In this post, originally published in Birthspirit Midwifery Journal 2010; 5: 19-22, Avon Lookmire, now a registered midwife, discusses how the current ‘stages of labour’ do not reflect women’s experiences of labour, and she shares her ideas of how the … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: February 2014
Originally published in Essentially MIDIRS 2011; 2(9): 47-49. Revised As I compiled the statistics of my home birth practice covering a 22 year period many of the individual instances of how my knowing developed became definable – the watershed moments … Continue reading
Originally published in Birthspirit Midwifery Journal 2009; 4: 43-46. Revised Bedbirthing has predominated in Western countries reputedly since it gained acceptance after Louis XIV’s mistresses birthed in bed; the king covertly watched from behind a curtain Glasscheib (1963, p. 91). … Continue reading
Originally published in Birthspirit Midwifery Journal 2009; 4: 25-30. Revised. The artwork in this post was historically available at http://cesarean-art.com. As the artist did not engage in dialogue, permission was unable to be sought to reproduce this previously freely available … Continue reading
This post was originally published in Birthspirit Midwifery Journal 2009; 1: 64-65. Updated. As steeped in medically and midwifery managed birthing as this 60-plus year old breech story Randall (1949, pp. 81-84) is, it has (at least) three central themes … Continue reading
This post was originally published in Birthspirit Midwifery Journal 2009; 3: 15-19. Updated February 2014 I am often asked during breech workshops that I run if leaving a woman in a birth pool to give birth to a surprise breech … Continue reading
Evidence that place of birth influences midwifery practice is discussed by Suzanne Miller. In this post, originally published in Birthspirit Midwifery Journal 2009; 1: 7-11, Suzanne introduced her own Masters research which examined similarities and differences in practice of a … Continue reading
This post was originally published in Birthspirit Midwifery Journal 2010; 5: 37-39. Updated February 2014. Throughout New Zealand (NZ), it is taken for granted that a midwife needs to be involved throughout the continuum of care of a pregnant woman. … Continue reading
Originally published in Birthspirit Midwifery Journal 2010; 6: 55-57.Revised February 2014 Midwifery ethos demands that while remaining mindful of a woman’s ‘birthing potential’ WHO (1998, p. 2) and that any number of eventualities can arise, we nurture the physiological process … Continue reading
This post was originally published in Birthspirit Midwifery Journal 2009; 1: 43-46. Updated February, 2014 Each of Jaynie’s three labours built up over several days before she had contractions that were frequent enough for her to determine she was in … Continue reading