This post written by Australian home birth midwife Sue Cookson (RM) was originally published in Birthspirit Midwifery Journal 2010; 6: 65-67. Updated 30/12/15. Thirty-one years ago on a hot December morning I gave birth to my second daughter. It was … Continue reading
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This post written by Cecil Tamang (RM, BM) was originally published in Birthspirit Midwifery Journal 2010; 2: 40-42. I once ran across a greeting card which sums up my thoughts about the confirmation of pregnancy. On the front was a … Continue reading
A midwife’s belief in a diverse society, and her knowledge of the joys a child with Down syndrome can bring, is reflected upon in this post by Kim Porthouse. She addresses the ‘burden’ that can arise in ensuring informed choice … Continue reading
A multi-disciplinary hospital meeting to air issues raised by women’s feelings of dissatisfaction with obstetric consultations for breech-presenting babies is discussed by self-employed midwives Margaret Gardener and Jenny Crawshaw. Originally published in Birthspirit Midwifery Journal 2010; 5: 63-67. References updated … Continue reading
Archives New Zealand is a treasure trove for those wanting to find out about times gone by. I found two jewels from the Weekly Review series which used to be shown as ‘shorts’ at the movies (or more correctly the … Continue reading
This post was originally published in Birthspirit Midwifery Journal 2009; 1: 13-19. Updated and revised 3 March 2014 Using deep warm baths in labour is a common strategy that many home birth midwives have used for at least three decades … Continue reading
An interesting donation to Wise Woman Archives Trust Inc. was received from midwife Sue Bogaard of the Bay of Plenty. As alarming as it seems today, these lead nipple shields were probably still in use until at least the early … Continue reading
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
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