On My Way...

[Guest]

Pick two and I'll write you in my planner...

We'll hire someone to give us both pedicures.

 

[rgraham666]

Had another birth last night. This one was so emotionally draining that I just feel flat today. The couple had at least a million and one serious issues that all became apparent during labor; drug use, verbal abuse, sexual assault, mental illness, and the beat goes on.

I'm beat. I need a massage. And pedicure. And a decent lay.

I can help with two as well. But don't let me anywhere near your toenails. I'm too clumsy to do it right.

*HUGS* and well done.

 

[logophile]

I don't know how much most of you know about the practice of midwifery, but here in my state, it's not exactly legal. It's also not, strictly speaking, illegal. I'm not a Certified Nurse Midwife. I'm a traditional midwife, meaning that I received my education and training through the apprenticeship model with a senior midwife. Here in Wisconsin, we enjoy a good relationship with the state, but we know that any moment, the tide could change and the government could decide it doesn't like us anymore. It's happening all over the country and our neighbor to the South, Illinois, has been hit especially hard. It took a lot of deep thinking and contemplating before I decided to pursue midwifery as a career because I have small children and I can't afford a trial or jail time. In the end I decided the calling was louder than my fear and I began my training.

In my home state (not Wisconsin) traditional midwifery is illegal and there are just a small handful of midwives practicing there. They are brave women working an often thankless job with horrible hours and substandard pay. Each of them live every day with the knowledge that they could be prosecuted any time. It's a lot of stress and a lot of pressure.

A friend of mine from my home state has been having marital issues (married to the same man for almost 25 years) and he's been really doing a lot of emotional bullying to get his way on some really outrageous issues. He's from a very traditional Indian family and he's a very well-known MD. When she tried to stand up for herself this week, he decided to play very dirty. He turned her into the regulatory board that can prosecute her for practicing nursing without a license. Additionally, she's been pursuing her master's degree in Certified Nurse Midwifery for about 3 years (and $60,000+) with a distance learning program and he reported some of her activities to the school and she has been suspended from school and will probably be expelled, leaving her without the degree she has worked so hard for.

What is so scary about us, about midwives? Why do medical people feel so threatened by us. When a man discovers he is a healer, he is called a shaman or a mystic and is respected. When a woman makes the same discovery, we're called witches and burned (figuratively) at the stake.

Thanks for listening. This is a sad day for my friend. And a sad day for the community she serves.

 

[logophile]

This time I'm on my way to go camping. I like to camp but the situation is such that I'm not really looking forward to it. I'll be back Thursday or Friday. Take care, and be really naughty!!

Love to you!

 

[Black Tulip]

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!

I do hope this is not going to make you sick with jealousy. Take it as an encouragement that
what you are doing is very important.

In my country giving birth at home has been the normal practice for ages. Literally.
We have a special professional training for midwifes. They are called "vroedvrouw".
It's old Dutch and means "wise woman"!!!

When my son was born (nearly twenty years ago) I had my GP to do the delivery because he liked doing it himself and we were living in a small village. Nowadays it's impossible to have anything other than a midwife. Although, sadly, more and more people tend to go into hospital, they still have their own midwife in attendance unless there are complications that need a doctor. That's a ceasarian, forceps for instance are the midwife's job.

Since the profession is getting more credit there are now men training to be one as well, so the official name has changed to the gender neutral obstetrician. One of my nephews trained and worked as one for a couple of years and his wife has her own practice.

If you ever need statistics to fight your battle, look for data on Dutch death rates related to childbirth. They have been the lowest in the world for years. Thanks to our system of people who are trained to supervise pregnancy and childbirth in a non-medical setting. It makes for a good relationship between the midwife and the mother-to-be. And because you as a midwife follow the whole process you are able to spot problems in an early stage.

Most important of all: it signifies that giving birth is a natural act and not some medical condition.

Excuse the bold lettering and the exclamation points, but this is something I would like to shout and curse about quite a lot if we were in the same room.



