Things that matter

z What really matters ? z

Our lives begin to end 

the day we become silent 

about things that matter.

Martin Luther King

“With woman midwifery” is, by definition, about mothers and babies, and not so much  about  the women who attend them.        

What really matters is a parent’s right to choose  where and with whom they will give birth—even if that is with no one.

Speak out and stand up for parents’ rights because when    parents lose their rights,  “Midwives’ rights” will be moot.

                                                Carla

Actions bring results

I think one's feelings waste

themselves in words;

they ought all to be distilled

into actions which bring results.

Florence Nightingale

The problem is that we just don’t know which actions will bring results.

We care, but we don’t know how to translate that into CHANGE.

If you are looking for a way to make a difference for birthing mothers and

new little babes....you will find it at  The Trust Birth Conference.

www.trustbirthconference.com

Labor Day

I have really dropped the ball. Labor Day is almost here! I hope that you have all been preparing for Labor Day's Birth Truth Telling! Wear a birth shirt (see our cafepress store www.cafepress.com/aamidwifery ) have a yard sale and give away flyers or something you have printed off the internet that tells the truth......Let me know if you need more ideas and I apologize for not gettting pens and bands done this year......I do have lots of Birth is Safe: Interference is Risky plastic yard signs......I will be happy to ship some to you if you can reimburse me for the postage.

carla@trustbirth.com

Long Absence

I am still here and still trusting birth.  Once in a while I have to take a break from writing.  It is difficult to explain, but sometimes it is just too painful. That may surprise those of you who know me as uber opinionated.  I will get back into the swing of things soon.

My Slant on Midwifery Education

Becoming a midwife is really a process of becoming MORE of what you probably already are: 

a server, a nurturer, an encourager. 

My feeling is that the most important work of a midwife is to help her clients learn more about birth and help them assume the responsibility and ownership for their birth.
So that means a LOT of what we do in Advanced Midwifery Studies is dedicated to client education.
It is my firm belief that people can only assume responsibility for what they know or know about. I see one of the midwife’s primary functions is that of increasing what people take responsibility for by bumping out the parameters of what they know or know about.  Most of the time spent with clients should be spent talking about all the issues surrounding birth and making references and referrals to more information. The enormous potential that midwives have to make a difference in the world is not by how many babies they catch, but by how many women they encourage to trust birth and embrace their rights and responsibilities as birthing women with confidence and joy.
Too much of midwifery education rhetoric these days has the same flavor as those who fear birth.....the focus seems to be on how to help women and babies survive it....as if birth is terribly dangerous. I happen to believe that birth is inherently safe and that we often do more harm than good by our interference, management or theft of ..... That is a whole ‘nother blog, eh?

Unlearning FEAR based midwifery

Many of us midwives were taught some erroneous beliefs about our roles and we were so busy doing what we had been taught we did not take enough time to ask why. I was very fortunate to have had one remarkable preceptor who asked me WHY a million times. She and I were not peas in a pod and she was not always happy with my answer but she was outstanding in that she took that chance .....that we were going to disagree. And she knew that I was not going to practice as taught, but one thing for sure; I would be able to articulate why about everything I did or did not do. Still so much of what I thought we were supposed to do was rooted in fear. However another aspect of fear helped me form my midwifery philosophy.

I think my personality had a lot to do with the kind of midwife I became. A lot of my hands off attitude was not due entirely to my "with woman" philosophy, but with my fear of screwing something up if I didn't know how to do it! Soon I realized that it was better that I not do it anyway! And as time passed, I found that "doing less" was backed up with good science. I have to tell you, too, that my major introspective examination happened when I met a doctor in 1987 who trusted birth a lot more than I did. He became a trusted mentor and dear, dear friend, Dr. John Stevenson. He really gave me the courage to start telling the truth about birthing issues, even when those truths were unpopular.

I am going to see him Australia next week, as we are working on finishing his book. I also hope to spend some time talking with former clients and midwives he helped during his long home birth career.
All of you birth trusters would lOVE him. Dr. John trusted birth way before most of us did! You can download a couple of his talks at the 94 conference at the www.ancientartmidwifery.com click on the aami store His are Adept Baby and 3rd & 4th Stage difficulties.

Transitioning to TRUST BIRTH MIDWIFERY

Many midwives are operating from a level of fear, even after many years of practice: Fear of not knowing how to handle complications, fear of making mistakes, fear of criticism, fear of litigation, fear of going to jail. These are all legitimate concerns, perhaps, but it is inconsistent with the idea of "with woman" midwifery to practice under a cloud of fear.
I think there is a cure for at least some of those fears. Your fear as a midwife will decrease as you internalize the reality that your role as a midwife is not one of authority but assistance....and that is a life-changing paradigm shift.
Once you think of yourself as a paid consultant and NOT the holder of bottom line responsibility and certainly not the woman's authority, everything is different.
When you think of your role this way, you will realize that most of your work is done long before your client goes into labor. Your role will be to encourage, motivate, and believe in your client. Your work involves helping her recover her own sense of ownership, authority and confidence in her ability to assist her body in doing the job it knows how to do.
Once you LIVE as if you believe that birth is safe and interference is what is risky, and once you realize that the responsibility and authority for what happens to a woman during her birth is her own, and not yours....I think you will find many fears dissipate.
Transitioning to Trust Birth Midwifery and Transitioning to Trust Birth Childbirth Education will be two of our panel sessions at the upcoming Trust Birth Conference in March 2008.