What Does It Mean to Be a Midwife Today?
I’ve been travelling and mostly unplugged these past weeks, but I keep dipping back into the True Midwifery online community to feel its pulse. And every time, I’m reminded how rare it is to find a space that runs on love, trust, and discernment. It’s not that we all agree. Far from it. We come from different trainings, traditions, and ways of working. But there’s a deep respect for one another’s paths — and in the birth world, that’s something precious. Lately, our upcoming Study Spiral has stirred up some big feelings for me around the topic of modern-day witch hunts. And I keep coming back to this: so often, they are about women not trusting each other. Turning on each other to feel safe, or to keep our footing in a system that doesn’t truly support us. In birth work, it’s the same old pattern — patriarchy’s favourite trick: divide and rule. The Splintering of Our Roles One way this shows up is in the way we’ve created countless “safe” titles so we can be allowed to serve mothers and babies. Birthkeeper. Doula. Traditional Birth Attendant. Once, all of these roles were simply what it meant to be a midwife — a person who stood beside the mother and baby through the threshold of birth. Now, we’ve been split and split and split again. With every division, we’re more restricted, more regulated, more over-specialised… and less able to offer the full, holistic care mothers and babies actually need. A Lesson from the Anamaboya I was reminded of this when I sat with the Anamaboya — the traditional Shona midwives in Zimbabwe. I shared with them the different titles we see nowadays, and they looked at me with quiet confusion, as if I’d just asked for a different word for love, or for water. “What do you call yourselves?” I asked. “Anamaboya,” they said simply. Midwife. Grandmother. Their qualification? Being called to the work by God. A dream.Their gift? Deep humility. Trust in birth. A willingness to learn. The knowledge that their true work is to love the mother. Who Decides? Not long ago, an empirical midwife I met offered me a definition I’ve been holding close: A midwife is a midwife when recognised as such by her community. It’s such a simple sentence, and yet it pulls at so many threads — identity, authority, recognition, belonging. For me, this is not about deciding on one definition. It’s about opening the conversation and letting the questions breathe: Who gets to decide what a midwife is?How does language include… and exclude?And how might our own divisions be keeping us from serving mothers and babies as fully as we could? I’d love to explore these questions together in our upcoming Study Spiral. With love,Ruth Join this month’s Spiral → true-midwifery1.teachable.com/p/true-midwifery-study-spirals Last Spot in the Birth First Aid Course (starting 2...
Read MoreMy Birthday and Surrender
Yesterday was my birthday—my 45th trip around the sun—and I find myself reflecting on presence and surrender. A few weeks ago, I took a bad tumble and hurt my foot. All my plans for hiking and walking with my family during the school holidays went out the window. Instead, I found myself mostly on the couch—delegating, surrendering. At first, I was frustrated. There’s only so much scrolling and streaming one can do (and there is a LOT of boring content out there!). Eventually, I had to shift. I surrounded myself with my guitar, art supplies, and writing materials. I learned new songs, made some jewellery, sketched still lifes, and wrote—a lot. Sometimes, when we can’t “do,” we’re given a chance to receive. And in that stillness, long-dormant creativity can rise again. I was finally back on my feet last week, and I relished the return of my walks. It’s winter here, and after the rains, everything is so green. The Aloes and Coral trees are in bloom—the fiery reds and oranges popping against the fresh green backdrop. Then yesterday—on my birthday—I surrendered again, this time to the flu that’s been making its way through my household. Apparently, the lessons of surrender aren’t quite over yet. So I write to you from bed, reflecting on all that this next chapter of life is asking me to let go of… and receive. Upcoming Offerings Study Spiral with Robyn SheldonConnect with the soul of the unborn child in this sacred, interactive circle.Thursday 31 July | 11:00–14:00 SASTBook your spot here Early Bird Ends 31 July – Two Signature Courses:Birth First Aid for Mother & Baby (starts 2 Sept)For midwives, doulas, and birthkeepers—practical, respectful responses to real-life birth situations.Enroll here Basic Needs of Babies (starts 30 Sept)A Montessori-informed exploration of newborn care for parents and professionals alike.Join the course Self Sufficiency in ChildbirthA 4-week journey for couples preparing for conscious, autonomous birth.16, 23, 30 October & 6 November | 18:30–21:00 SASTReserve your...
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