The Midwifery Page
Compiled by LLM
"There are only two things that have been
proven to make a difference in having healthier
babies born.
Obstetrician visits are 6 minutes in length,
on average, and midwife visits are 50 minutes
in length, on average. It's easy to see why
healthier babies are born to the clients of
midwives... a kind and loving midwife provides
the two key elements scientifically proven to
result in a healthier baby." -Gloria
Lemay
On this page:
Also see:
Articles: Midwifery
and Midwifery History
Midwifery
Clinical Teaching and Learning in Midwifery and
Women's Health, from From Journal of Midwifery
& Women's Health. Excerpted from the Abstract:
"This article includes a discussion of challenges
in clinical teaching; an overview of expectations
and responsibilities of the education program,
students, and preceptors; suggestions about orienting
students to clinical sites; clinical teaching
strategies and skills; suggestions for incorporating
critical thinking and evidence-based care into
clinical teaching; guidelines for giving constructive
feedback and evaluation; characteristics of excellent
clinical teachers; and suggestions about how education
programs and professional associations can support
and develop clinical sites and preceptors. The
Appendix contains manuals, books, and Web sites
devoted to clinical teaching." Free at Medscape
with sign-up.
The
Primal Touch of Birth: Midwives, Mothers, and
Massage Included in this comprehensive, compassionate
article by Kara Maia Spencer, LMP: the history
of hands-on maternity care, the myriad benefits
of touch in pregnancy, birth and the postpartum,
the various modes of touch implemented by midwives
throughout the world, and the cruelty of replacing
traditional touch with cold, autocratic medical
ritual.
Lotus
Birth... Asking The Next Question by Robin
Lim. Beautiful, moving thoughts about why babies'
placentas mean so much to them. Included: how
and why Balinese children revere their placentas,
and traditional midwifery.
The Case for Midwives
Midwife-assisted birth and unassisted birth are
discussed in this article by LLM,
Gloria Lemay and Laura Shanley.
Public
Health: A Scientific Basis for Childbirth
-by Ron Law, a New Zealand health writer and university
lecturer. A must-read!
Midwifery
in the Industrialized World by Marsden Wagner,
MD. Included: a brief history of midwifery (and
the medical attacking it has endured), how midwifery
actually saves lives, and how beneficial midwifery
is to women- and society at large.
A Global
Witch-Hunt by Marsden Wagner, MD. By far most
of the witch-hunted are the independent, female
midwives. This examines the key underlying issues
of witch-hunts: money, power, sex, and choice.
The Culture
of Childbirth by Katie Allison Granju.
Details birth customs around the world. Originally
in Minnesota Parent Magazine.
An Interview
with Ina May Gaskin by Evonne Smulders.
The renowned midwife discusses midwifery regulation,
and what "midwives" really are.
Home
Births Without Hazards In Holland, homebirth
is accepted as a perfectly safe option and is
readily encouraged; there is even government-paid
postpartum help. Included in this Telegraph story:
a British theater director who went to Amsterdam
to give ecstatic birth to her second child.
Are
You a Size-Friendly Midwife? This excellent
article by Kmom of plus-size-pregnancy.org
illustrates the health and normalcy of big women's
pregnancies and births- and how discriminated
they are against; and just how dangerous ignorance
and discrimination by "caregivers" really
can be to women and their babies. Originally in
Midwifery Today magazine. external link
The
State of Midwifery in British Columbia, Canada
by Rachel Westfall. A discussion of what the effects
of the professionalization of midwifery has had
on the women of BC. This article is of great use
for midwifery proponents everywhere; it also discusses
unassisted birth as a viable option.
Homebirths
with Registered Midwives Lead to Less Complicated
Deliveries Research in in British Columbia,
Canada shows that women had less episiotomies,
cesareans, and induced and drugged births with
regulated midwives attending.
Midwifery History
History
of Maternity Care by Barbara Katz Rothman;
excerpted from "In Labor: Women and
Power in the
Birthplace". Grab some tea and settle
down for a good, long read. Important for aspiring
midwives, this includes how midwives were extinguished
as a profession, and the debate about the true
"midwifery" of nurse midwives. Also:
how early obstetrical promises of superiority
were false and, the early brutality of the 'barber
surgeons" (male midwives) at births.
History
of Midwifery: Considering a Midwife? by
Katie Allison Granju. This excellent article details
the history of midwifery (including midwife witch
hunts), as well as the superior safety of lay
midwives (DEMs- direct entry midwives) versus
any other birth attendant. Originally in Minnesota
Parent Magazine.
Midwives' hands
BirthLove Columns
by LLM about Midwives and Midwifery
The College of Midwives of BC Casts
Long Shadows into their own Tenuous, Uncertain
Future: A Brief History of their Most Recent
Attacks Against Gloria Lemay (Or, "Fun
with Jane") Read column here
(12/11/01) The College of Midwives is at it
again- desecrating women's free choice, and
making themselves look really bad in the process.
