Category Archives: Homebirth

Misleading home birth headline

By The Midwife | Published: September 19, 2013

Yet another scary press release regarding home birth has come out today in advance of research which is set to be published in the upcoming issue of AJOG.  We’ve already seen in the Wax report how relying on birth certificate data can mar research, as the intended place of delivery is often not captured on a birth […]

Also posted in Issues, Midwifery, Politics, Research | Leave a comment

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 […]

Also posted in Hospitals, Issues, Midwifery, News, Politics | Leave a 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 […]

Also posted in Birth Stories, Labor and Birth, Midwifery, Vaginal Birth | 2 Comments

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

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 […]

Also posted in Choice, Complications, Hospitals, Issues, Labor and Birth, Midwifery | 4 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 […]

Also posted in Academia, Complications, Education, Labor and Birth, Miscellaneous | 5 Comments

Levi’s birth story

By The Midwife | Published: May 11, 2012

May has arrived again, it’s officially Spring, and I have lots of birth stories to share with all of you!  Most of these are contributions from women who were part of my Due Date Club last year when I was pregnant.  I wrote a little bit about this extraordinary  group of women in the preface […]

Also posted in Birth Stories, Good Enough to Share | Leave a comment

Ina May in the Sun

By The Midwife | Published: January 6, 2012

The Sun Magazine has a fantastic article in their current issue (Jan. 2012) interviewing Ina May, who’s recently come out with a new book Birth Matters: A Midwife’s Manifesta, about the medicalization of birth.   While the online version of the article is truncated, it’s still a fascinating read, complete with the history of how and […]

Also posted in Labor and Birth, Midwifery, Vaginal Birth | Leave a comment

Wax Study Revisited

By The Midwife | Published: October 9, 2011

Imagine the following scenario:  a meta-analysis comparing planned homebirths to planned hospital births is published, but it has so many statistical flaws in it that the journal which originally published it goes on to print several letters to the Editor critiquing the flawed research, in order to give the authors a second chance to explain […]

Also posted in Choice, Complications, Hospitals, Issues, Labor and Birth, Midwifery, Politics, Research | 1 Comment

One World Birth about to launch!

By The Midwife | Published: August 30, 2011

Just stumbled upon this via a friend on Facebook, and watching the welcome video just sent chills down my spine.  Two passionate filmmakers are creating an interactive, continuously-updated online TV channel focusing on nothing but birth, and the state of birth in our world right now, by interviewing the world’s leading experts in birth and […]

Also posted in Birth Stories, Cesarean Birth, Hospitals, Labor and Birth, Labor Support, Midwifery, News, Vaginal Birth, VBAC | Leave a comment