• Last updated 1/17/13 by Melanie Mayo

Thank you to the International Rescue Committee for providing this guest post. Photos and text by Peter Biro/The IRC. Please find more information, and opportunities to help, here. Nestled deep in the hills of Western Thailand, the Tham Hin refugee camp is a patchwork of bamboo huts housing nearly 8,000 people. Most of the camp’s residents are refugees from Myanmar who have fled war and upheaval in their homeland and have lived in the camp for years, or in some cases, decades. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is the camp’s sole provider of health... read more

• Last updated 1/18/13 by Cynthia Mosher

I’m working on a Mindful Motherhood online course, a meditation and yoga-based program for pregnant women and new moms based on our research project and book of the same name, and was asked to come up with a list of “frequently asked questions” about how mindfulness relates to pregnancy and motherhood. I’ll post the FAQ questions and answers here as they are edited…they provide a nice little introduction to mindfulness during pregnancy and early motherhood. (P.S. Join me for the next Mindful Motherhood workshop, June 2011, in the high desert of New... read more

• Last updated 1/18/13 by Cynthia Mosher

We’d like to share with you a  new book, “Dancing with the Midwives: A Memoir of Art and Grief,” from Ann Faison. Read more about the book here. About the Book: “Dancing with the Midwives: A Memoir of Art and Grief,” takes you through an intimate experience of grief that leaves you with a sense of the profound changes inherent in that process.  It is a personal story that carries a universal message:  That grief is difficult and challenging,  but ultimately good. The book is both art piece and memoir, in which Faison embraces the grieving... read more

• Last updated 5/4/11 by Mothering Editorial

By Elissa Y. SonnenbergIssue 106, May/June 2001 When Tricia Branson moved to Cincinnati from Michigan, she had two children, both of whom had been delivered with the help of midwives. She was surprised by how difficult it was to locate a midwife in her new town. She didn't know that Ohio certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) attend only 6 percent of births (compared to a national average of more than 9 percent) or that Ohio was the last state in the nation to allow CNMs, and all other advanced nurse practitioners, to write prescriptions. Branson's search eventually led her... read more

• Last updated 5/1/11 by Mothering Editorial

By Ina May GaskinIssue 8 - 1978 The following discussion on spiritual energy is based on observations made at more then 750 birthings. We have found that there are laws of physics electricity or astronomy, whose influence on the progress of the birthing cannot be ignored. The midwife of doctor attending births must be flexible enough to discover the way these laws work and learn how to work within them. pregnant and birthing mothers are elemental forces, in the same sense that gravity, thunderstorms , earthquakes, and hurricanes are elemental forces. In order to... read more

• Last updated 5/1/11 by Mothering Editorial

Once you’ve decided on the type of caregiver and chosen several good candidates, it is important to ask very detailed questions about their practices. First and foremost, though, ask yourself if you like this person. Are they too chatty? Or not chatty enough for your taste? Do they smile and make eye contact? In other words, what is your gut response to this person? Then ask them: If you are not available at the time of my labor and birth, who usually covers for you? If I want to meet that person ahead of time, will you facilitate that? Will you help me with... read more

• Last updated 5/4/11 by Mothering Editorial

By Tom Smith Web Exclusive Sharon's alarm buzzes, and I wait for her to turn it off. Finally I roll over, mumbling that it's her alarm, and would she please turn it off-only to find myself talking to an empty bed. I groan, remembering the 2 a.m. phone call and thinking of the harried morning ahead. When they call, she goes. It doesn't matter what time it is, it doesn't matter where in the movie you are or who's over for dinner. Out the door she goes, and woe to the man who tries to stop her. I did, once. We were having a fight and she got the phone call. It... read more

• Last updated 5/16/11 by Mothering Editorial

May 05, 2011 In celebration of the International Day of the Midwife, May 5th, and Midwifery Month--Mothering.com will be featuring great new and classic midwifery content throughout the month. Keep an eye on this page for all of the newest content as we add it. Photo Credit: Geradine Simkins, President of MANA, and client Liz O'Brien and baby Graciel COMMUNITY FEATURE Ode to Midwifery: Stories and Images Celebrating the Midwives We Love COMMUNITY A Community Forum for Midwives A Forum for Homebirth Discussion ARTICLES, EDITORIALS AND BLOG POSTS Recent... read more

• Last updated 4/26/11 by Jynuine

So many times women who are planning on delivering in a hospital ask, "What should I be packing for my hospital bag?". Many people have different things depending on what they prefer but the expectations are pretty simple for the most part. I have only ever had vaginal births so this article is based around a vaginal birth expectation. First of all, depending on where you are delivering, in the United States hospitals usually provide a lot of items that you and your baby will need for those few days you are staying there. A woman in Canada told me once that the... read more

• Last updated 1/24/13 by Cynthia Mosher

It’s National Infertility Awareness Week (April 24-30). Lots of events going on. Find one here. Not that long ago, I visited the university where I attended law school. As I walked through the library, I observed the women. They concentrated hard as they flipped through their textbooks. Studying, reading, taking notes. That was me 12 years ago. I was so focused on my grades and my future career that marriage/motherhood was barely a thought. I figured it would happen someday…in my time, on my terms, and when I was ready. I had no idea that age is the number... read more