 | The Role of Story in Birth  A good birth story has the power to inspire, educate and entertain. Yet, the role story plays in birth goes well beyond the telling of our personal tales. Stories and storytelling "are fundamental to the development and maintenance of a woman-centered body of knowledge" (Reed). This issue takes you inside the experiences of birthing mothers and dancing midwives, considers the impact of the negative birth story and offers tips for starting your own birth story circle. Clinical articles on intrauterine infections and shoulder dystocia, and a special series on midwifing stillbirths are also included.
Make sure you receive the next print edition of Midwifery Today magazine, which hits the newsstands and mailboxes this September. Our Autumn 2011 issue is dedicated to the topic The Role of Story in Birth and, at 72 pages, is filled with clinical articles, vital information, midwifery tricks of the trade, gorgeous birth photos and delightful homebirth stories from around the world. Although Midwifery Today E-News and the Midwifery Today Web site give you a taste of what we offer, less than 10% of our content is available online, so if you aren't subscribing to Midwifery Today magazine, you're missing out on valuable information you won't find anywhere else. Start your subscription! When you subscribe, please let us know whether to start your subscription with the new Autumn 2011 issue on The Role of Story in Birth or with the Summer 2011 issue on Second Stage. Your choice!
| Article Sneak Preview What will you be able to read in the Autumn 2011 Midwifery Today magazine? Here's a sneak preview from Sister MorningStar's article, "Welcoming Sophie." [Photo by Sara Levinson]
 Contractions started one hour after I stepped off the plane from Oregon into California on April 4. Kalista was radiant, beautiful! She hugged me saying, "Sophie and I waited for you! Every day I told her, 'Your Gramsie is coming!' Mama, now we can have our baby!" She told me she had also been talking to her baby about the "pain" of birth. She had been at the three-day birth of her niece, Ariel Elizabeth. Like all new mothers, the stories of pain in childbirth frightened her. She wondered if she would feel tortured. "Sophie, let's work together and make this as easy as possible on both of us." She dreamt that her baby just appeared between her legs and took that as a sign that Sophie was listening to her. My favorite dream during her pregnancy was one where she was holding her baby face to face, teaching her all different kinds of ways to laugh. "Mama, she was doing it! She was making different laughing sounds just like I was making! You and Trace were there but you were in the background. Sophie and I were in our own little world…just laughing!" Those dreams became part of my power prayers, feeding that strong, happy independent energy that can be the mystery and magic of an instinctually powerful birth.
We were so excited to be together. We grabbed our cameras and went to Balboa Park to take the end-of-pregnancy photos that were another one of Kalista's dreams and desires. Kalista labored irregularly and lightly through the next day. She planned a dinner party the night of the 5th, in hopes of hanging a few last minute decorations. The unplanned enthusiasm resulted in many family and friends listening to the baby with my fetoscope, Kalista smiling and open-hearted. The morning of the 6th Kalista called with signs of blessed show. "It can still be days, right?" she questioned me. "Oh yes, it can be days," I agreed, not wanting to bring undo attention to the increasing work I could see happening in her body. She phoned her support midwives to share the news. She wanted to be deep in nature so we went to hike Mission Gorge. Although she hiked ahead of the seven-woman group, I noticed the contractions were changing, coming a bit more frequently, lasting a bit longer and moving into her back. That night Kalista came to dinner at her sister Amory's, where she was surrounded by love and family and ease. Sequoia Marie, her 6-year-old niece said, "Gramsie, we drove all the way from Missouri to help Auntie Ka. We drove the furtherest didn't we?" Kalista would take a few bites of tofu and veggies and then hop up and bend over while one of her sisters gave counter pressure to her hips or back. Then she would smile, sigh and sit back down to have a few more bites of yummies. "This could all just stop and wait for days, right?" Kalista asked. "Oh yes, it could…" I agreed, not wanting to bring undo attention to the now established labor. I had studied Kalista and her husband, Trace, closely during the prenatal period and my instinct told me that Kalista was going to do her best work with privacy and a quiet environment. "Like the labor of any creature," I said to her, "it can stop and start until they are safe in their nest and it is time. For you, it is time to be back in your nest and with Trace." An hour after sundown she drove herself back home in a growing labor.
