The Women Who Are Ushering Midwifery Back into the Mainstream — 069

In today’s episode, we speak with three women who were instrumental in establishing midwifery into traditional, bustling, hospital settings. Between them, they have over 50+ years of birth work experience and they continue to mentor, teach and serve women in the midwife community and beyond.

Nel assisted her mother in the birth of a sibling at age three. The baby was stillborn. This left a lasting impression on her. After countless babies appeared in her life, she knew she should follow the path to midwifery and has dedicated her career to creating a homebirth model in a small hospital setting. She currently mentors and teaches midwifery to midwives in rural Maine. Nell has pioneered many revolutionary practices in midwifery and is well known for her contributions.

Denise is a midwife in a hospital in The Bronx. She assists women from marginalized areas of society gain access to a midwife in high-risk pregnancies. She works to build trust with doctors who may not understand the role or purpose of a midwife and with the patients who come from various cultural backgrounds.

Sharon is Chief of the Midwifery Division and oversees a midwife education program at Baystate Medical Center. She works with women who need care but have barriers to getting it. She helps women of all backgrounds to make informed decisions about their pregnancy with the goal of removing the anxiety and judgment sometimes related to the birth process.

We sat with these women and heard their powerful stories and now share their power with you.

*This is our second session of recordings with women who serve as midwives from the Motherbirth booth at the American College of Nurse-Midwives Annual Conference.

In This Episode:

The importance of relationships
The similarities of Midwifery in rural and urban environments
Integrating the homebirth model into a hospital setting
How midwives can decrease the level of trauma during birth
Changes in midwife care since the 1970’s
The continuity model of care
Eliminating the judgment women have about their birth experience
Building access to midwife care for women in marginalized communities
Making doctors aware of the role of a midwife
Prenatal and postpartum emotional support
The need to reduce anxiety in expectant mothers
Allowing the body to follow its natural birth process
The father’s experience of childbirth
Using crowdfunding to save for future college expenses

Show Notes:

Listen to Episode #68 — “Peyote In Labor, Feminism, and Running Away From the Army”

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