Author Archives: The Midwife

Independent Midwifery in the UK threatened

By The Midwife | Published: April 25, 2013

It’s easy to get sucked into your practice bubble when you’re a midwife, and put your nose to the grindstone and not look up much.  Midwifery is like that; it’s one of the hardest jobs out there, demanding huge amounts of your energy and time, and it’s hard to take a moment to catch your [...]

Posted in Homebirth, Hospitals, Issues, Midwifery, News, Politics | Leave a comment

What to Reject When You’re Expecting

By The Midwife | Published: December 18, 2012

Check this out: A fantastic new guide written by Consumer Reports (who would have guessed?) about what to reject when you’re expecting, including unnecessary cesareans, elective inductions, routine amniotomy and episiotomy, and babies routinely going to the nursery.  Coupled with advice on what to look for instead, including midwifery care!  Well researched and very refreshing. [...]

Posted in Birth Education, Cesarean Birth, Epidurals, Episiotomies, Inductions, Labor and Birth, Midwifery, VBAC | 1 Comment

A wild ride so far

By The Midwife | Published: November 11, 2012

One month into my new job as a home birth midwife, and I must admit, I am wholly, unashamedly, unequivocally LOVING it!  I’ve attended 4 births so far, 3 of which were in the home and one of which was a transfer (and I’ll have to write more about that later, but let’s just say [...]

Posted in Birth Stories, Homebirth, Labor and Birth, Midwifery, Vaginal Birth | 1 Comment

Taking the plunge

By The Midwife | Published: October 5, 2012

Well, the time has come. After nearly 5 years working with the vulnerable and inspiring women at an urban public hospital in New York City, it’s time to move on and follow my dream.  I have always, always known I wanted to be a home birth midwife, even when I was just a student, and [...]

Posted in Homebirth | 1 Comment

10th Anniversary Miles for Midwives: Come on down!

By The Midwife | Published: October 3, 2012

I write about this every year, but this year I’m one of the organizers for this event, so it’s even more near and dear to my heart.  We’re having the 10th Annual Miles for Midwives this coming weekend, October 6th, in Prospect Park.  Miles for Midwives is a 5K run/ walk race which jointly benefits [...]

Posted in Midwifery | Leave a comment

Home Birth Debate Heats Up

By The Midwife | Published: August 27, 2012

I’ve been meaning to write about this for awhile now.  The debate about home birth, usually relegated to the side-lines in the larger debate about birth, has hit the big time recently (well, back in June) as some of our nation’s top female journalists waded into it full force.  First, Michelle Goldberg at the Daily [...]

Posted in Choice, Complications, Homebirth, Hospitals, Issues, Labor and Birth, Midwifery | 4 Comments

Josiah Morgan’s Birth

By The Midwife | Published: August 25, 2012

Another beautiful birth story to share with all of you, this time a successful VBAC in a hospital with an intense pushing phase (but all turned out well, as you shall see!). Enjoy! (And thank you, RH, for sharing your story!) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Josiah’s birth story begins the weekend before he was born. I had been [...]

Posted in Birth Stories, Good Enough to Share, Hospitals, Labor and Birth, VBAC | Leave a comment

The Great Wall of Vagina

By The Midwife | Published: June 27, 2012

Wow, I stumbled upon the work of UK artist Jamie McCartney, and was pretty much blown away.  You have to visit his site ASAP: The Great Wall of Vagina.  The 9 metre long polyptych consists of four hundred plaster casts of vulvas, all of them unique, arranged into ten large panels. McCartney set out to make [...]

Posted in Birth Art, Feminism, Good Enough to Share, Sex and Sexuality | 2 Comments

NRP with Karen Strange

By The Midwife | Published: June 6, 2012

I took the most amazing NRP class today (NRP stands for Neonatal Resuscitation Provider, for those who aren’t hip to all of the gazillion acronyms in this crazy profession) with Karen Strange of newbornbreath.com, and I am so buzzed from the class that I have to sit down and write about it tonight before I forget [...]

Posted in Academia, Complications, Education, Homebirth, Labor and Birth, Miscellaneous | 5 Comments

Grace’s Birth

By The Midwife | Published: May 27, 2012

Another birth story from my totally fantastic Due Date Club, this one written by Kristy.  I’ve got plenty more stories to come, but I’m trying to ration them a bit, birth story junkies that we all are.  So enjoy this lovely hospital birth with a very supportive team that did a great job of respecting [...]

Posted in Breastfeeding, Hospitals, Labor and Birth, Vaginal Birth | 2 Comments