placental delivery is high risk. But people here are talking about much longer times. How do you know when you are in trouble?”
Read more…. Marion’s Message: When Do You Push the Panic Button?
Marion with an attendee of the Midwifery Today 2005 Eugene Conference
My first day at the conference, I noticed a number of Native American participants. I felt gratitude and joy at their presence. Our lives are enriched when we are able to interact with people of different cultural backgrounds. Further, the roots of indigenous cultures that have lived on the same land over centuries connect us through time to the ancient ways in a unique manner.
In 2004 I served as midwife for a dear family. I thought a lot about the time to be born, as the due date came and went. Is there a time designated for us to come into the world? “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven,” says the Holy Bible. “A time to be born and a time to die.”
Disturbing reports about the risks of cesarean delivery have been issued for years. Recently yet another has been suggested: an increased risk of unexplained stillbirth late in pregnancies that follow a pregnancy ending in cesarean delivery.
Read more…. Marion’s Message: Another Good Reason to Prevent Cesarean Section
Photo by Peter Oslanec
A very small percentage of babies are at risk of developing cerebral palsy in the perinatal period. But these are our most vulnerable of charges. If there is already some neurological damage, spare these babies hypoxic stress, if need be, by surgical intervention.
