Midwifery On The Prairies

18/10/2019

Indigenous Birth of Alberta (IBA) recognizes the need to have culturally inclusive practices in reproductive health, birth preparation, postpartum care, and parenthood. Indigenous Birth of Alberta is a volunteer-ran collective made up of Indigenous birth workers. The collective has birth workers who...

07/10/2019

11/09/2019

94 year old Cree Kokum Rose Adekat teaches how to wrap a baby~ her very first great great grandchild

31/08/2019

A grandmother in Vietnam breastfeeding her grandchild. It is a common practice in many cultures for a grandmother to relactate so that she may breastfeed her grandchild. It is truly an act of love.





UPDATE: We are getting a TON of questions about colostrum and induced lactation and relactation and how menopause affects this, etc! We will be going LIVE in 2 minutes with an IBCLC to answer any questions here!

UPDATE: A lot of people seem to be curious about how this is possible. Breastmilk production is all about supply and demand. The breasts can continue to make milk indefinitely as long as there is a demand for it. People also seem to be curious about how menopause might affect this. Pituitary glands are necessary in the production of breastmilk and menopause does not restrict the pituitary glands ability to function. So, yes, even after menopause it is still possible to produce enough milk to nourish a baby. Loving all of the conversation around this?! Aren't women's bodies just amazing? We can do so many things that we didn't even know 😉

30/08/2019

24/08/2019

15/08/2019

I'm often asked about what pain relief tools are available in a setting. We then talk about how being in your own environment changes experience with pain, massage, touch, freedom of movement, (aka or shower), AND sterile water papules - which is a tool most folks haven't heard of!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Sterile water papules are a tool we can use at home for back labor. Its a sub q injection of sterile water around the lower back on each side, that creates a numbing sensation for 1-2 hours. It stings a lot going in, but can be awesome tool to get through some hard moments in transition. We use it pretty late in the labor process because it's most effective the first time it's used and less helpful after that.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Home birth is unmedicated (aka no pain drugs) because pain medications effect a baby's environment and wellbeing and thus requires the additional monitoring and support of a hospital. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Here's my friend administering sterile water papules during labor. Photo by

07/08/2019

Check this out.

A Quiet Place 19.5x25.5 graphite on Canson Ca Grain “Within the flower lies the secret world of the sacred feminine: a world of truth, beauty, love and mystery. As a mother you are called to go deep within your own inner world, and like the flower, to develop and bask in your own magnificence”-Buffy Bernhardt

01/08/2019

27/07/2019

Thinking of preparing freezer meals before baby arrives? Get 50+ recipes for real food postpartum recovery meals, freezer tips, and the rationale for postpartum nutrient repletion in this post.

27/07/2019

In my midwifery program’s gynecological skills class we were required to give and receive two speculum exams per week on each other’s bodies. On the suggestion of my doctor who was caring for my disc herniation/hypermobility injuries at the time, I requested an American With Disabilities Act exemption to receiving speculum exams weekly. To my surprise my hippie dippy midwifery school reacted horribly. They rejected my doctors notes, psychologist notes, and eventually required me to submit a pelvic floor assessment to demonstrate that I was disabled enough and worthy enough of not having to receive multiple speculum exams weekly (also side note: requiring a student to have something inserted into their va**na is r**e).
My school threaten to kick me out twice for not being a “team player” and “being able to participate in the community.” It sucked tremendously. I kept fighting and eventually got my ADA plan, and as a result of this struggle future midwifery student classes were not required to give and receive exams on their own body’s and could have models instead.

My experience with speculums is pretty extreme, and as a I continually work to reimagine a relationship to this tool which was born out of experiments on enslaved women Anarcha, Betsy and Lucy and has freaked out, caused pain, and oppressed people with va**nas for a long time. Speculums are a tool I can use to see the cervix ~ which allows me to gather information and perform procedures like Pap smears and IUI.
How do I reimagine my relationship with speculums? In a few different ways
~First, I never during a gynecological exam on a traditional gyn table with stirrups, I do exams on a bed or a couch. This is the spot in my office where I do gyn exams
~I tell you how to pause and end the exam if you’re done. Doesn’t matter if we completed the procedure or got the information we’re looking for, it’s your body and you’re in control
~By offering my clients the opportunity to insert the speculum themself and see their cervix with a mirror
It’s possible to add control, agency, and empowerment to an uncomfortable procedure. It’s possible to do better 🌈

23/07/2019

Woah.

