h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

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At one of the meetings where I work the group of therapists (homoeopaths, masseurs, shiatsu practitioners) were debating what a group of complementary therapists should be called - we couldn't decide between coven or cabal...

Looking forward to checking out your website.

Mary Cronk?
I've heard so many good things about her - what's she like in person?
Good luck with the ARM meeting!

Hubby still too busy to do website but I've finished writing the content. I hope I've got the right balance,coming across as somewhere between professional and hippy
The coven will be in full swing tonight which means lots of housework for me today.
Mary Cronk is a wonderful advocate for women's rights. She's Scottish and has an air of no-nonsense about her. I'd have loved her to be my midwife, as if I complained she'd most likely to tell me to stop complaining and get on with it(in a caring way of course). She's the expert on breech birth in this area.

Meeting went well. It was quite political actually. We're launching a campaign to provide better continuity of care for pregnant women. It will mean a midwifery system similar to the one in New Zealand, where the government funds maternity care, but the woman is free to choose her care provider (her chosen midwife, GP or obstetrician). It would put the power back into the hands of women, mean more homebirths, fewer C.sections, better continuity of care for women and more job-satisfaction for midwives. It's like Independent Midwifery but paid for by the NHS, supporting the IMA model of Midwifery care.
The hard part is convincing middle management in the NHS and lobbying government for a change in Maternity provision When I have the link I'll post it. The campaign is called "one woman, one midwife"

I can believe what you say about the hard part....
Best of speedy luck and success to you Meg

You Rock!

Sounds great

I will be all for it

Excellent news Meg!

I've always thought it was crazy that you generally don't get to meet the midwives that will be present at your birth until you get there.

I found the link to one woman, one midwife. It is www.onemotheronemidwife.org.uk

Just a quick update. I now have a website and have been booked as second midwife at 5 births so far. The first woman is due today so I'm expecting a call soon. Can't wait to have a client of my own though. Still working at the hospital until I have clients booked. P.S I attended another lovely waterbirth last week

I would have loved trying a water birth!
I would have also loved to witness one.

Yay Meg! It is a good start!
I am sure you'll impress those other midwifes (sp? please - V?) and the mothers then they will refer you.
Networking will help get you there!

It seems to me there are 3 truly momentous events in a human lifespan.

1)being born

2) dying

3) *If* female, giving birth, which leads to both 1) and 2)....the one who is being born will die; this is not an easy concept to handle!

We have virtually no control over 1) and 2); but 3) yes, we do. So it seems fairly logical that the woman who is the one who has nurtured said lifeform & is about to give birth to it; should have absolute access to whatever means of support, physical, mental, emotional that SHE chooses & needs while she brings another life into this world.

This will differ from mother to mother, depends on individual needs & obviously any Wise Woman will listen to many & varied opinions....but probably in the end, go with what her own body tells her; any body clever enough to create a new life quite probably knows what's going on.

It seems totally illogical to me that at this momentous time of birth that strangers, who have little idea of what has been going on; should be the ones to welcome the new life & aid the mother.Technical stuff may be necessary if there are problems, but the major support & referall to this should be with the midwife IMHO.

MIDWIFES RULE OK???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

zdt

Just read the backlog. I still stick by what i said *but*

<<£100,per month for two years>> payback for the birth = £2,400; before the expenses of actually looking after the babe kick in. I don't see how it is actually possible unless the father is earning loadsadosh, mum is going to need to take time off to look after babe.

Doesn't the NHS pay anything towards this?

zdt

Thanks for your kind thoughts. The website's not finished yet but I badgered hubbie to put something out there, so that women could contact me.
No, the NHS doesn't provide this service. We're currently lobbying the government to bring in a new model of midwifery care where women are able to choose their midwife, paid for by the NHS. Similar happened in New Zealand due to pressure on government from women dissatisfied with their old system of care. Join our campaign at www.onemotheronemidwife.org.uk
In the meanwhile the independent midwives provide a service for women who don't want NHS care for whatever reason. Some women so wish to avoid hospitalisation and conveyor-belt care that they give birth unassisted.
The cost does seem prohibitive but it is not. What the midwife actually earns is not a lot more than working for the NHS, when you consider that all supplies and drugs, petrol and car mainainance come out of this fee. Consider also that I will have no sick pay, holiday pay or pension working in this way, and that the woman can sue me for all I have if anything goes wrong. What women are getting for their money is more time, attention and empowerment than they'd receive on the NHS. I will be putting in an awful lot more hours caring for women this way. I will be on-hand to answer questions throughout, and on call 24hrs per day for the last 4-5 weeks of each pregnancy. Continuity of carer, as well as enriching the experience for the woman, is also more likely to detect problems, as we already know what is normal for mum and babe.
I think what puts it all in perspective for me is that people don't mind spending this amount on a holiday or much much more on a new car. What is provided in the NHS is nowhere comparible.
It heartens me to hear that women of disadvantaged backgrounds can afford our care. I've heard of travellers and those on state benefits affording Independent care, because it is so important to them. What also helps is to know midwives are not there to make a profit. As long as our bills are paid and our children fed and clothed we can take on the occasional non-fee paying client. Many IM's trade services, so if woman's partner is a sculpter, carpenter, painter etc he can swap services for maternity care. If there are no services to swap some provide free care. I've heard of one midwife who gave her services in exchange for an orchid
How right you are ZDT for understanding that women know what is right for them and their child. This is why lots of women opt out of the NHS.

25 years back i had a friend who wanted to give birth in this way, luckily we had a friend who had just finished training as a ; he acted as midwife, all went fine with mum & babe BUT

He got hauled up by The Powers That Be & very very nearly lost his licence to practice. Hopefully all that has chenged since?

zdt

Nothing has changed. It is illegal for anyone to act as a midwife at a birth who is not a registered Midwife!

Hello Meg,

I've been keeping an eye on this thread with interest, as the idea of independent midwives appeals to me (due to always seeing the smae person and them being available when you need them etc).

Do you have any contacts with doulas? They seem to be taking off as a new thing here in the UK and I see they also have a website in a similar vein as the Independent midwives do. I just wondered what the two professions thought of each other and whether you'd ever worked alongside one?

Jules

Hi,
I've never worked with a doula and I don't think midwives on the whole have much regard for them. The main reason is that they're doing the part of a midwife's job that she'd love to do if she had the time
With an independent midwife you don't need a doula as you know your midwife is working for you and will stay with you and be really supportive. In a hospital situation, with an unknown midwife who may be looking after other labouring women, an advocate is very useful. A lot of women bring female friends or relatives with them in labour as the partner is often too emotional to argue a point. Doula's are very popular in America where the midwifery care is almost totally dominated by obstetricians.

That all makes a lot of sense.

I just wondered, no reason, btw, apart from always researching and plotting in hope for one distant future day...

I was wondering if there was a reason, but thought it rude to ask It's good to do research in advance

Well I'm just back from seeing yet another consultant in my quest to sort out my healthandstuffrelatedtobabies so everything crossed for this century!