http://www.midwiferytoday.com/ The latest news for midwives, doulas, and other birth practitioners. en-us Copyright (c) 2008, Midwifery Today, Inc. All rights reserved. Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 PST webdesign@midwiferytoday.com http://www.midwiferytoday.com/rss/rsslogo.gif http://www.midwiferytoday.com/ 88 31 Subscribe to the Web Updates RSS feed to stay on top of what's new or highlighted on the Midwifery Today Web site. Be alerted when conference programs go online, new articles are posted and more. Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 PST Conference: The archived programs of the Midwifery Today conferences in Ann Arbor, Michigan, ("Hope and Healing" 2008), and Eugene (2007 and 2009) are now available online. More to be added. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/conferences/photos/ Fri, 6 Mar 2009 00:00:00 PST Editorial by Jan Tritten from Issue 89 of Midwifery Today magazine: "One of my main goals in doing conferences in different parts of the world is to gain unique knowledge, techniques and insights, and take that information to other parts of the world that can benefit from it. The other way to spread this midwifery knowledge from around the world is to bring it to the US at the conferences Midwifery Today presents here." http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ed_knowledge.asp Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 PST The 2nd Quarter 2009 issue of IAM News, the e-newsletter of the International Alliance of Midwives, is now archived and viewable by members. (Membership is free, but you must join to read the newsletter.) http://www.midwiferytoday.com/iam/ Fri, 6 Mar 2009 00:00:00 PST E-News Issue 11:5 is now online. "Multiple Births" is the theme of the current issue of Midwifery Today E-News. Read Research about Vitamin D Deficiency and Cesarean. Send in your response to the Question of the Week about Fundal Massage. Read Question of the Week Responses: Uterine Didelphys. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/enews/enews1105.asp Fri, 6 Mar 2009 00:00:00 PST Photos from the conference in Costa Rica 2007, are now online. Feel the excitement of attending a Midwifery Today conference as you view scrapbooks from this and other past conferences. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/conferences/photos/CostaRica2007/ Mon, 1 Dec 2008 00:00:00 PST Article by Nancy Wainer: "When I agreed to have a cesarean, was I really making a choice? First of all, I, the chooser, was not truly informed; second, my doctor lied to me. Third, my insurance company limited my choices in many ways." http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/VBACchoice.asp Mon, 11 Nov 2008 00:00:00 PST Article by Kara Maia Spencer: "Craniosacral therapy is a gentle, non-invasive and powerful hands-on therapy that benefits whole body health, treats a multitude of conditions and is effective for infants, children and adults." This is an article excerpt from Midwifery Today magazine, Autumn 2008. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/Cranialsacral.asp Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PST Article by Shafia M. Monroe: "People have often said to me, "You must really love babies to be a midwife.' And 'Wow, how you can stand all that blood?' Of course midwives love babies. We work hard to provide care to ensure that a woman has a healthy pregnancy and thus a vigorous baby. But in actuality, midwives love women. We love to see them happy during their pregnancy, supported during their labor, honored in birth, sustained while breastfeeding and nurtured as new mothers." This is an article excerpt from Midwifery Today magazine, Autumn 2008. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/midwiveshonor.asp Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PST Article by Elizabeth Davis: "As midwifery is poised to go mainstream, we must be very clear on our foundation: What is essential to our work, and what is momentary or temporary? In other words, what about midwifery has endured, and what must endure if we are to continue to provide what women want when they seek midwifery care?" http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/EnduringQualities.asp Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PST Article by Vicky York: "This article from the last issue of Birthkit is now online: Nothing I suggested made her feel better and I recognized from experience that she likely had more than one form of perinatal mood disorder. She was too anxious to know when things were okay and too depressed to follow up on suggestions when they weren't okay; and sleep deprivation magnified all of it." http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/perinatalmooddisorders.asp Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 PST Article by Mickey Sperlich: "'I found out I was pregnant in June of '94 and suddenly everything was different for me. It was as if I had a gun to my head; I had to get better RIGHT NOW. I was convinced that if I didn't I was going to be the worst mother on the planet.' - from Shakta's story. During the past 20 years talking about the reality that women and children experience abuse and violence in our society and inside their homes has become far less taboo. Breaking the taboo against talking about how intrafamilial abuse and sexual trauma can affect childbearing for some women is taking longer." http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/Listen_SurvivorMoms.asp Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:00:00 PST Book review by Jill Cohen: Finally, a concise teaching duo to aid midwives' course of suture education. This manual and companion video are quintessential Anne Frye - clear, organized, and thorough in her approach to suturing. The step by step lessons, along with the visual demonstration in the video demystify the ways women are put together - and how to put them back together. Not only for the novice; experienced midwives will learn a few new tricks, too. