Category: Read - Part 5
5 Ways to Support an Active Duty Mama
When it comes to birth, we like to talk about the choices that women and families have to decide how and when the bring their precious new life into the world – but many women are in situations where the choice is not all theirs. In this piece, doula Sandra Maurer sheds light on the…
Hands on. Hands off. Core Principles for Midwifery and Midwifing the Inner Life of Wimyn
Sister MorningStar has dedicated a lifetime to the preservation of instinctual birth among native people, having helped thousands ofwomen find empowerment through this transformational experience. In this piece, she gives us a glimpse of the intimate bond she forms with the women she works with, highlights the importance of preserving traditional midwifery skills, and explores…
Herbs for Labor II: Black and Blue Labor Helpers
Mother Earth provides us with an extraordinary assortment of natural tools, such as plant medicines, to maintain the health of ourselves and one another. In this edition of the series called “Herbs for Labor” for Birth Institute Susun Weed gives an explanation of the properties and uses of Blue and Black Cohosh. Herbal knowledge, the…
The Story of a Midwife Shaman in Mexico
As an ethnobotanist in Central America for the past thirty years, Rosita Arvigo has met some fascinating people, many of whom are healers. One of the most memorable to her was Miss Hortence Robinson, (1922 – 2009), a Belizean herbal midwife and shaman. In this piece, Rosita shares the story of Miss Hortence, from her…
Sacred Cesarean: A New Vision in Birth Healing
For many women, the thought of their birth experience resulting in a cesarean section may be terrifying or disappointing, but it doesn’t have to be. In today’s world, births through cesarean sections are part and parcel to a ever-more medicalized system, but there is more we can do than simply avoid this surgical process. Whether…
Castor Oil for Womb Wellness
Castor oil has been used by healers throughout history who understood its benefits in supporting wellness. In this piece, Certified Clinical Herbalist Christina Bertelli explores some of the new scientific research that verifies what healers have known for centuries, shares the impact castor oil has on PMS, fibroids, fertility, and postpartum recovery, and provides us…
Feminism in Real Time: Reproductive Justice
Author and Visionary Amy Richards gives us a glimpse of the New York-based event “Feminist Camp”, a week long immersion in which women and girls have a chance to intimately explore the realities of religion, incarceration, media, philanthropy and, of course, reproductive justice. At this biannual event, participants confront their own beliefs and assumptions related…
Calling All American Doctors: You Have a Lot to Learn From Midwives
American moms and their babies are being undermined by corporate interests at an alarming rate. In this riveting piece, Jennifer Margulis, Ph.D., award-winning investigative journalist and author of “The Business of Baby”, exposes shocking statistics and surprising corporate practices true in most American hospitals, where cost, and maternal mortality, are high. Want to become a midwife?…
Shamanic Midwifery: The Art of Midwifing the Soul
Like any rite of passage, birth is a time of profound physical, emotional and spiritual transformation in a woman’s life. It is a time during which, if supported appropriately, a birthing woman is capable of entering an altered state, ushering in a new, elevated consciousness that will serve her for the rest of her life….
Breath – the Key to Relaxation
During pregnancy, breath is the life force that carries essential oxygen to the mother as well as the baby growing inside. It also provides the key to relaxation, which many birth professionals know is essential to reducing pain and speeding up labor. In this article, Jacci Reynolds provides mothers and their care givers with two…