An Epic Year So Far

This year so far has been pretty epic.

I was Keynote Speaker at The 14th Normal Labour and Birth Research Conference at the Grange Hotel, Grange Over Sands. It is, I believe, the most prestigious birth conference in the world with heads of midwifery from every continent on earth and representation from The World Health Organisation; a global gathering of researchers all working to share wisdom and make birth better and physically and psychologically safer.

Being an activist was never something encouraged in my family. I was more than encouraged to accept the status quo.

But as a grow older and see the inequalities in our system, I would rather be a part of the solution than the problem.

Since man began, we have evolved to give birth and most people, when given the right environment and trusted skilled birth attendants can allow their bodies to birth their babies but…

I believe with so much fear and intervention within our maternity care, we are letting our mums down on a massive scale. There isn’t enough staff to adequately give mums what they need so they are turning to doulas and KG Hypnobirthing to help them.

An extract from “Infiniti Non-Carborundum”

“Where are the powers in ivory towers

When we tell them the midwives

Are lacking in numbers

And thus this encumbers the safety

Of women and child and all those involved

I ask for more midwives and help with resolve”

I love talking to student midwives and midwives about the importance of paying attention to birth physiology. They need to speak out against things they may not agree with.  For example, to not collude with the current rampant induction policy or women being made to lie on their backs to give birth. There may be a place for both these things but not at the current rate.

At 14th Normal Labour and Birth Conference, I told the story of my own birth in rhyme explaining why I’m so passionate about helping people have better birth experiences and baby’s to be born more gently and without drugs unless absolutely necessary.

We are lucky to have the medics but they aren’t trained in normal birth and birth is rarely ‘allowed’ to progress unhindered as it should in most cases.

I talked about how social media seeks to exacerbate bullying in midwifery and how the medicalisation of birth has changed the landscape for birthing people not necessarily for the better.

I talk about what needs to be done and what women need to know to have better birth experiences.

 

If you would like to discuss how I can help you have the best birth experience possible, please get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.