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/reviews/healingpassage.asp Wed, 20 Sep 2006 13:00:00 PDT Review by Sarah J. Buckley: The information - the "common knowledge" - that women can gain from this kit is revolutionary. Through simple and accessible instructions, we can learn about our own specific anatomy and how to work with it to enhance the natural processes of labour and birth. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/reviews/pinkkit.asp Mon, 13 Dec 2004 00:00:00 PST Article by Marsden Wagner: Cesarean section can save the life of the mother or her baby. Cesarean section can also kill a mother or her baby. How can this be? http://www.midwiferytoday.com/redirect.asp?id=1017 Mon, 13 Dec 2004 00:00:00 PST Meet some of Midwifery Today's writers and conference teachers on our biography pages. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/redirect.asp?id=1018 Wed, 16 Feb 2004 00:00:00 PST Article by Candace Whitridge: When a woman is in labor, a little fight goes on in the woman's brain. One part of here brain, the intellect, will tell her that she should do certain things. Perhaps those are things that we learned in childbirth classes; perhaps those are things that other people have told her that she should do to cope with birth. But from the other part of the brain will come an urge so deep within her that it will compel her to move her body and to use her voice in a completely different day. Those are her deep instincts about childbirth, but we have buried these for so long that most of us have forgotten that knowledge. Occasionally, though, I see women who remember.… http://www.midwiferytoday.com/redirect.asp?id=1019 Wed, 16 Feb 2004 00:00:00 PST Article by Janine DeBaise: Here is the plan for the birth of my child. I've taken words from the dreams of 200 women. I'm translating them for the hospital staff. 1. No blue hospital gown. No sterile drapes. When I give birth, I want to be naked. I want my body to choose the colour of its growing. 2. No enema. No antiseptic wash. No shaving of pubic hair. If I wanted to shave something, I'd shave my head. Like Jean-Luc Picard. I've always wanted to be captain of a star ship. When I give birth, I explore uncharted territory, I move and writhe into new worlds. I want to go where no man has gone before. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/redirect.asp?id=1020 Wed, 16 Feb 2004 00:00:00 PST Article by Robbie Davis-Floyd, PhD: A distressing cross-cultural trend is showing up in the growing body of anthropological literature about midwifery and birth in the developing world. From Tanzania to Papua New Guinea, anthropologists who observe professional midwives giving prenatal care and attending births increasingly note that, far from the midwifery ideal, professional midwives often treat women very badly during birth, ignoring their needs and requests, talking to them disrespectfully, ordering them around, and sometimes even yelling at them and slapping them. At the same time, and in direct correlation, the professional midwives are themselves often treated badly by the healthcare systems in which they work. They are almost always underpaid, are frequently mistreated by physicians who rank above them in the medical hierarchy, and generally work long hours under stressful conditions that often include inadequate facilities and equipment and too many women with too few midwives to care for them well. In short, professional midwives are often trapped in the biomedical healthcare system, a system that is failing to meet the needs of birthing women in developing countries. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/redirect.asp?id=1021 Wed, 16 Feb 2004 00:00:00 PST Article by Gail Hart: The timing of birth has major consequences for a baby. Too early or too late can mean the difference between life and death. Or so we have come to believe; and it's undoubtedly true at the extreme ends of preterm and postterm birth dates. Although few babies are born at these extremes of the normal length of pregnancy, much of our prenatal care is based on bringing babies to birth "in a timely fashion"—neither too early nor too late. But our understanding of "timely" is clouded, and some of our methods are self-defeating. By intervening in the natural timing of birth, we sometimes exacerbate the problems or create entirely new ones. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/redirect.asp?id=1022 Wed, 16 Feb 2004 00:00:00 PST Article by Lois Wilson: What is the role of the father who is present at the birth of his child? Is he a labor coach, advocate or partner? Is he a fifth wheel? A nuisance? A liability? In the twelve years that I have served birthing families in my community, I have heard many passionate opinions about the presence of fathers at birth. Over the years my own understanding of the role that fathers play in pregnancy and birth has developed to become much deeper and more complex as I have served different families, each with their own unique relationship, culture, expectations and beliefs. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/redirect.asp?id=1023