Pauline Milich brought her 14th child into the world while helping another woman deliver a baby — life was different in the early 1900s.

19/07/2019

Maddie Amyotte says the lack of midwifery services in rural and remote communities and the lack of local educational options to train people to provide the services is a cause for concern.

17/07/2019

Woo hoo!

'My babies are all out of diapers as they're big kids now but I’m going to buy this box just because it’s beautiful!'

08/07/2019

A new study finds one in six women report maternal mistreatment. The number is higher for women of color.

26/06/2019

For Louisa Snowboy, giving birth in Chisasibi meant being back in her own bed, with her healthy newborn and her older children, just four hours after giving birth — rather than having to stay for several weeks in a town almost 1,000 kilometres from home.

25/06/2019

Hint: They don’t just get ‘dad bods.’

25/06/2019

IT’S bedtime in the family home and the only way your child will be soothed to sleep is if you’ll snuggle up beside them as they fall asleep. But should you encourage your child to self-soothe and …

21/06/2019

This is not ok. This is disturbing. And I'm telling you this number is actually higher. I will never be sorry for advocating against this. Never.

https://www.birthplacelab.org/mistreatment/

21/06/2019

Officials have taken steps to curb the country’s problem with pregnancy-linked deaths, but acknowledge that more needs to be done.

16/06/2019

08/06/2019

It took months for me to accept a diagnosis for the pain and outrage I felt. Could I find my way through?

05/06/2019

A postpartum lying-in is one of the ultimate acts of self-care for you and your brand new baby. Here's how to plan a modern lying-in; one where we acknowledge the realities and expectations of a modern mama with the realities of a healing body and the expectations of a brand new baby.

29/05/2019

Is midwifery a common way to give birth today? This question was originally answered on Quora by Therese Oneill.

28/05/2019

Not good.

After nearly nine years of providing midwifery service at Hudson Hospital, Hudson Physicians is ending the program effective Aug. 1.The decision is based on financial and resource reasons, said CEO Matt Brandt. It's one made solely by Hudson Physicians, which partners with Hudson Hospital but is a s...

27/05/2019

A picture tells a thousand words.

🎨Moments In Time🎨

Sometimes there are photos of birth which take my breath away. Which literally cause me to pause, gasp, and take in the splendor that is our life-giving force.

This photo by Toowoomba-based Rockstar Photographer is one of them.

If you ever wondered if you were capable of incredible things. Of feats of magic. Of life-changing prowess.

This is your proof ☝🏼 Powerful. Intuitive. Brave. Unstoppable.

Just look at that dad kneeling at the altar of the divine. Forever changed by what just unfolded.

You will be a goddamn powerhouse in birth. You will ROOOOAR your baby out. Mark my words.

Thank you Amy for your art. Thank you to the family who’s moment in time you were able to share 🙏 Absolutely fu***ng breath-taking.

~ Shalome x

26/05/2019

"This is one of many Spinning Babies® positions to help the baby down the pelvis. It’s called Walcher's Maneuver. I get so happy when I see midwives in hospitals using these techniques. Many tend to go straight to more drugs to get stronger contractions to “force” the baby out, but when it’s stuck the baby don’t need more pressure but a better position in the pelvis. After a long birth, the doctor came in and talked to the mum about the possibility of a cesarian. She really wanted a va**nal birth and asked the midwife if there was anything else they could try. She was fully dilated but the baby was too high. They first tried a Spinning Babies technique called Sidelying Release but it didn’t work so the midwife made her lay on the bed like this. Two contractions and suddenly we could hear a new sound from her moaning, and her belly changed its form. 5 minutes later a beautiful baby was born. After attending a Spinning Babies® Workshop with Birthsupport.NL, I saw the birthing process with new eyes. I’m hoping more midwives could get the chance to learn these positions!" - Fødselsfotografen

More on Walcher's: bit.ly/SpBWB