[notjustmamie]

I was talking the other day to a man who thinks it would be amazing to be a midwife. He's been very interested in birth and babies since he was a child. When he and his wife talked about having their first child, he brought up having a home waterbirth to her. He was fascinated by their CBE class and thought about becoming a CBE instructor for a while.

I don't know what to tell him except he might have trouble finding clients unless he was in a really liberal area.

ETA: I'm conservative myself, so I'm not trying to knock conservative homebirthers--this is just my impression of the group as a whole since a lot of those I know wouldn't want a male midwife because birthing is more of a women's thing.

Any thoughts?

AETA: Somebody mentioned in another thread that they got frustrated when non-BPs post to this board without saying they aren't BPs, so for the record, I'm not a Birth Professional, just a fan.

 

[shanniesue2]

Without hesitating to state the obvious, there are TONS of male OBs around. Maybe he could consider a birth center environment. Or do some looking at the work of Dr. Odent. Or Marsden Wagner. Also, I know that Birthing From Within is wanting to do a little more exploration into a father's preparation for birth (they talked a little about that at the workshop I went to in January)... and they are wanting to get more men involved in their program. There were 3 or 4 men who attended the workshop I went to.

 

[SalmonBayDoula]

In the Seattle Metro Area (well actually, 20 miles north in Everett,) there is a male CNM who is very well liked! http://www.providence.org/everett/pr...wiferyTeam.htm

And, a couple of years ago, there was a male going through my doula training, who is now in naturopath/midwifery school to be a LM/ND. www.gentleborn.com and I have spoken to several of his clients, and they love him.

I have also had a couple of other men go through my doula trainings over the years.

Unusual, yes. Can it work? with the right person, why not?

Sharon

 

[MsBlack]

I agree with SalmonBay....
I do think of midwifery/birthwork as 'women's stuff'--and yet, I have known a couple of men in my time who I thought would make really wonderful mws. One never went that way and is now old....the other, so far, is er....kind of being 'forbidden' from the path by his birthworker-wife who does feel that birth is women's work and ONLY women's work.

Who knows what time will tell about him--I'm pretty darn 'separatist' on the issue myself, but hey, there's an exception to every rule, right?

 

[dewi]

We have a very well regarded man that is a Midwife, he is a CNM and the director of a hospital birth center.

He has been incredibly generous with labor doulas, working with doulas to set up a program to give them experience at the births there. No other hospital or birth center or anyone in the city has been this receptive to setting up a program for labor doulas except him!

 

[Magelet]

Michel Odent certainly is an interesting man, though I'm not sure that he would particularly be "pro-male midwives". when I heard him speak at the Midwifery Today 2009 conference, he basically said he thought that men shouldn't be allowed in the delivery room, including husbands. still, looking at why he thought that might be useful for a man who wanted to pursue that path, (to look at the issues, and learn how to make them less of issues).

I think that he would have an even harder time than the rest of us, because many women (myself included) would not feel comfortable with a male midwife or doula, or any male other than our partner in the room. (Partly due to the intimacy and partly due to the sexual nature of birth, it would feel intensely threatening.). However, if he wants to try this path, try to make it work, then I wish him the best of it, for him and the women he serves.

 

[TzippityDoulah]

yeah that is a hard one.... I wouldn't feel comfortable ever using a male midwife/doula (or for that matter OBGYN) But i am pretty conservative. I don't want any male seeing my girl parts. But i do know of a male midwife who is supposively wonderful. hmmm mixed feelings. Michael Odent is awesome... but I still don't want him looking at me naked!

I would never feel comfortble with my husband going to a female urologist either. so you know... atleast I don't hold a double standard heh.

I'm sure they would be able to find work... but it would be harder as many people love midwifery b/c it's all about woman's work.

 

[earthmama369]

If I were looking at midwives, I'd figure it was a pretty special guy who was drawn to midwifery, knowing that getting clients could be a problem. I'd definitely interview him. But then, I had my assumptions knocked down pretty well when our male resident physician did such a phenomenal job with the end of my pregnancy and my son's birth after his wife (my doctor) couldn't be there.

 

[Magelet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HennyPenny yeah that is a hard one.... I wouldn't feel comfortable ever using a male midwife/doula (or for that matter OBGYN)

Nope, I wouldn't feel comfortable going to a male ObGyn either. I'd go without women's health care (even without primary health care before I would undress for a male doctor), and UC (which I'm not comfortable with, for myself), before I would have a male obgyn. I have "men issues" though. So perhaps with the ladies who don't have issues with male obgyns, he might be an option if he is the right fit. There would probably be a double standard for him, just like in many professions there is for women. He'd have to be twice as good to get half as many clients and half as much money, but it might be doable. If its his calling, perhaps there is a reason for it.