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Table of Contents | Testimonial: Dearest Midwifery Today, I am a homebirth baby and a recent CNM grad. Many times over my lifetime of knowing that I am a midwife I have lost faith, focus, or motivation. But every single time I pick up my copy of Midwifery Today the fire returns to my belly and the smile to my lips. I just want to thank you all for your work and your passion. I am continually inspired to be the best midwife I can be because of your magazine. I love birth and I love Midwifery Today. Aloha and mahalo,
Nile Sennett Nash, RN, CNM | Subscribe soon and you'll receive the Autumn 2011 issue, packed with articles like these: - Sharing Stories, Reclaiming Birth Knowledge by Rachel Reed. An Australian educator and midwife argues for a body of midwifery knowledge that is "distinct, different and equally (if not more) valuable" compared to the technocratic approach that dominates modern obstetric care.
- Daughter of a Midwife by Treska Stein. The 15-year-old author recounts her firsthand experiences "being with women" as the daughter of a midwife.
- Stillbirth: A Journey in Birth by Tammi McKinley. Being prepared for this difficult type of birth can make all the difference in the care a midwife provides to a family. Part of a special series, this article offers midwives practical tools and resources for support when midwifing a stillbirth.
- United We Stand, Divided We Fall by Erika Obert. A midwife from the Midwest shares her thoughts on how divisive behaviors in the midwifery community can impact care, and why midwives need to work together to overcome gossip and competition.
- Accepting Love without Perfection by Vicky York. The roles of grandma and the postpartum doula are often ill-defined, and can be challenging to balance with the immediate needs of a new mom and baby. Author Vicky York discovers that with a little effort and patience, doulas and grandmas can work together. After all, there's nothing quite like grandma's love.
- When the Womb Is No Longer Safe by Valerie Hall. Intrauterine infections contribute to a host of complications during pregnancy and labor. "This article investigates current ideas about prevention, diagnosis and treatment from a midwifery point of view."
- Thank You, Elvis by Wendy Freeze
- It Matters How We're Born by Gail Hart
- Why the Negative Birth Story by Rina Crane
- Postmaturity: Accelerate Birth or Wait by Samara Ferrara
- Precipitous Twin Homebirth by Veronica Lacquement
- The Value of Sharing Story by Molly Remer
- Birthtellers: Healing Birth through Conscious Storytelling by KaRa Ananda
- Dancing Stories by Robin Gray-Reed
- Shoulder Dystocia: The Perils and the Possibilities by Sister MorningStar
- Beautiful Beginnings: Short Birth Stories
- The Tragic Ending of a Healthy Pregnancy by Tara Shah
- On Photographing a Stillbirth by Bonnie Gruenberg
- Midwives and Story: Passing on the Tradition by Candace Whitridge Palmo
- How Storytelling Affects Labor by Toni Rakestraw
- From the Roddom to the Black Sea: My Experiences in Russia by Miriam Medicine Prayer
- Birth and the Establishment of a Professional Organization in Nepal by Laxmi Tamang
- Childbirth in Eldoret, Kenya by Mary McRae and Sarah McRae
- Did the Earth Move You? Lessons from the Christchurch Earthquake by Lorna Davies
- Female Empowerment and the Traditional Midwives of India by Soma Mukhopadhyay
Remember, the Autumn 2011 issue of Midwifery Today magazine will be sent to subscribers in September. Make sure you're on the list! Subscribe! And be sure to let us know whether to start your subscription with the new Autumn 2011 issue on The Role of Story in Birth or with the Summer 2011 issue on Second Stage. Just put a comment in the "Notes" field when you check out. Learn more about Midwifery Today magazine here. See a list of back issues here. Read more article excerpts from recent issues of Midwifery Today:
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