Category Archives: Homebirth

A case in point…

By The Midwife | Published: May 4, 2010

…just to illustrate the bind that the homebirth midwives find themselves in at the moment after the closing of St. Vincents hospital and the subsequent loss of their back-up hospital/ written practice agreements (see yesterday’s post): Last night I was working (at the HHC public hospital in Brooklyn where I spend a good deal of [...]

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Homebirth in NYC needs your help!

By The Midwife | Published: May 3, 2010

St. Vincents hospital was the most homebirth-midwife friendly hospital in Manhattan, and quite possibly in New York City, period.  It was certainly the only hospital in Manhattan which accommodated homebirth and homebirth midwives.  My own midwife delivered her patients there, and she would often comment to me about what a lovely set-up they had at [...]

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Ina May on Midirs

By The Midwife | Published: November 5, 2008

Midirs Midwifery Digest, the premiere midwifery publication in England, has recently posted an interview with Ina May Gaskin, one of the fouding midwives of The Farm and an international midwifery leader and homebirth midwife.  The podcast of the interview is available here, and the written version can be found here.  It’s really fascinating, once you [...]

Also posted in Midwifery | 1 Comment

The AMA joins ACOG in homebirth-bashing

By The Midwife | Published: June 21, 2008

The AMA has recently issued a resolution supporting ACOG’s Statement on Homebirth which agrees that the safest place to have a baby is the hospital, of course, where obstetricians work and get paid.  What’s really awful is that they’re using Ricki Lake’s movie, The Business of Being Born, as a tool to try to pass [...]

Also posted in Labor and Birth, Midwifery, News, Politics | 1 Comment

ACOG’s Statement on Homebirths

By The Midwife | Published: February 11, 2008

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recently issued a Statement on Homebirth which condemns homebirth and all those who are willing to attend homebirth (aka midwives), concluding that only “…the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate postpartum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex, that [...]

Also posted in Birth Centers, Choice, Hospitals, Labor and Birth, Politics | 2 Comments

Question CPD

By The Midwife | Published: December 17, 2007

I’ve been sick as a dog for the past three days, for the second time this season (I was so sick right before Thanksgiving that I actually lost my voice and had to call in sick to work…something which I NEVER do).  Luckily I’ve had the past 3 days off to recover, but I’m due [...]

Also posted in Labor and Birth, VBAC | 3 Comments

Angelina the Midwife

By The Midwife | Published: December 10, 2007

I just discovered the most amazing videos over on You Tube about a traditional midwife working in Mexico. I’m sure many of you have probably seen them already, but I was just blown away!! It’s amazing to watch the way she uses her hands to massage, assess, palpate…turn a breech baby. A midwife’s greatest tool [...]

Also posted in Birth Education, Labor and Birth, Midwifery, Myth, Folklore and Ritual | 7 Comments

Grassroots Birth Survey

By The Midwife | Published: December 5, 2007

The other day I discovered a postcard at my local yoga center urging women to participate in a birth survey, which instantly piqued my interest; apparently this survey has already been going on for some time, although I have only now heard about it. A little research has revealed that the Coalition for Improving Maternity [...]

Also posted in Birth Centers, Choice, Hospitals, Midwifery, Politics, Pregnancy, Research | 1 Comment

Brooklyn homebirth practice growing

By The Midwife | Published: October 7, 2007

There was a recent article in the NY Daily News on the homebirth practice of Joan Bryson, a Brooklyn midwife who has been delivering babies at home for over seven years now.  Joan also served as president of the local NYC ANCM chapter last year. Last year, Bryson delivered nearly 50 babies throughout the city. [...]

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The Business of Being Born

By The Midwife | Published: May 8, 2007

Last Friday I was a very lucky duck: I was able to attend a screening of The Business of Being Born at the Tribeca Film Festival, hosted by Friends of the Birth Center, along with a post-show talkbalk with the Abby Epstein, the director of the movie, and Ricki Lake, the producer, followed by a [...]

Also posted in Birth Centers, Birth Education, Hospitals, Labor and Birth, Midwifery, News, Politics, Reviews | 6 Comments