Jen Mayer

Is it March that comes in like a lion and out like a lamb?

I hope so.

This weekend I am finishing a thesis project I have been working on for the last 2 years. It’s on Feminism and Childbirth. There are a few feminist critiques on childbirth, and midwifery is usually given as the remedy. So to expand on this body of knowledge I conducted semi-structured interviews with homebirth midwives in Colorado. My intention was to learn their professional needs, the needs of birthing women and their thoughts of feminism. I had the pleasure to spend about 20 hours chatting with homebirth midwives about their experiences, and learned more than I have over two years of library research.

Blackout

And while cruising the internets I stumbled upon this 2005 essay by Tim Boucher on the 2003 blackout in the Northeast. As I am intrigued by the possibilities of our society changing (read crash), this essay is a romantic look at what happens when the lights go out. I was in upstate NY during this blackout, working at a SOHO comes upstate mexican restaurant. I served my last table of the afternoon by candlelight and served them whatever could be prepared without electricity. That evening was spent star gazing with a friend into the newly darkened sky drinking whatever alcohol was at the house (not much) while wrapped in a down comforter on the roof. Even the cars on a busy country road were quiet. Needless to say, I was disappointed when the power came on the next day. The dream was gone.

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I am currently working on an honors thesis at CU. My topic is feminism and childbirth. For this project I have conducted in depth interviews with homebirth midwives on the Front Range. As a student and an aspiring midwife I have learned so much about the field from these interviews. Here is a *brief* summary so far.

• Apprenticeship Model: to be a direct-entry midwife in CO it is very common to particpate in the apprenticeship model of education. I have never questioned this way of obtaining an education until I conducted these interviews. I have learned there are a lot of drawbacks like a) an apprenticeship is like a marriage, b) it might take a long, long time to get the births needed to be registered. this depends on how busy your preceptors practice is, c) you might not serve a diversified population, especially around the Boulder area. d) midwives are not necessarily teachers and often do not receive much, if anything but new “competition” out of the apprenticeship.

• Legislation is Key: Laws as an institution dictate the type of care that is available to pregnant women. There is enough here for a seperate post, even a masters degree.

• Baby’s Experience of Birth: Many midwives are conscious of the baby’s experience through birth. When asked, “If anything could be changed about how we view birth in our culture what would it be?” some midwives responded with wanting to encourage more awareness of the baby’s conciousness during the process.

Off to transcribe more interviews, and will update more when I have new data.

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