In celebration of Valentine’s Day, I wanted to share a different kind of love story… the kind that begins on a dark, rainy night… anticipation has been building for nine months until, finally, she feels the familiar pangs of labor beginning. The midwife is called and the tub is filled… and so begins the waiting game. At first the contractions are bearable and the excitement of baby’s arrival outweighs the strength of the pain… but slowly, with the ebb and flow of each passing contraction, the need for support becomes evident.
http://www.speckledbirdart.com/blog/?p=51
http://www.jenniejoseph.com/node/2
Announcing the arrival of Jennie Joseph’s New Book: Beautiful! Images of Health, Joy and Vitality in Pregnancy and Birth.
“To me all pregnant women are beautiful, but maybe after having spent a lifetime working with them, I am somewhat biased. So why a book about Black pregnant women and babies specifically? Why not? Have you ever seen such a book? Amongst the plethora of “Omigod I’m (She’s, We’re) Having a Baby” books have you come across any uplifting or encouraging pregnancy photography books? There are many cute baby photo books, brimming with pictures of healthy, happy cherubs which touch and move us all, so much so that you don’t even have to be pregnant to enjoy them.
Let the artist in you shine! The American College of Nurse-Midwives, the oldest women’s health care organization in the U.S., is sponsoring a contest that captures the spirit of midwifery.
ACNM members, student midwives, and clients of midwives are invited to submit original artwork—drawings, paintings, photography, etc. Winners will have their artwork featured in the new 2009 postage stamps.
Entries must be received no later than February 27, 2009.
http://www.midwife.org/art_contest.cfm
Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337), Cappella Scrovegni a Padova, Life of Christ, Nativity, Birth of Jesus (detail with midwife Salome)
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Midwife_Salome_(Cappella_degli_Scrovegni).jpg