Home Birth

I recently finished reading the book, Mamatoto. (I wrote more about this book here.) This book is a look at birth in a variety of cultures around the world and explores various customs in various cultures. I liked this quote from the book about homebirth:

"'Home birth' can mean different things to different people. It can mean a bedroom, dimly lit and scented with myrr; a sweatbath perched on a Guatemalan hillside, or a birthing pool in an English flat; a warm fireside in a Himalayan kitchen; the packed-snow sleeping platform of an Inuit igloos; or a one-room shack in Jamaica, with a washing line dividing the family bed and the children waiting on the other side for a first glance at the baby who will be held up for them to see. When a woman gives birth at home, she and her family have a degree of control over the event; it's their domain."

Another favorite quote is this:

"Pay attention to the pregnant woman! There is no one as important as she!"

(Chagga saying, Uganda)

Pregnant women in Missouri want and need midwives. We need our legislators to pay attention! :-)