Birth
Call the Midwife, If You Can
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To honor National Midwifery Week, I ask anyone starting a family to investigate for yourself the outcomes produced by midwifery care.
Incarceration
Let’s Stop States from Shackling Female Prisoners in Childbirth
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Most of the women who are being subjected to this degrading and dangerous practice have already undergone enough trauma. We need the help of Congress and the Department of Justice to stop this “birthing barbarism” in the 28 states that still allow shackling at some or all points from the second trimester through postpartum recovery.
Childbirth
Doula Comeback Tied to Gaps in Modern Birth Care
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Miriam Zoila Pérez charts and interprets the stunning rise in the popularity of trained childbirth attendants in this excerpt from her book “The Radical Doula Guide.” As childbirth became medicalized, family members could no longer carry the load themselves.
Arts & Culture
17th Century Princess Broke Off Conjugal Relations
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After the dangerous delivery of her third child, Marie Colonna decided it was time to protect her own longevity. Excerpted from “The Kings’ Mistresses: The Liberated Lives of Marie Mancini, Princess Colonna, and Her Sister Hortense, Duchess Mazarin.”
Health & Science
Cameroon Loses Ground on Maternal Health Goal
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Cameroon has pledged to reduce its maternal deaths by 75 percent from 1990 levels, but compared with that year, more women are now dying. Last year the government joined a regional campaign to accelerate progress on this key development goal.
Health & Science
Black Women’s Maternal Risks Go Unquestioned
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Finding out why so many more African American women die in childbirth starts with keeping statistics and spotting problems in hospitals. Right now there is no federal requirement to report maternal deaths so remedies are hard to prescribe.
Health & Science
Hospital Maternity Wards Are Closing Across U.S.
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More women of child-rearing age are uninsured and dependent on medical assistance. That is tightening the financial noose around hospital maternity care and causing longer waits and travel time for pregnant women.
Health & Science
India’s Ailing MDG Tied to 18th Century Cure
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Wendy Graham, a champion of Millennium Development Goal No. 5, says the starkest measure of the gap between rich and poor countries is that of women dying in childbirth. And the solution is as simple as cleaner birthing practices.
Childbirth
It’s Not Over: U.S. Women Still Die Giving Birth
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My mother survived childbirth dangers that would have killed her 100 years ago, giving me a keen appreciation for modern medicine. But an alarming number of U.S. women are still dying in an apparently anachronistic way. We need a U.S. action plan.