Midwifery 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...
Read MoreWhat Happens When a Group of Women get Together?
On Saturday, inspired by Cape Town Embrace, a group of women, mostly mothers, from Scarborough and surrounds, arrived at Buyiswa‘s house on Red Hill, with some tea and cake and fruit and biscuits. Some of the mothers from the Red Hill settlement were there to meet us, some more trickled in. We sat in a circle in chairs, clutching our steaming cups of tea, children playing around us and we shared why we were there. Buyiswa, who was hosting us, has spearheaded the Red Hill Literacy Programme – a project which sprung from her sitting room. She saw a need for a space for some of the children to do their homework after school and that has grown into an after school literacy programme helped by volunteers, as well as a feeding scheme to make sure that these children did not have to learn on an empty stomach. This programme is now a registered NPO and Buyiswa has won a Lead SA Award for her work. Victoria, Buyiswa’s neighbour and friend, joined her on this project and now helps run the literacy project. The women from Scarborough were all there because they all wanted to help somehow but did not know how to begin or who to approach. This was an opportunity to meet with some of the women on Red Hill to find out what some of the issues and needs were…and to meet and chat. And to meet and chat. Some of the women from Red Hill are unemployed or are single mothers supporting many family members on very little. The needs are simple, yet complex. Food. Rain jackets for children. School fees for the young children in the creche. They need the internet for the Literacy Project. Driver’s licenses – there is no reliable public transport. Building permission is needed for one woman’s house to change the roof (the old roof leaks, she needs special permission but does not know where to go to get this, if she changes it without permission, they will tear it down…at present her roof leaks onto her bed. She actually has the building materials to fix it but needs the permission first). A rape counsellor is needed. We discussed the possibility of opening up the clinic for an extra day for the pregnant women and the babies. At present, it only opens once a week for vaccinations. An offer was made to help start a vegetable garden. Connections were made and we meet again in two weeks time to chat further. Buyiswa sent me a text last night simply saying: “That was amazing.” And it was. Simple but amazing. So what happens when a group of women get together? Let’s see… If you would like to connect or help somehow, please let me...
Read MoreWhat is a Safe Birth?
What is a safe birth? We have made such fine advances. Birth is now very safe. And it becomes safer the quicker we can do a caesar and the younger we can rescue a premature baby. It really is incredible what we are able to do nowadays. And the focus is on that. To ensure that a birth is safe. Safe for the mother. Safe for they baby. They are alive. Because that is the most important. That they are alive. Of course, that is the most important. I think we can all agree on that. But is it? Or have we gone way, way, way over to one side, in one direction and forgotten about balance? Firstly, birth is never, and can never be 100% safe. Let’s face that. Scary. But oh so true. We want it to be. We so, so want it to be. Of course. But is that everything? Do we take away everything else to ensure it? Is that safe? What is a safe birth? Is a safe birth a birth where we ensure mother and baby are alive? Or is it one where a mother feels held and safe and looked after and cared for so that she can feel capable and able to hold and look after and care for her baby. Make her baby feel safe. She is the mother after all. The one who takes care of this child. Not us. We walk away. How do we ensure a balance of both worlds? A safe birth. Safe. Alive. Well. And a feeling of safety. Not traumatised and violated. But whole. Trusting. Empowered. And...
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