 

[dewi]

I don't think this is aobut who we would personally choose, it's professional career path question that she posed.

Highly unlikely any of us on Mothering would choose a male midwife

, but professionally it certainly is a viable profession for a man, as any nursing job or OB job.

I will guess that most male midwifes work in a clinical setting (not a private homebirth practice), women do choose male OB's. There are a lot of them in practice, and in a clinical setting a male midwife would do fine.
As is the situation locally with the male CNM i mentioned earlier.

 

[turtlewomyn]

Aspiring doula here (not yet a birth professional

)

I did my DONA doula training a couple of weeks ago and one of the students said that her BIL had wanted to be a doula. A friend of mine also happened to mention that she knows of a male doula in Colorado Springs. Also, during my doula training the instructor actually mentioned a case of a woman who had been sexually abused as a child, by a woman, and thus needed to have a male care provider for her birth. Wouldn't it be good for women in that situation to have a midwife option?

Of course there are going to be women out there that would not feel comfortable with a male midwife. I am sure there are women out there who would not want me as a doula since I have only had a scheduled c-section (so far) and not given birth vaginally. There were doulas in my class that had never been pregnant. Some people are going to be comfortable with it, others will not. If that is what he real desires to do, he should go for it.

 

[Fujiko]

There is (or was at least) a male CNM at Innovis Hospital in Fargo, ND.

 

[mysticmomma]

We have a male CNM at a local birth center.

 

[Rachel J.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fujiko There is (or was at least) a male CNM at Innovis Hospital in Fargo, ND.

Quote:

We have a male CNM at a local birth center.

Just curious, do these CNM's assist at births? I started out with a male OB for the birth of my first son (pretty much ignorant to options and choosing based on a friend's recommendation). I switched to a female CNM for my second pregnancy and had hoped for a home birth or birth center birth but ended up with neither because of complications. Now I'm a doula and apprentice midwife and have a really hard time imagining that kind of intimate care with a man. I think the rather impersonal nature of prenatals with a doctor and hospital birth with a doctor who shows up at the last minute make it easier to have a man as the care provider (at least for me). I'm not sure how I would feel about sharing such an intimate relationship and experience with a man other than my husband.

 

[TzippityDoulah]

just to clarify, I'm not saying i wouldn't want a male midwife b/c I have "male issues" or b/c I was abused. but b/c it's agianst my personal beliefs that a male that isn't my husband should see my body undressed.
on the contrary that doesn't mean I feel free to walk around naked in front of other woman... modesty is a big issue to me personally. I like it this way. it isn't fear or abuse that has me thinking this way.

but... I think many people don't hod the beliefs I do. and certainly if one were to consider an male OBGYN. then they would be open to considering a male midwife. I just wouldn't personally consider either.

 

[caenach]

There is a very popular midwife in our area who is male (CNM, MSN
Certified Nurse Midwife). He owns his own thriving practice here in the city and provides both gynecological and pregnancy care. He does not currently offer home births--his patients deliver at a local hospital that's very midwife friendly, but he doesn't seem to have any trouble attracting clients. He competes with a very popular birth center, a midwife group at a local hospital, and several lay midwives.

I didn't consider him for my own care. But hey.

(not a BP)

 

[heymama1plus1]

There's a male CNM in a hospital here in Minnesota. He's very popular.

http://www.fairview.org/ceii/provide...&pt=0&ls=0&n=0

 

[cfiddlinmama]

In the Pregnant in America film the provider from the Netherlands interviewed called himself a midwife. He seemed great!

 

[HisBeautifulWife]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HennyPenny but b/c it's agianst my personal beliefs that a male that isn't my husband should see my body undressed. on the contrary that doesn't mean I feel free to walk around naked in front of other woman... modesty is a big issue to me personally. I like it this way. it isn't fear or abuse that has me thinking this way.

:

Thank you so much for sharing that. You don't know how happy you've made me.

 

[TzippityDoulah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HisBeautifulWife : Thank you so much for sharing that. You don't know how happy you've made me.

glad to have someone who understands

so many people confuse "modesty" with shame or bad memories of past abuse etc... true they *can* stem from the same place, but they aren't the same thing.