http://www.birthactivist.com/2009/05/happy-mothers-day/
Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate all we do as mothers. Rarely do we receive the credit we deserve for our work. Thank you for what you do as a birth activist. Helping women find their way joyfully into motherhood is a lost art in our world. Whether your role is doula, childbirth educator, midwife, friend or mom of a future mother or father, what you do is important.
“Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers – strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength.” —-Barbara Katz-Rothman
Margaret Jones thought her days of being a midwife were over, until her granddaughter Kathy Shah, 32, went into labour and called for help last Friday.
Despite having two artificial hips and not having delivered a baby since the 1950s, Mrs Jones, from Malmesbury, Wiltshire, went to her granddaughter’s aid, and successfully helped bring 7lb 7oz Carys into the world.
Early on the morning of Tuesday March 17, 2009 at about 5:45 a.m., I woke up with an urge to go to the bathroom (my stomach was cramping). Although my stomach really hurt, I figured once I used the bathroom I would feel better. However, that was not the case. After using the bathroom I slowly came to the conclusion that I was having contractions. They were two to six minutes apart so, I figured I would have a little while before they got closer; again however, that was not the case. By 6 a.m. my contractions were 3 minutes apart and were consistent for the next hour. By 7, I realized this was not a drill, so I woke hubby up. I didn’t quite want to call my midwife yet because the day before I was having contractions as well but they were sporadic. Although I knew this was it, I still wanted to be sure.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/midwife-baby-son-2395453-hours-hubby
“You really wanted a natural birth didn’t you?” I whispered into Julia’s ear, as she lifted her full weight off the bed into a semi-backbend, eyes blazing, doing all she could to get away from the back pain and maintain internal control. She nodded. With compassion I affirmed the obvious, “But you didn’t think you would have to work this hard….” My voice trailed into the subconscious and she re-determined with her blazing focus to enter the river of mystery. With one contraction she was carried away into her phase of pushing.
I had only met Julia a few hours before. Alison Bastien, my friend and colleague, had greeted me warmly but briefly upon my arrival in Mexico. “Love you. Welcome! Hey, there’s this great gal in labor at the famous midwife hospital, C.A.S.A. She’s a determined VBAC and the sun is close to setting which means her labor is probably picking up. Please go see her.”
Dear Friends,
A historic moment is upon us. House Bill 333 will be heard in the House Health Committee within the next week and in time to pass the North Carolina House of Representatives in time to meet the cross-over deadline of May 14th.
Your mission is to:
Send an e-mail to every member of the House Health Committee urging their support of HB333, and Call their offices reinforcing the e-mail.
Please continue to read for additional important information.
A little history…after last year’s House Select Committee on Licensing Midwives concluded, a report was issued containing recommended bill language. That bill language automatically gets filed (this is standard process) and the Chairs of a study committee are automatically established as primary sponsors of the recommended (in our case with HB333 , Dr. England and Rep. McLawhorn) bill. Since December when the report was issued, we recognized some amendments are needed to make HB333 really work for us; however, there are several opportunities to make our changes as the legislative process unfolds.
Initially, we were informed that HB333 would first go to the Legislative Committee on New Licensing Boards. Well, to make a long story short, that didn’t happen. So, our bill (HB333) will go directly to the House Health Committee to be heard.
Our primary objective is to pass favorably through the House Health Committee. To be successful, we need to:
Successfully pass the House Health Committee, then Pass the second committee meeting (probably not hard unless we get surprised), and finally Pass the floor of the House of Representatives.
After this, if it happens before May 15th, we will go to the Senate and Sen. (Dr.) Purcell’s Health Committee and then the Senate floor. We can amend HB333 in the Senate Health committee, or the Senate floor if need be.
So, we need to focus on our next step, which is to make the members of the House Health Committee understand how important it is to support HB333.
Your mission is to:
Send an e-mail to every member of the House Health Committee urging their support of HB333, and Call their offices reinforcing the e-mail.
