Reclaiming Birth
I wrote a guest post over at The F-Word last week, getting the word out about a march and rally called Reclaiming Birth, which took place today. The aims of the march and of the participating organisations can be read in this handout. In summary, they are:
- Ask the health service to provide more midwives so that every woman is supported throughout her labour and never left alone
- Provide access to at least one stand-alone birth centre in every local area
- Disseminate good information on and the option to choose home birth, birth in a midwife-led unit or birth in an obstetric unit in every area
- Maintain at least one case-loading midwifery group, free at the point of use, for every area
- Launch an inquiry into maternity care at King’s College Hospital Foundation Trust, London, which recently terminated its contract with the Albany Midwives Practice
Here are some photos from the event.
I was really impressed with the number of people there, including quite a lot of men and many, many children. One little girl, no more than 7 or 8, was leading chants and blowing a whistle while shouting “Choices! Choices!” and “We need midwives!” There were grandfathers, great-grandmothers, teenage boys with shirts reading “Born at home,” mothers of all different ethnic backgrounds…it was really fantastic. I felt inspired, empowered, invigorated and part of a community and a movement that really cares about women and their families.
If you want to help Reclaim Birth, please write to your MP, the Secretary of State for Health and to the Maternity Services Liaison Committee at your local obstetric unit. You can email letters directly through the NCT website. Please take a few minutes to send a couple emails, and then pass it onto others who care about birth and ask them to do the same. This is our chance to demand real change to the maternity services, providing women with the choices, continuity of care and positive birth experiences that every one of us deserves. Let’s make our voices heard!
yay! we were there too. It was actually baby’s first protest!
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Fertile Fem Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 6:14 PM
Yay! What a great first protest for your baby to attend.
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Hi. I recently signed an on-line petition to save the Albany Midwives Practice.
So glad the march went well, and that you found it such a positive experience. This stuff is so important.
.-= Gappy´s last blog ..Costume Dramas =-.
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Fertile Fem Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 6:16 PM
Thanks for signing the petition. I really hope Kings are held to account over the closure of the Albany.
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This is a great campaign. I was lucky to have a blissful home birth, but I am aware that various things were only available by chance- supportive midwives, available midwives etc. My antenatal care, however, was nonexistent and what care I received I went out and found, travelled to, gleaned, and paid for.
.-= frank´s last blog ..82-4-1 =-.
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Fertile Fem Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 6:16 PM
So did you have an independent midwife at your home birth, or NHS?
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Frank Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 1:25 AM
I had 2 NHS midwives. Thankfully, the ones on call that night were two (of the 5 possible ones) that supported my decision. Two were openly hostile to my decision. Mainly because it was my first child and there was a sense that I ought to do it in hospital first so that I can be sure that my body *can* give birth and then for baby number 2 I can have a cosy home birth.
In the end I had a fast labour anyway and the midwives only arrived 40mins before I popped!
I think you’re right that feminism has marginalised the discourse of motherhood and birth and needs to regain it. And I think better support for birth, labour and early motherhood are vital. I think many women have a lot of fear around birth and the ‘system’ should be geared to allowing plenty of time for educating/supporting and working through that during pregnancy.
.-= Frank´s last blog ..Sexualisation of Young People: Linda Papadopoulos’ Research =-.
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Do you know if there is any information on whether insurance companies also support home births and care by midwives? I would imagine that whatever the insurance companies provide coverage for also drives the train on the types of services women choose and what hospitals will provide. I’m curious to know if Medicaid covers home births and midwife care…that would be really interesting to see! I know that when I was pregnant and in the Army the military hospital actually assigned me to a midwife, not a doctor and my son was delivered (albeit in a hospital) by a midwife, not a doctor! Imagine that! If the military can see the sense this makes then I wonder if big insurance does too?
.-= Starr C. ´s last blog ..Children’s Books =-.
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Fertile Fem Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 6:20 PM
I’m not sure, American health insurance is an area I am not knowledgeable about, I’m afraid. I was covered by my parents or just didn’t have any when I lived there so I never had to deal with the ins and outs. I have a feeling that Medicaid would not cover midwives or home birth. They’d want all their chattel (i.e. women on Medicaid) there on the conveyor belt where they could keep an eye on them.
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Nice work and great blog.
I think feminist birthing work is actually growing a little!
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Fertile Fem Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 6:21 PM
Hi Janet, thank you kindly for stopping by and for your comment. I agree that feminist birth work is a growing area. I just wish we could get mainstream feminism to acknowledge it more often!
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“I felt inspired, empowered, invigorated and part of a community” Absolutely! This is exactly what I thought too! At times I welled up a bit, feeling so overwhelmed to be in a ‘safe’ place, where I did not feel I had to defend my position on homebirth, or convince anyone that I wasn’t in fact ‘brave’ or ‘crazy’ or ‘soooo strong’ to have had a homebirth. I felt, for probably the first time, that people didn’t think I was flat out lying when I said that childbirth wasn’t painful for me, or traumatic, and that it was in fact very HEALING to my womanhood, and to a part of me that was stolen many many many years ago. I actually felt very emotional throughout, and so MOVED by the children’s involvement. My only dissapointment was that it was too cold for my daughter’s babygrow to be visible. The message on it reads ‘I was born gently in to my mommy’s hands’. An opportunity I wish upon every mother and child.
.-= Luschka´s last blog ..Reclaiming Birth Rally – London 7 March 2010 =-.
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Sounds like a great event.
I will email.
.-= Iota´s last blog ..Thoughts on blogging =-.
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