“You are a midwife, assisting at someone else’s birth.
Do good without show or fuss.
Facilitate what is happening rather than what you think ought to be happening.
If you must take the lead, lead so that the mother is helped,
yet still free and in charge.
When the baby is born, the mother will rightly say,
“We did it ourselves!”
From the Tao Te Ching
Ruth Ehrhardt
Certified Professional Midwife
Registered Traditional Birth Attendant
truemidwifery.com
Based in South Africa | Working Internationally
Follow & connect:
Instagram: @truemidwifery
Facebook: True Midwifery
Upcoming True Midwifery offerings:
True Midwifery
A platform for the continued education and support of birth attendants and families from around the world — honouring the basic needs of the mother and baby.
Website: truemidwifery.com
The Basic Needs of a Woman in Labour
A concise, powerful guide by Ruth Ehrhardt, honouring the essential needs of labouring women with deep respect for the physiology of birth.
“To bring together what is important in such a small number of pages is a feat… it will be a turning point in the history of childbirth and therefore in the history of mankind.”
— Michel Odent
Available in 16+ languages (paperback & ebook)
Read the book
Considering bulk copies for your group or clients?
Contact us: truemidwife@gmail.com
Upcoming Courses & Offerings
True Midwifery Study Spirals
January – December 2026
A year-long, heart-centred series of monthly gatherings exploring birth, womanhood, lineage, and rites of passage — weaving embodied wisdom with lived experience.
For midwives, birthkeepers, doulas, and those who walk alongside birth.
Open global circle • Live monthly sessions • Community held across the year
View full schedule
BASIC BIRTH FIRST AID: IN PERSON WINTER WORKSHOP SERIES
(CAPE TOWN, June – September 2026)
A practical, hands-on workshop series for doulas, midwives, birth workers, students, and anyone wanting to feel more prepared around birth.
Over four monthly gatherings this winter, we will come together in Cape Town to explore essential birth first aid skills rooted in physiology, prevention, calm presence, and wise action.
A Woman’s Retreat in the UK with Ruth Ehrhardt and Samara Hawthorn
Wales, September 2026
Over several days we will gather as women to explore the rites of passage that shape our lives: from menarche to motherhood, from birthwork to elderhood.
Birth First Aid for Mother & Baby
Live Online Course || October 2026 – February 2027
Rooted in traditional midwifery + modern first aid
Supporting calm presence, discernment, and the protection of physiological birth
For those attending births outside of institutional settings
A judgement-free, home birth–friendly learning space
Book here:
https://true-midwifery1.teachable.com/p/birth-first-aid
Self Study (Ongoing)
Birth First Aid
Basic Needs of Babies
One-on-One & Couple Sessions with Ruth
Mentoring, debriefing, and guidance to deepen your path.
Book a session
Join Our Waiting Lists
Be the first to know when bookings open
Birthkeeper Reflection Spiral Founding Circle (Pilot Round)
Silent Birthkeeper: One Year Immersion into True Midwifery – Waiting List