If you are a constituent, it is really important that you say so. Please use your own words and the key message is to urge their support for HB333. You can find the contact information (e-mail and phone number) for each member of the House Health Committee here:
http://www.ncga. state.nc. us/gascripts/ Committees/ Committees. asp?sAction= ViewCommittee&sActionDetails= House%20Standing _26
Our bill could be heard as early as Thursday, May 7th (day after tomorrow), so if at all possible, please send your messages tomorrow (Wednesday) to the House Health Committee members. You do not need to mention amendments as we will be working on that with our supportive legislators to determine whether to amendment now or later.
It’s time to run up the hill one more time.
Russ
Russ Fawcett
Legislative Co-Chair, NCFOM
In Florida, thousands of women per year try to find a care provider who will attend them during a trial of labor. For women pursuing a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean), this search often fails and their OB’s literally coerce them into a repeat cesarean without medical indication or informed consent. OB’s actively refuse to take on clients that are searching for VBAC, in complete violation of ethical care. Insurance companies refuse to cover out-of-pocket homebirths despite the improved outcomes and safety of “HBAC” babies, requiring women to go through lengthy appeals processes and leaving them wondering:
Does anyone care about the safety of the mother and the baby or is it all simply about protocols based in liability, fear and money?
http://onlineprofessionaldevelopment.wikispaces.com/International+Day+of+the+Midwife+2009
Here is the program of online events and activities that have been planned to celebrate International Day of the Midwife 2009 on May 5th. Some events are live presentations that you can attend. Other events are asynchronous which means you can visit them at any time. Recordings of the live events will be made and posted here for people who missed them.
WHO: Midwives, Families, Doulas, Childbirth Educators, the Birth Community, and anyone interested in supporting midwives and learning more about the Midwifery Model of Care
WHAT: A Celebration of Midwives, including a potluck (bring a dish to share!), raffle with prizes, kids area, maternity and children’s clothing exchange (bring your stuff!), and informational booths
WHERE: Papago Park, 625 North Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, AZ 85008, Ramadas 9 and 10 (Please park in Phoenix Zoo Parking Lot.) ftp://www.phoenix.gov/pub/PARKS/papamap3.pdf
WHEN: Today, Tuesday, May 5th From 10a.m. To 2p.m.
WHY: Midwives provide the highest level of healthcare to the pregnant women and families they serve. Let’s get the word out and celebrate these amazing women!
MORE: For more information about this event, to assist with planning, or to represent your organization at the celebration, Please contact the Planning Committee at internationalmidwivesdayofaz@yahoo.com or call Alison Haasch at 602-663-0631
Alison Haasch owns LifeSpring Midwifery, LLC and is a licensed midwife in the state of Arizona. LifeSpring Midwifery is located in Queen Creek, Arizona and provides midwifery and well women services to Pinal County and the Phoenix metro area in the East Valley of Maricopa County.
Alison Haasch provides midwifery services in Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Fountain Hills, Maricopa, Casa Grande, San Tan Valley, Queen Creek, Apache Junction, and Florence.
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) acknowledges and celebrates the midwives working in hospital and community settings around the New Zealand.
This year’s International Midwives Day theme is based on Millennium Development Goal 5 – to improve maternal health. The theme set by the International Confederation of Midwives is ‘The World Needs Midwives Now More Than Ever’.
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Skilled midwives improve the outcomes for mothers and babies and are fundamental to the ongoing health and well being of the nation. In New Zealand, as around the world, there is a shortage of skilled and qualified midwives. A recent survey of NZNO Midwife members (Kai Tiaki February 2009) indicates that many midwives around the country are working in situations where there are too few midwives.
“Staff shortages around the country are reported as moderate or severe and many midwives are experiencing the effects of this. Sadly, many are choosing to leave the profession altogether. Many midwives are reporting working in very stressful and unsafe staffing situations,” NZNO Professional Nursing Advisor Kate Weston said.