You and your colleagues deserve every day instead of this crap.

 

[logophile]

Hi Everyone!

My best friend (who several of you met in November) is labor now. I'm on my way over there to help with the birth. She's 8 days past her due date and really ready to have this baby. Good wishes and thoughts for all of us on this journey.

Love to you!
Logo

 

[ElizabethWest]

Hi Everyone!

My best friend (who several of you met in November) is labor now. I'm on my way over there to help with the birth. She's 8 days past her due date and really ready to have this baby. Good wishes and thoughts for all of us on this journey.

Love to you!
Logo

Good luck!!

 

[MissBri]

 

[rgraham666]

Best of luck, logo.

 

[impressive]

Hi Everyone!

My best friend (who several of you met in November) is labor now. I'm on my way over there to help with the birth. She's 8 days past her due date and really ready to have this baby. Good wishes and thoughts for all of us on this journey.

Love to you!
Logo

 

[Belegon]

Give her my love Logo...of course, by this time you're probably already on your way, but it still stands...

 

[entitled]

Thoughts headed that way for all involved!

My couple o cents' worth on midwives/home births/whatever... It's a good thing. Especially if that's the choice for those that are able to do that.

i'm personally glad that i was able to be in a hospital for all three of mine, with meds and all. Intense back labor and very large babies (my first was in the 99th percentile, both of the others were in the low 90s percentile) made things difficult to begin with. The fact that all three were high risk made it even worse.

It would have been wonderful to have them without the drugs and at home, but it quite literally might have killed both me and them. Not worth the risk.

 

[JackHarrison]

My understanding is that some midwives were once targets of witchhunts. Is that true?

 

[sophia jane]

My understanding is that some midwives were once targets of witchhunts. Is that true?

They still are, in a different way.


And L- lots of love to you and mom. I'm so glad for her that she's FINALLY in labor.

 

[JackHarrison]

They still are, in a different way.


And L- lots of love to you and mom. I'm so glad for her that she's FINALLY in labor.

Really? What's the baseless charge now?

 

[entitled]

Really? What's the baseless charge now?

They're not 'real' medical professionals.

 

[Guest]

Hi Everyone!

My best friend (who several of you met in November) is labor now. I'm on my way over there to help with the birth. She's 8 days past her due date and really ready to have this baby. Good wishes and thoughts for all of us on this journey.

Love to you!
Logo

Good luck, beautiful!

And strength and best wishes to everyone involved!

The memory of my two midwife assisted deliveries at a birth center still brings me peace. Calm, low-stress, my husband holding me tight, my parents close by, my iron levels finally high enough so I was allowed to deliver without an IV, going home a couple of hours later for much needed rest and being able to sleep because I wasn't in the hospital . . .

Blessings all - and happy catching!

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

They're not 'real' medical professionals.

Yes, modern medicine is useful and good, in terms of general health and reducing infant mortality. But that doesn't mean that a first-resort alternative can't be used. It's just nice to have plan B available.

 

[logophile]

Too tired tonight to talk birth politics (though hit me up most any day and I'll bend your ear till you'll be afraid it won't bend back) but wanted to report back.

My friend had a baby boy about 25 minutes after I got there. She had planned to have a big team on hand and it ended up just being her husband and our other best friend who quickly got handed the chart and the responsibilities of assisting me. Amazing birth. She was just so incredible.

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes!

 

[lucky-E-leven]

Yay for her! And you!

 

[Black Tulip]

Logo,

Congratulations and keep up the good work!

I'll take over the politics for you for now. LOL
In the Netherlands it was always customary to give birth at home, assisted by your GP.
Nowadays I think you'll have a hard time finding one who will ...
it's a midwife's job!
If there's need for it, they use the hospital facilities. It's standing procedure.

We have one of the lowest rates on death connected with childbirth.
I guess that's scary to some medical types.

By the way, not all midwifes are female either.
That's why the name is changed to obstetrician.

 

[rgraham666]

Glad to hear things went so well, logo.