Serving
the Ultimate Calling (12/5/01) In serving
Birth we serve God... nothing less.Included:
a few of the harms of hospitalized childbirth.
The Hidden
Blessing of Midwife Witch Hunts (11/13/00)
When birth attendants are being hunted for "practicing
medicine without a license", they should
reassess the true meaning of birth attendance:
that is, being "with woman"- not with
Doppler or amnihook.
In Honor
of the Hospital Midwives (5/1/00) Gratitude
and love for all the women who help and nurture
women and babies in their hospital births; in
honor of International Day of the Midwife- May
5, 2000.
The Idiocy
of Eating One's Own Arm (3/14/00) When
there is discord among the people who love birth,
there can only be sadness for everyone.
Women's
Rights Victory! (2/8/00) Victory for
the women of British Columbia! We now have the
legally recognized right to choose where and
with whom we give birth.
Annotating
a Sunset, and the Current Nonsense regarding
Gloria Lemay (2/1/00) Gloria goes to
court on 2/2/2000, and I hope I can be there.
A bit about my 7th's birth too.
Remembering
those who have fallen- and supporting those
under attack (10/5/99) Midwives past
and present must be honored, and remembered.
A
Midwife's Courage
(7/20/99) A midwife stands up to OB tyranny
in an Internet list. More about VBAC, too.
The
Victory of Ann O Ceallaigh
(6/22/99) An Irish midwife is being prosecuted
for what amounts to absolutely nothing.
Linda's
Birth
(6/8/99) Does
the presence of a noninterventionist birth attendant
lead to more interventions in a hospital birth
situation?
The
True Calling of the Midwife
(6/1/99) Many
women need a midwife's help in trusting birth.
This is also about unassisted, planned homebirth.
Day
One of my Midwifery Study Group
(5/11/99) I learned the most important lesson
of midwifery on day one.
France's
Struggle for Birthing Freedom
(4/20/99) A
call for help for Mme de Béarn of the
Sarlat birth center in France; she is being
persecuted by her government.
Complementary
Colors in a Midwife Rainbow
(3/30/99) There are as many kinds of midwives
as there are families; let's try to figure out
how to address each family's specific needs.
Note: many columns
were written about my own midwife's persecution;
to read more, go
here.
Midwives and Midwifery Organizations
to Support
- Reform
Midwifery Legislation in Virginia Crucial
new legislation is being considered in Virginia.
Residents should act now, to safeguard Virginia's
midwifery future.
- Help
Dr. Danae Steele, Supporter of Women and Natural
Birth Danae is a Perinatologist who lost
her hospital privileges not because she was
a bad doctor- but because she supports midwifery,
home birth and women's choice.
- Citizens
Advocating Licensed Midwifery "California
Midwives Seeking Support for Workable Licensing"
- Gloria Lemay BirthLove's
Contributing Expert and midwife of 20+ years
of experience was imprisoned for practicing"midwifery"
(and was witch hunted by "midwives").
- Freida
Miller Freida was imprisoned for not telling
the court who supplied her with the pitocin
and methergaine she injected to stop a woman's
postpartum hemorrhage; this page details her
day in court (very dramatic!).
Midwifery Links
- Radical
Midwives' Homepage -many excellent articles
can be found within this site. See- Midwifery
Guidelines Response by Dr John Stevenson.
- The
Good News Network by Faith Gibson, a former
OB nurse turned lay midwife. Many worthy articles
and references on this page.
-
- The
Witch Hunts- The End of Magic and Miracles
This book chapter includes a description of
the trials that midwives endured.
- The
Diary of Martha Moore Ballard Midwife Martha
Moore Ballard started her diary on January 1,
1785 and wrote in it daily for twenty-seven
years. Her diary is part of the DoHistory
site, which presents a variety of historical
documents. Go here
for the index to the midwifery and medical listings.
- Citizens
for Midwifery Crucial information on
how to make change for women in birth.
- Marilyn's
Midwifery Page Great links, and a wonderful
sense of humor. Includes information about activism
in the state of Tennessee.
- Midwifery
Today Magazine Online -includes links
to back issues of MT's fantastic online newlsetter,
the MT E-News.
- Home
Birth and Midwives Support Network for Illinois
An account of how the state of Illinois
is persecuting home birth midwives; an excellent
midwifery and homebirth reference despite some
broken links.
- Virginia
Birthing Freedoms -seeking access to
community-based midwifery care, and are urgently
asking citizens to defend their inhernet rights
to self-autonomy and non-interference by the
State.
- Midwives
among the Machines: Recreating Midwifery in
the Late 20th Century -"It was
a strange sight, even by the standards of a
large American hospital. Here, among the world's
most advanced obstetric technology - electronic
monitors, infusers, ultrasound devices and well-appointed
surgical suites - a woman was giving birth on
the floor."
- Well
Woman Health Care Associates, Inc. Gail
Winters Johnson, CPM has an extensive links
page, as well as great research on homebirth
and midwifery safety issues.
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