|
|
About the Author - Sandra
I was born in
Manitoba, raised in Alberta and lived my adult life in Victoria, British
Columbia, Canada. I married, gave birth to four children and raised three
girls and suffered through the death of my first born, my son. I am now a proud
grandmother of four - 3 boys and 1 girl, and there is another one circling
around but she hasn't been called yet.
I graduated from the School of Nursing at the Calgary General
Hospital in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1969. I practiced nursing, specializing in obstetrics, for many years but found the field of
midwifery much more satisfying. Over a period of thirty years I have assisted
hundreds of women give birth at home and a multitude more in the hospital as an
obstetrical nurse. I believe in the natural and spiritual aspects of birth and
the importance of choice in this rite of passage. I
emphasized this philosophy in my childbirth preparation classes -The Birth Group - that I held in
Victoria every week for years to help my clients and anyone who wanted the
information, attain as much knowledge and reawakening as they required and asked for.
I had collected a multitude of photographs, stories and experiences over the
years, which I put together for my students and clients. As the years passed
and the experiences grew, the collection evolved into a book - "The Childbirth Manual".
The creation of this book
was a slow process growing to include donated pictures and stories for the sole
purpose of educating future clients. Then came the idea of putting it together for anyone who might need the information to increase their
knowledge and understanding of the childbirth experience. Thus the book was born.
Its creation has taken up much of my time and then the company was formed in 1998 - Life Passages Publishing to produce it and publish it.
But something was missing - relationships with pregnant women. Now, I feel I need to put out the energy once again to help where I am needed. I have too long been secluded into my own world, forgetting that I am here to make a difference and to help raise the awareness of the planet, specifically, by making the best possible entrance for new soul's arrival.
A word about midwifery:
In 1970 I
actually had my first hands on experience in helping a woman give birth as a
nurse at the Calgary General Hospital, guided by a local intern who himself had
no idea what he was doing, we struggled through but amazingly nature was in
control and everything went well. I think that women are guided into the service of other women, to aid
them during the birthing time. I have always felt an affinity to and love for pregnancy and pregnant women, I felt and knew
in my soul that I was a midwife all my life and from the past, for many lifetimes, it is just who I am.
In 1973 my sister asked me to help her give birth and with my limited knowledge
and experience from my nursing education, I opened myself up to faith in the
natural, normal functioning
of a woman's body
and trusted in her expression of the "don't worry, I know what I am doing, trust
me". Since that baptismal experience - a midwife is what I am, and midwifing is what I have done,
what has led to my self-discovery, my comfort, my evolution, and my church. I
witnessed many miracles and was a channel to the divine knowledge. I
learned to be humble, to have faith, to believe in the body, to listen to
others, to have confidence, to explore, to not fear new experiences, to be
compassionate, to be empathetic and to love myself and the people that I helped
unconditionally.
When all my friends who were involved in midwifery became political because of the legalities of practicing, of fear of being followed and charged with practicing medicine without a license (crazy world!) and the need to validate the profession and ensure the safety of the childbearing community - I knew it would change everything. The heart would be separated from the hands and no long would the Mother Goddess flow through our spirit to our hands and head to guide us in the knowledge and wisdom that reside in all women.
I would not prostitute my beliefs
about this spiritual experienced to obtain a professional
certification; a piece of paper, a list of rules and regulations that governed
my every move, that required justification of every act - a midwife is so much more
than that. I have had the experience of being a Registered Nurse for almost
40 years and I know what it is like to always follow policies and procedures
laid down by the regulating board. I didn't want to contaminate my
experience as a midwife as well. Thus I have chosen not to become registered as
a midwife and, therefore, by the BC law "Midwives Regulation", I am no longer
allowed to call myself a midwife, as strange as that seems to me to be, because it is
not a job, nor a career - it is a part of me - abilities handed down to me from
thousands, hundreds of thousands of midwives. From the time we humans
first started to procreate, there have been other women around a woman in labour
- to hold, coach, bring water, take care of other children, to be her hands, to
help guide her to her inner place of knowledge about giving birth and support
her in her travail to produce a new life.
So, now I am a nurse, a labour coach, a sage femme, a counselor, an author, a teacher,
a mother, and a grandmother. If I was spiritually directed to be
a middle/woman (midwife) then that would be up to the Mother Spirit, not the BC
government! Who am I to deny that request. I am a midwife and I was
chosen by pregnant women to be one. I will not be persecuted like the
witches of old England to deny my calling and give up my beliefs. I chose not
to practice at this time but if I was chosen and called again........
This is an old photo, 1977, taken during a labour, one that I had to take my daughter to because I didn't have anyone to watch her. I was also pregnant with my 4th baby. I was timing the contractions and waiting, watching and serving. This is not a job, this is a visit from a friend who helps, someone who has been through the process, who has come to know birth intimately - this is a midwife.
