Under the Shade of an Olive Tree, Midwives Gather in Spain
Firstly, it’s bloody hot here at Da-a-Luz. That I have to say. Dry, sweltering heat that leaves you sweating at the slightest movement once the sun is up. Yummy food sourced mainly from the local gardens and surrounding farms, goat’s milk, cheeses, honey, pears, aubergines, watermelons, zucchini, olives and olive oil. So good. I sit, writing this by candlelight in the caravan I am staying in…the sun has finally set and with it a bit of cool and the sounds of the crickets descend. I have just returned from collecting water from the spring with midwife Fiona and student midwives Hannah and Jennifer…we also cooled our feet after a long day of neonatal resuscitation training. For the past week, midwives and student midwives have gathered on cushions under the shade of an olive tree, sharing their stories, fears, hopes, dreams and hopes of births for the women they serve. And themselves. One thing is clear: midwives are frustrated at the state of how births are run in this world. They are shocked and angry at the soaring caesarean and intervention rates. When was it that institutions became the places to manage and control this mostly straightforward and holy life event? What I have learned is this: – get a bunch of midwives together and they will find endless birth related things to talk about, debate and discuss, from the complicated to the ecstatic, from the outrageous to the most undemanding. Sharing techniques, pearls of wisdom and skills. And midwives do not seem to grow weary of this subject either. But midwives and midwifery students feel tired and defeated too. Innately, they believe in women’s ability to give birth to their babies, but many midwives are tired of fighting against the systems that constantly claim this right. But there is something truly magical and inspiring that happens when midwives are given the time to get together and share and support one another in this time old profession they hold so dear. It is as though the little spark of hope that sometimes feels that it may be dying is fanned by the love and strength of other birth keepers. If there is anything I can recommend, it is for midwives to regularly gather to share in a non-judgemental setting. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing. Safe, empowering, beautiful births for the mothers and babies we serve....
Read MoreMidwifery in Spain
For the next ten days, I will be teaching at De La Luz in Spain. So far I have met and gotten to know the two midwives Fiona (from the UK) and Nina (from Germany) who reside here, as well as the Dutch student midwife Anne – who has built a beautiful clay home for herself already in the less than one year she has been here. They have all been living here for close to a year attending the course that has been taking place here. I have not yet met the three student midwives who are traveling from the UK for their ten-day placement. It is very hot at the moment and it is light until late at night. De La Luz is made up of ramshackle homes – caravans, tents, trucks, busses, domes, yurts, etc. The picture here is the school they are busy building…it seems much bigger when you actually see it. And quite beautiful. As you can see, it is still unfinished. They are busy raising funds to complete it. So for now, classes take place on a circle of cushions under the shade of an olive tree. Will keep you...
Read MoreWhat Does Midwifery Mean to you?
Midwifery means seeing each woman for who she is and really seeing her, seeing that spark in her when even she cannot sense it.
Read More“Chewing gum,” she said, “is What Helped me in my Labour.”
“Chewing gum,” she said, “is what helped me in my labour. My labour stopped and the doctor thought I was mad but I said I always chew gum. It relaxes me. And when I was in labour the pains just suddenly stopped because I just needed that gum. I was thinking about it the whole time. Every day I chew gum, except now, when I needed it most, I didn’t have any! So I told my mother to go and get me some gum and when she came and I started chewing it. I could relax and so my labour started again and my baby was born soon after.”
Read MoreIt’s all About Trust isn’t it?
When a woman is in labour and she looks up she needs to know that we trust her. Do we trust her? Do we trust her body? Do we trust her ability to birth her baby? What language are we using when we speak to her? Does it tell her that she is doing well? That she need not worry? What do our eyes convey? Doubt? Or trust? And our body language? What is our body language conveying? Fear? Tension? Indifference? Or trust? And what is trust? It is believing in someone, believing in their ability. So when a woman doubts herself, when she doubts her ability to birth. When she seeks your eyes, or your touch, or your voice. Tell her. Show her. Let her know that you trust her. Transmit it with your very being. Because if you trust her, she has no option but to trust...
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