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Are you frustrated by mainstream articles about pregnancy and birth, or even nursing? I am. So many seem to normalize c-sections, promote medicated birth and marginalize breastfeeding—who is writing these articles anyway?
The answer might surprise you. As an expert in the childbirth community, I'm often contacted by journalists who are researching birth-related stories. In my experience, the majority of these journalists—the people who write for the major pregnancy and baby-related magazines—are nice, single women who have never had children. Their job is to highlight something interesting. They're hungry for something to sensationalize, and lately, that means writing about the fabulous elective c-section.
Believe it or not, this is actually good news for you and your business. It's a golden opportunity to step up, make a difference and even find a few clients while you're at it!
Isn't it time for the birthing community to speak up and to circulate better material? Shouldn't we be writing the articles? As birthing professionals, we are perfectly positioned to influence the way the media portrays birth in America and to be educating women everywhere. What's stopping us?
If you're nervous, start small. Local newspapers and magazines are always hungry for material and many will accept submissions from unpublished authors. (Major magazines may ask for samples of past work.) Or, try the Internet. Hundreds of Web sites and e-zines will want your articles. You may want to approach local weekly newspapers about writing a column; they often run columns by local professionals.
Don't be intimidated. Writers are simply people with something to say! Birth professionals in this modern age need to speak up now.
— Sheri Menelli and Adriane Smith, excerpted from "The Business of Birthing: The Write Way to More Clients," Midwifery Today Issue 79
Learn midwifery from home
Aviva Institute enables you to earn your midwifery certificate or undergraduate degree from home. Courses also available for doulas, midwives, and birth professionals. Experienced faculty and staff ensure support and academic excellence. Choose from flexible courses to fit your schedule at www.avivainstitute.org/.
Check out the Ghana Midwifery Exchange and the BEST™ course on the
Web site. |
According to a case study published in 2002, consumer demand as well as midwives professional lobbying led to widespread reimbursement for homebirth by insurance companies in the state of Washington. The authors did not find that cost-containment was a driving force. This study should be a wake-up call to midwives and midwifery associations to increase efforts to educate consumers and then press for homebirth reimbursement in all states.
— Women and Health 36(3): 13–30, 2002
 | If you want to be to be a Midwife…
…you need the book. Paths to Becoming a Midwife, Getting an Education, has 328 pages packed with useful information that will help you make wise choices. It includes a directory of over 150 schools, programs and other resources. Order the book. |
| Witness an inspiring homebirth. |
When you order the new and expanded "Birth Day" DVD, you'll receive the original eleven-minute documentary as well as ten additional chapters. Narrated by the baby's mother, midwife Naolí Vinaver Lopez, the heart of this DVD is the birth of the family's third child and first daughter. The new material includes additional footage of the birth, moments of family bonding and interviews with the grandparents, the midwife and others. Birth Day will help parents and practitioners alike understand the true and sacred meaning of birth. Click here. |  |
Learn from Expert Midwives with our
Tricks of the Trade Series. |
|
Read the books in this series for useful ideas and techniques that will help you help babies and mothers at births you attend. You'll learn tricks and tips from practicing midwives, childbirth educators, naturopaths, doulas and parents. These are tried-and-true gems, learned through experience; real-world methods that can expand your personal bag of tricks, enhance your education and encourage a natural approach to safe childbearing.
|
Discover the deeper, spiritual dimensions of pregnancy and birth. |
The Roots of Natural Mothering by Janice Marsh-Prelesnik, midwife and mother of four, explores the lifestyle of natural mothering. You'll learn to trust your intuition, how to choose your birth nest, how to stay healthy naturally throughout your pregnancy and much more. If you're pregnant or planning to be, this book will help you make decisions based on what is right for you and your baby. If you're a midwife or other birth professional, it makes a perfect addition to your lending library. Click here. | |
 |
Want to Enrich Your Practice with Massage?
We've put up a special Web page where you can quickly see all the offerings related to massage and bodywork at our Philadelphia conference in March 2008.
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Q: I had a primipara in pre-labour. The baby's heartbeat showed spikes. In 16 hours of slow labour it became dips. We then moved to Hospital where the obstetrician ruptured the membranes, finding stained amniotic fluid. Dilation decreased from 7 cm to 5 cm. The mom was given a c-section.
I agreed with his decision as I was worried from much earlier. Baby was 40 weeks gestation and weighed 2680 g (5.9 lb). He appeared quite angry at first, on the verge of fetal distress, but slowly calmed down to normal breathing.
My question is: Could the spikes becoming dips, could they be due to just worry? My worry, worrying the mum and then the baby?
— Françoise Bardes
SEND YOUR RESPONSE to mtensubmit@midwiferytoday.com with "Question of the Week" in the subject line. Responses to any Question of the Week may be sent to E-News at any time. Please indicate the topic of discussion *and the E-News issue number* in the message.
I wanted to share with you a little project I created. I made a Conscious Birth Affirmations video and posted it on YouTube to inspire pregnant women to consciously co-create a gentle birth. I created the first version a while ago and it had over 25,000 views; this is my new version with music. I heard from one pregnant woman that she watches it every day!
http://birthecology.squarespace.com/journal/2007/8/10/conscious-birthing-affirmations.html
— Kara Maia Spencer, LMT, CD
www.MaiaHealingArts.com
I just missed a birth last week (the midwife didn't make it either and they ended up unassisted), and while talking to the dad right after, he told me that the baby's head was born in very distinct stages: forehead, then eyes, then nose, then mouth, etc. When she was finally born, her head was very dark, lips nearly black and trunk blanched white. I was watching the video as he was telling me this, and I saw mom twice during second stage, spontaneously position herself in Downward Facing Dog. Not a typical birth position, nor did mom ever practice yoga, and it was certainly nothing that would have occurred to me to suggest when I would have been very concerned about that little head (mom had a history of iatrogenic shoulder dystocia).
So once again, I see Dr. Odent's wisdom played out. Dad wished he had had some experienced help, but I was very open in telling him that mom knew exactly what to do, and anyone else there would only have interfered. Given the circumstances, that could have been tragic.
— Lynn in Missouri
Childbirth Educator
I am an English teacher with an MA in English and I am currently getting my MFA in Creative Writing. I have used a midwife for the births of my two children, and I am very interested in dedicating my life to giving back to the field. Could you give me some ideas about how to get involved in writing for magazines, organizations, etc., centering around the topic of midwifery? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
— Anne M. Hurlbut
annehurlbut@taboracademy.org
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