This is me today, working in my office, keeping this webpage functioning,
providing lists of midwives, doulas, childbirth educators, lactation
counsellors, and whomever else will help instruct, assist, and support the
birthin' community. All this for free, just so we have a good, responsible
source for information for the searchers of childbirth information and
assistance.
Like my motto reads "Dedicated to Sharing Childbirth
Knowledge".
Thank you for your interest
Sandra
Thank you, Jan for this wonderful article. Maybe the College of Midwives in BC should read it.
I love midwives. I love all other
practitioners who help women experience the best birth possible. I love the
birth process and getting to know it better. I feel great joy when women have a
good pregnancy and birth as well as a good start with their new babies into
breastfeeding and mothering. Midwives are germane to this miracle. But what is a
midwife? Who can be a midwife and how do we define her? Do we have a right to
define her, she who has been caring for women in birth since the beginning of
creation - She who is called by God, not by us?
I look around the world and see that
despite midwives, the medicalization of birth has taken over in all but a few
places. One exception is the Netherlands, where they don't do triple testing and
still have a predominance of homebirth. But in my country, the United States,
despite all our hard work a dangerous medicalization of birth has almost
completely taken over. CNMs are fighting against this over-medicalization in
hospitals, as are those midwives who do homebirths. Although there are other
very small movements in different parts of the world, many countries have no
counteraction against this dangerous trend.
The empirical midwife movement in the
United States is one of those few islands where technology, money and
brainwashing haven't taken over common sense, evidence, and woman centeredness.
The brainwashing process has never gained a foothold because the lay midwife's
training is not within the medical model. This re-creation of "authentic
midwifery," a term coined by Dr John Stevenson of Australia, is a unique
contribution of these lay American midwives. Just as Microsoft mogul Bill Gates
could not have done in Europe what he did in the United States, Ina May Gaskin
could not have done what she did. Both needed to think way outside the box and
then have the freedom to move their ideas forward. American freedom is a unique
concept whose roots run very deep and straight back to the Constitution. Through
the Bill of Rights, Americans were given freedom of religion (separation of
church and state) and the right to the pursuit of happiness. Birth is connected
to both in that we have the right to the spiritual leader or midwife of our
choice. Ina May calls birth a sacrament, and many others call it a miracle. So,
should midwives alone define who the midwives are, or should families have a
part in choosing?
American freedom was also
strengthened by the free speech movement of the 1960s. "Challenge the status
quo" was a rally call that creatively moved birth forward. Becoming the status
quo wasn't the desired goal, because those who represented the status quo were
the ones who blocked us. We continue to need our great outside-the-box thinkers.
They are the people who keep us honest and strong. They are the ones who point
out that the emperor wears no clothes. They admonish us when we nonchalantly use
Dopplers although ultrasound is not proven safe. They remind us to think through
our birth routines. In many countries, no credibility is given to consumers of
healthcare because they aren't professional health practitioners. Yet, consumers
often know more than practitioners but are written off as knowing nothing. In
France and other countries, such attitudes have made it difficult to get a birth
movement going.
Let me be more explicit
about my love for midwives. I love all midwives. I love CNMs, CPMs, LMs, CMs,
unlicensed midwives, self-proclaimed lay midwives, private birth attendants,
traditional midwives, Amish midwives, aspiring midwives and student midwives. We
need them all desperately. Each plays an important role in our eclectic culture.
I have spent the last fourteen years with Midwifery Today to protect and promote
all midwives. I truly believe diversity is our strength and should be protected
with our lives. The decriminalization of midwifery is the responsibility of us
all. The battle cry that rises against this diversity is "how can we protect the
public without mandatory licensing or certification?", but considering what
happens to 95 percent of birthing women and babies in this country, it's an
absurd notion. Protect them - don't worry about the stamping and approving of
midwives. Worry how we will lose midwifery to co-option. Strengthen the
self-disclosure and informed choice (of midwife) process. Fight the situations
in which women are being abused and babies are being damaged for their whole
lives as a result of what happens in pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Please
don't fight and undermine each other. Find strength in difference; we based a
whole country on that concept.
This is America, land of
the free, home of the brave (midwife). I can almost guarantee that if we make
licensing-CPM, CNM or whatever - mandatory, another group or organization will
rise up that will serve women better. Limiting midwifery through involuntary
licensing will ultimately limit our freedom to serve families based on what we
know is right. I much prefer we learn to protect women by protecting and
standing up for each other. I love the fact that MANA includes and stands up for
all midwives, and Midwifery Today will continue to do so as well. Valerie El
Halta has said that some draw a circle and leave us out, but I'm going to draw a
circle and include them in. We need to create that circle, a big circle that
includes every kind of midwife, because we need every single midwife-hearted
person to work in his or her sphere of influence to make needed changes in
birth. If we can't have unity, let's go for harmony. Let's celebrate our
diversity, stretch high the torch of liberty, and welcome all.
Jan Tritten
Visit the wonderful Midwifery Today web site and read sooo much more good stuff.!
*** Midwifery Today***