Why "Radical"?

My husband has said before that he doesn't understand why I would identify myself as 'radical'. He thinks it has a negative connotation. And, maybe it does in many situations. Honestly, I was originally inspired to pick the name 'Radical Midwife' for my blog by the amazing Radical Midwives Association in the UK.

But, there is more. I cannot tell you how often I feel on the fringes of the 'norm' in midwifery. Sometimes it is almost as if I live in a bubble, where I assume at least most midwives not only practice evidence based midwifery, but also know what 'trust birth' means and act on it. Well, if I live in a bubble, it is popped on a regular basis every time I venture out on the Internet or start talking about birth and midwifery with other students or practicing midwives.

The opportunity to reconsider the name of this blog arose recently when I opened a twitter account to begin twittering. I had to choose a user name. After some thinking, i went with 'radicalmidwife'. The obvious reason being that it matches the name of my blog, so people who know me by my blog will recognize me. However, this also compelled me to re-consider the word 'radical', to be sure its still how I want to identify myself (it is).

So I looked up the definition of 'radical':

From the Merriam Webster dictionary:

Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin radicalis, from Latin radic-, radix root

Date: 14th century

1 : of, relating to, or proceeding from a root: as a (1) : of or growing from the root of a plant (2) : growing from the base of a stem, from a rootlike stem, or from a stem that does not rise above the ground b : of, relating to, or constituting a linguistic root c : of or relating to a mathematical root d : designed to remove the root of a disease or all diseased and potentially diseased tissue
2 : of or relating to the origin : fundamental
3 a : marked by a considerable departure from the usual or traditional : extreme b : tending or disposed to make extreme changes in existing views, habits, conditions, or institutions c : of, relating to, or constituting a political group associated with views, practices, and policies of extreme change d : advocating extreme measures to retain or restore a political state of affairs
4 slang : excellent, cool

First off, I love that the word relates back the the Latin form of 'root'. I am constantly thinking about what is midwifery, at its root, and how to get midwifery back to its roots. The 1st definition doesn't really apply...I'm not referring to plants, or linguistics, or mathematics, or eradicating diseases. The 2nd definition listed above fits nicely, though, and of course I can't deny that I love the 4th definition.

3 a and b are more interesting to ponder:

3 a : marked by a considerable departure from the usual or traditional : extreme b : tending or disposed to make extreme changes in existing views, habits, conditions, or institutions

Midwifery is one of the oldest professions / occupations in human history. Yet, I feel we are at a cross-roads on many levels. "Traditional" midwifery or "modern" midwifery? And, what do they even mean? Do they mean the same to everyone? I'm not going to get into this right now; that's another blog post that I promise I will write.

I still really feel like 'Radical Midwife' is a fitting description of myself.

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

Another footing breech homebirth

Attended by independent midwives in the UK. Enjoy!

Peru's ploy to end homebirth

Peru embraces vertical birth to save lives

Some choice quotes:

"Condori said she did not want to take any chances and that hiking through the mountains was a safer bet than having her baby at home."

"The hope of the program is to cut high rates of maternal mortality by encouraging poor, mostly indigenous Peruvian women to place themselves under the care of professionals."

There were some good things in the article, even if the overall tone is to emphasize that these women are dieing because they are home. Like I was happy to see this:

"Peru's health ministry has said vertical birthing positions can be healthier for women by reducing pressure on the uterus and large blood vessels that can affect the amount of oxygen going to the baby. Standing or sitting during childbirth also tends to reduce labor and delivery time, according to the health ministry, and allows the mother to watch the birth better than if she were lying down."

"The practice of women giving birth on their backs is done for the convenience of doctors, not women, say supporters of Andean birthing methods."

Peru has a recent history of trying to rid itself of traditional rural parteras. I have corresponded with a German homebirth midwife who lives in Cusco, and it is rather hostile there for midwives according to her.

This article makes me feel so frustrated. Yes, Peru's maternal mortality rate is devastatingly too high: 185 women die per 100,000 births. But, is the move to hospital or clinic births the answer?

In my opinion: NO.

Why not start a national program to educate existing midwives in how to treat and handle shock and allow them to carry lifesaving anti-hemorrhagic medications? Why not start a national program to CREATE more midwives who will serve these women in their homes, and ensure they are adequately nourished prenatally? I have read many times that many rural Andean Peruvian women give birth with just their family present, and if there is a problem, they then send their husband out to fetch the midwife.

It has been shown again and again that it isn't the fact of being HOME that increases the maternal mortality rate. It is the undernourishment and poverty of women, and the lack of access to skilled attendants when they are need of them.

Does it really make sense to have a woman hiking 5 hours in labor to reach a clinic to birth? I will be shocked if this support of vertical birth is going to start bringing women in droves to birth in the clinics. Women in many cases can't leave their homes, especially if they have other young children.

My family is planning a vacation to Peru in a few months, and I am hoping to meet the German midwife and talk about this topic more with her.