Book Review: Pushing for Midwives

Book Review: Pushing for Midwives: Homebirth Mothers and the Reproductive Rights Movement
by Christa Craven
Paperback: 232 pages
Publisher: Temple University Press; 1 edition (October 28, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-1439902202

Reviewed by Molly Remer, Talk Birth

Mainstream feminist groups have been slow to recognize the right to reproduce along with the right to be free from reproducing. A focus of the second-wave women’s movement was shaking off motherhood as what solely defined womanhood. So perhaps there has been a reluctance to watch over the process that makes women mothers. –Jennifer Block quoted in Pushing for Midwives

Framed as a health policy concern, Pushing for Midwives assesses the homebirth movement and midwifery activism in the context of the reproductive rights movement. The focus of the book is on legislation in Virginia, but is still of relevance and interest to activists from other states. Craven also tackles complicated topics that are often ignored in homebirth and midwifery texts, addressing issues of race, privilege, and socioeconomic status and the impact on access to care. She also takes a solid look at issues of political and religious diversity within the homebirth activist community.

Written in a densely academic style evocative of a dissertation, Pushing for Midwives, became tedious and dry in places and took a long time to finish reading. The very narrow focus on Virginia, while still applicable to other states, became tiresome by the final chapters.

I particularly enjoyed Craven’s exploration of the history of consumer activism in midwifery as well as the consideration of homebirth in the larger context of women’s health activism. I appreciated her exploration of the feminist movement and how it has historically neglected issues of birth advocacy and reform, while also looking the current relationship between feminism and midwifery activism, particularly how birth advocates choose to self-identify. Women’s health activists and midwifery advocates will likely find a lot of food for thought in the pages of Pushing for Midwives.

–
Disclosures: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.
Amazon affiliate links included in book title and image.

International Women's Day---Guest Post: Wake Up Campaign

Today is International Women’s Day, an occasion to celebrate women and girls’ remarkable potential, inherent worth and vital contributions to our communities. It’s also a day to recognize that millions of women and girls still confront threats to their safety, their health, their livelihoods and their dignity - and to advocate for solutions that can improve their lives.

Are you concerned with these issues? Then join the International Rescue Committee (IRC)’s Wake Up campaign. At rescue.org/wakeup, you can read stories of real women facing crisis – like Fatuma, whose daughter was assaulted on the daily trek for clean water in Somalia; Francine, who is working to overcome the wounds of sexual slavery in Congo; and Angele, a Cameroonian asylee who fled political turmoil in her home country and is slowly rebuilding her life in the United States. You can sign a pledge affirming your support for women and girls like these all over the world who are fighting for survival and struggling to endure. When you do, you’ll join the ranks of such notables as IRC Voice and “The Walking Dead” star Sarah Wayne Callies and actresses Téa Leoni, Alyssa Milano and Morena Baccarin. And you can use the tools in the IRC’s handy social action kit to share the pledge and raise awareness about what can be done to help – which makes you a part of the solution.

The IRC works to protect and empower women and girls in more than 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, from Burundi to Baltimore. We’re joining with them on this special day, to take a stand for women and girls. We hope that you will, too. Sign the Wake Up pledge and pass it on!
---
Article provided by Ruth Fertig of International Rescue Committee

In photo:
Lay Htoo, 20, looks at her newborn daughter Di Lay, born a few hours earlier in Tham Hin refugee camp’s maternity ward. Each year, 15 midwives trained by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) examine and support hundreds of women and children in the camp, which is near the Thailand-Myanmar border. (Photo: Peter Biro/IRC).

New Blog: First the Egg

I've mentioned here before that one of the birth blogs I really enjoy is the Feminist Childbirth Studies blog. The author (another Molly, so she must be great ;-D) let me know recently that she has a brand new website and will be continuing her blog there. Called First the Egg, her tagline is "a feminist resource on pregnancy, birth, and parenting." Her explanation of "why feminist?" is great.

I recognize that women are drawn to birthwork for a wide variety of reasons and many birthworkers do not self-identify as "feminist" (though I think that many of them would actually fall into the category of "cutural feminists"--a branch of feminism that celebrates the female essence and the natural, complementary differences between women and men). For me personally, I was a feminist first, and my interest in birth is a natural outgrowth of my overarching interest in "women's issues." I love learning about what originally drew other women to work with birth. When I trace the thread back in my own life, I see that it extends all the way back to about age 12.

--
Molly
CfM Blogger

Birth, Breastfeeding and Feminism?

Earlier this year a birth activist contacted me for information about feminism and birth. Her "fire" was to write an article was lit by recent (at the time) articles praising elective cesareans. Her article was going to be about feminism and its history in birthwork as well as what she is seeing a current "backlash" against the work of doulas, chidlbirth educators, and midwives (so, elective cesarean being framed as a "feminist" choice in some articles). She asked me for additional articles about similar issues and questions.

I never received an update as to whether she finished her article--I'd certainly love to read it when it is finished! I sent her some suggestions of other articles and resources to assist with the preparation of her article and I wanted to share those links here as well (since I bothered writing them all down!).

From the same site as "In Praise of the C-Section," there is another one about natural vs. medicated birth that critiques the "cult" of natural childbirth.

Then, a much older piece from Salon called I Believed in the Breast, which is basically a critique of La Leche League, but touches on feminism and breastfeeding as well. Speaking of breastfeeding as a feminist issue, I previously posted here about this French article about whether or not breastfeeding is feminist.

There is an extensive thread on the subject of birth and feminism on the AllDoulas messages boards that is extremely fascinating. If it won't let you see the messages without registering, you can register and then search for the thread called Feminism, Birth, and Breastfeeding. It is quite long and represents a LOT of differences in thought about the subject (some of them are disturbing to me, actually).

Then, this blog has a whole series of posts/thoughts about feminist theory and birth that are just great.

And then this is another radical feminist doula blog.

A book I enjoy that explores these ideas (and that yes, talks about the feminists promotion of Twilight Sleep and the paternalism of early birth prep methods) is: In Labor: Women and Power in the Birthplace by Barbara Katz Rothman.

An article that was published since our conversation that is also relevant is Jennifer Block's Birth Wars article.

Several articles that prompted the original question were:

Tova Mirvis, "In Praise of the C-Section: I’m not sorry I didn’t have a natural birth" (March 2009)

Hanna Rosin, "The Case Against Breastfeeding," in The Atlantic. (March 2009)

"Baby Food: If breast is best, why are women bottling their milk?" by Jill Lepore, New Yorker, January 19, 2009

Extreme Birth: The fearless—some say too fearless—new leader of the home-birth movement. By Andrew Goldman (March 2009)

"A Doula Makes Four" by Pamela Paul, New York Times (March 2008)

The Way We Live Now: 10-31-99:; Pay on Delivery By Margaret Talbot,

On a related note, I also received an email about a conference about Breastfeeding and Feminism: Rethinking Public Health Approaches to be held in March, 2010.

--
Molly
CfM Blogger