Category Archives: Midwifery

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 […]

Also posted in Homebirth, Hospitals, Issues, Labor and Birth, News, Politics | Leave a comment

Lactivists v. Facebook

By The Midwife | Published: December 31, 2008

It’s snowing here, but here’s a little piece of news that will warm the cockles of your heart.  As we all know, there was a big stink over at Facebook awhile ago when they banned the pictures of nursing mothers, which then led to the formation of the facebook group Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding is Not […]

Also posted in Breastfeeding, News, Politics | 1 Comment

Recession relief: midwifery saves money

By The Midwife | Published: December 30, 2008

Let’s face it: the economy sucks right now.  We haven’t yet hit rock bottom, and it’s going to be awhile (probably a long while) before things begin to recover.  In the midst of this harsh financial reality, companies and industries are scrambling to find ways to save money.  Birth activists have been trying for decades […]

Also posted in Birth Centers, Issues, Labor and Birth, Politics, Women's Health | 2 Comments

Midwifery Gift Guide 2008

By The Midwife | Published: December 8, 2008

It seems like every other blog/magazine/newspaper is putting together gift guides these days, so I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon too and put together a gift guide for the hard-to-shop-for midwives/ doulas/ lovers-of-birth in your life.  Granted, this guide sort of reads as a list of some of my favorite things, ever, but hey….why […]

Also posted in Miscellaneous | 4 Comments

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 Homebirth | 1 Comment

Just a hemorrhage kind of night

By The Midwife | Published: October 28, 2008

Last night was a very strange night. It wasn’t that busy, and yet, somehow, neither the other midwife nor myself were able to take a break. The pace was very steady. We kept expecting it to settle down, but it never did. Just as we were thinking “oh, as soon as this woman is discharged, […]

Also posted in Birth Stories, Complications, Hospitals, Labor and Birth, Vaginal Birth | 4 Comments

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 Homebirth, Labor and Birth, News, Politics | 1 Comment

A Walk to Beautiful

By The Midwife | Published: February 24, 2008

Forget the Oscars (well, not entirely: Go, Juno, go!); the movie I really want to see is A Walk To Beautiful. Having already won several awards at film festivals around the world, the film follows five courageous women as they travel to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopa to find a cure for the […]

Also posted in Complications, Issues, Labor and Birth, Women's Health | 5 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, Homebirth, Labor and Birth, 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, Homebirth, Hospitals, Politics, Pregnancy, Research | 1 Comment