Midwifery in Australia

I have seen very little talk in the midwifery community in the states about what is happening to midwifery down under in Australia. Personally, I would be totally in the dark if it weren't for the wonderful Lisa Barrett and her incredible blog.

I urge everyone to click here and either watch the video or read the transcript.

It is just deplorable what the government is doing, not just to midwifery but also, and most importantly, to women and families.

Public Perceptions of Breastfeeding

I did not write this, but it was too fabulous to not pass on. (I'm not sure of the original author, but whomever you are, thank you!!!)

Society is so sexualized that they have forgotten what God created
our breasts for in the first place. They throw hissy fits over
breastfeeding in public and expect us to feed our babies in dirty,
stinky bathrooms. So I ask you to judge for yourself, which breasts are
truly offensive here? And I understand some of you won't think ANY of
them are offensive. But I am making a point by showing how ridiculous
it is that society looks upon scantily clad women in sexy ads as ok,
even GREAT, but providing important nourishment and nutrients to your
child in public by breastfeeding is offensive, distasteful, disgusting,
whatever. Give me your feedback. :)


Wait... well, this is a bad example. Let's try again...

Hmmm... just a minute. Surely i can find better ones than these...

Eh... still not racy enough. I'll check one more time.

That's better. LOOK AT THAT! I see about an inch of boob! Totally disgusting.

Ugh! Look at that indecency!! She must be from some third-world country to be exposed like that!!

Now that's just... There's no words to describe how inappropriate that is. Something needs to be done!!



Now
this takes the cake!! How dare they actually put such a disgusting
image on the cover of a magazine where teenage boys might see it. This
simply must be disposed of ASAP via a shredder, before teenage boys
learn what boobs are really for!!


This just makes me want to vomit!

...but why stop at breastfeeding women? There are boobs
everywhere. Beware! If you thought the above photos were offensive, you
WILL DEFINITELY be offended by the photos below.




Not this one though. This was in plain view on newsstands and in mailboxes in 19 countries worldwide!

Not this one either. This one actually won an award!

Oh, and i guess this ones fine too, since everyone knows you can't sell jeans without someone being topless.

or beer, for that matter!

or sunglasses...

or movie tickets...

or CDs...

...you
know what? Maybe I'm crazy, but i think that someone mixed up some
photos here. The first batch are offensive, but the second batch are
just fine and dandy???

people who live in glass bras:


shouldn't throw stones:








Which message is healthier?

Breastfeeding which is medically approved to give HUMANS the best start in life. . . or


Images that promote STD's, unattainable beauty standards, sexual promiscuity, plastic surgery, and just plain TRUE indecency?

Which would you rather your daughter live up to?

Ifyou think women have the right to breastfeed their children no matter
where they are, please re-post this. The least you can do is help some
children get the best nutrition they can get. Breastfed babies have
lower instances of obesity, asthma, allergies, certain childhood
diseases, learning disabilities, and other health problems. For each
woman who feels like she shouldn't be breastfeeding right where she is,
there is an innocent baby who is losing out. Don't be responsible for
any child's health problems. support breastfed babies and their right
to eat in public like the rest of us.

Absence explained

I am in the midst of first trimester fun! We are expecting our second baby to arrive sometime this summer!!!

I haven't been on the computer much at all, although I have thought of many things I'd like to blog about.

Hopefully January will be a better blogging month for me. :-)

Security

Go check out another excellent post by the amazing Gloria Lemay, if you haven't seen it already!!

Living Exposed

I live under no false assumption that by being certified and licensed, I am 'protected'. Codswallop. Midwives need to let go of the assumption that if they always follow their protocols to the 'T' and keep up their license, they will never be liable to prosecution. As Gloria says:

"There is no safety to be had in birth work. No amount of butt covering will avoid the fact that you’re not perfect. If you do something, you will be attacked and, if you don’t do anything, you will be attacked. If you have a certificate, someone will want to take it away from you and if you aren’t certified people will make that wrong."

Can't we just have Gloria cloned and distributed throughout the world, so that we can all have some of her sanity and wisdom in our community? :p

Birth Stools

Ok, ok, I know that I'm a neglectful blogger. I really do promise to have more interesting, fun and insightful posts in the near future! Including one all about the maternity system in Peru. Ahem...

Starting up a practice is hard work, though! I'm spending most of my days writing client handouts. Oh, and shopping for supplies....which isn't really hard work at all, but quiet fun. I'm having a hard time deciding which birth stool to purchase. I want one that doesn't inhibit the sacrum, which is harder to find than you'd think. Here are the ones I fancy so far:

Wooden birth stool
DeBy birth stool
and if money were no factor,
the Birth Mate stool

I need to decide soon. I've personally given birth on the wooden version, and I like it well enough. But, I'm intrigued by the DeBy. I've heard both positive and negative feedback from mothers who've birthed on it.

What???

Has everyone heard about what Poland's health minister is proposing?

New mother and child department in Poland draws protest

Regardless of your views on abortion rights, this is a direct violation of women's right to privacy. Frightening!

News

Although I attempt to keep my identity anonymous on this blog, I want to share some personal midwifery-related news and thoughts.

I recently finished my apprenticeship. My last birth alongside my preceptor was August 4. A sweet waterbirth of a beautiful baby boy. I will be taking the NARM written exam in 3 days time. Keep me in your thoughts. I would love to pass it and not worry about it any longer!

It is a very bittersweet time of transition at the moment. I am so excited to finally be starting out on my own, something I have dreamed about for 8 years now! But, every time I think about no longer attending births with my former preceptor, I get weepy. It's a hard thing, moving on.

Another footing breech homebirth

Attended by independent midwives in the UK. Enjoy!