“Safe staffing continues as one of the major NZNO campaigns. NZNO continues to work through the NZNO/DHBNZ safe staffing healthy workplaces unit . There is a critical need to implement the recommendations from the committee of inquiry with urgency,” said Weston.
http://infomidwife.blogspot.com/2009/05/international-midwives-day-virtual.html
This is very exciting for me, because I am testing all my skills using different sorts of technology and talking to midwives all over the world. This is the idea of Sarah Stewart, who is the conference organiser. You can see the program by going to her blog or just follow this link – International Midwives Day Program. There is something for everyone in the program and Sarah will be recording the presentations and you can hear them on the blog later.
I will be presenting at 9pm tonight and my presentation will be Cybertalk, some of you may have heard it before when I gave it several months ago at a college study session.
Technology is great, however when it fails things get very stressful, so lets hope all goes well. Here I thought I was technologically savvy, but some days I think I know zilch.
Watch this space…………………………….
Enjoy International Midwives Day.
The fourteenth century surgeon Guy de Chauliac acknowledged the debt he owed to his predecessors saying that “We are like children standing on the shoulders of a giant, for we can see all that the giant can see, and a little more”. No branch in medicine can claim a longer history than the art of midwifery.
However, true advancement in this specialty occurred during the eighteenth century which saw the introduction of the formal teaching of midwifery both to female midwives and to male practitioners.
http://www.insiteronline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=560&Itemid=1
Senator Berglin’s Birth Center Bill if passed, would provide the most amazing opportunity to promote midwifery that this nation has ever experienced.
While physicians can certainly establish and/or work at birth centers, the birth center is commonly associated with midwifery care. We have about 300 midwives of both CNM and CPM credentials. About 50 of these midwives attend now, or have attended, homebirths in Minnesota.
Should the bill pass, the appearance of many birth centers in our state would make many midwives needed here.
The first birth center, Morning Star Womens’ Health and Birth Center, opens June of 2009 in St. Louis Park, MN. The new birth center is independent of the bill and opens coincidentally. Several midwives are needed now. Paula is looking for midwives with out-of-hospital birth experience.
http://spinningbabies.blogspot.com/2009/04/chance-to-promote-midwifery.html
Have you imagine that someday you will do a water birth? As this article said that a water birth is exactly what it sounds like, giving birth to your baby underwater. For some of the same reasons you might soak in a warm bath after a hard day, you might be interested in laboring in a warm bath. Warm water decreases your hormone levels, blood pressure, the amount of pain you feel, and adrenalin, the “fight or flight” hormone responsible for making your stress level skyrocket and your blood pressure rise, all while increasing endorphin production, which inhibits pain. Since your perception of pain is influenced by your anxiety level, the amount of pain you experience while bathing also ebbs. You can imagine why that might be appealing while giving birth.
Marc Stephens said he had to act quickly when his wife Jo went into labour three weeks early as she had a history of fast births with her previous three children.
The 28-year-old Royal Navy air engineer, from Redruth, Cornwall, searched “how to deliver a baby” on the internet and after viewing a few clips said he was ready to help deliver healthy baby Gabriel.
Mr Stephens said: “I didn’t even have time to panic. She started complaining of pain around 10.30pm. I went on Google and watched a couple of clips on YouTube.
“At 2.30am she woke me up, but when I rang the midwife to come out she said they were busy at the hospital.
Health minister, Ann Keen chaired the Commission on Tuesday, which consisted of leading experts in the field of nursing including Unison head of nursing, Gail Adams, RCN general secretary Peter Carter and chief nursing officer for England, Dame Christine Beasley OBE.
The commission was established in response to more nurses and midwives having greater responsibilities in most areas of clinical care. It aims to consider how to build upon their expanding roles to help them contribute further to delivering high quality health care.
The Commission will report to the Prime Minister by March 2010.