Comments on: Contact me!

By: eileen stevens

eileen stevens — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:12:22 +0000

Eileen in Marin County, Ca says:
I had my 3 babies with midwives at home in 1972, 1980 & 1985 in San Francisco. Midwives should be given gold medals. They are heroes & deserve respect & support from all of society. However, I am disturbed by some Certified Nurse-Midwives who are nothing more than obstetrical nurses, do not pracitice natural (unmedicated, active) birthing. They are as bad as doctors (some or most) of whom do not respect the woman’s body & the natural process of birth. It is my wish that many more women could experience home birth with midwives. My children are now 24, 29 & 37. My grandson is 10. When my daughter had her child, she was afraid of home birth, went to a hospital, had a Nurse-Midwife, & a cesarean. Later she had an antibiotic resistant infection which could have killed her. She has had many complications & several surgeries to correct overgrowth of scar tissue in the area of the incision. She has had pain for the entire 10 yrs. & will never be as she was before the cesarean surgery. I wish she had chosen home birth. I did not circumcise my son. I breastfed all of my kids in spite of problems getting started (all 3 times) but with help from LaLeche League it all worked out beautifully. My daughter did breastfeed her son & did not have him circumcised. For more info on circumcision go to NO-CIRC.org which is the acronym for National Org. of Circumcision Information Resource Centers (long name) Love to all, Eileen Aug.2009

By: Julie O.

Julie O. — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:53:45 +0000

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-fonda/community-based-doulas-a_b_226678.html

Found another mainstream article I wanted to share with you, about the amazing work you are doing

By: Carol Kellogg

Carol Kellogg — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:46:34 +0000

I’m midwife since 1971. I got to train many. I’m starting a massage style prenatal that teaches the expectant parents how to do fetal positioning getting the mom ready to cradle birthing head with her hands as it emerges and birth her baby. Bonding and the memory of the birth will be savored longer if the experience can be remembered by touch and feelings in the hands. No wonder the pressure point that is said to be powerful in labor is found in the web of the hands. Doulas could be very good at this since they are do most of this work anyway.
Love always Carol

By: becky

becky — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:17:05 +0000

hello i am currently studying A2 media and im doing a project on racial sterotyping and tokenism within the Harry Potter films i would be greatfull if you could email me some of your opinons as i would like to include them in my course work

By: radicaldoula

radicaldoula — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 21:10:13 +0000

Thanks so much Sfirah! It’s so inspiring to hear from other like-minded birth activists. Good luck with your local org, it sound amazing.

Would be down for being part of my “radical doula profiles”? I’d love to interview you. If so, email me at radicaldoulaATgmail.com

In solidarity!

By: Sfirah Marcos Madrone

Sfirah Marcos Madrone — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 21:00:16 +0000

*Swoon*

While researching for Doula-Client Agreements for my first doula client, I saw your blog mentioned. I had never thought to search “Radical Doula” because I thought that me and my friends were the only ones

I am a mama of twins who is anarchist, queer and who grew up as a product of the Social Service Industrial Complex. I am working on starting an organization in my community to provide labor and breastfeeding support to women who are teenaged, homeless, addicted and/or sexual assault survivors. I dream of adding abortion doula support services as well.

Sometimes, in Internetland, it is easy to forget why you are putting energy into something that can seem like no one is listening to. But thank you so much, just your presence on the internet has given me another surge of empowerment for action.

Mad Love,
Sfirah

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:02:52 +0000

Hi Miriam,
I am in love with your blog. I am a student midwife, doula, reproductive justice advocate, abortion clinic escort, queer, feminist who finds the disconnect between birth and abortion unacceptable. I write a blog about being a clinic escort here in Louisville Ky at everysaturdaymorning.wordpress.com i would love your feedback. I am constantly gratified to find others who see the continuum of reproductive experiences as more than an either or scenario; heteronormative vs. queer, good vs. bad, sex vs. procreation, body and sex positive vs. moralistic fervor. So thanks. keep it up. and say hi anytime you are in my neck of the woods.
andy

By: Danielle

Danielle — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:29:57 +0000

Hi Miriam,
Thanks for all the work you do here and at Feministing. I would be so uninformed without such amazing sources, and at my fingertips, no less! I was writing because I moved to Los Angeles a few months ago, and am looking to find an organization here in the spirit of NAPW, Dar la Luz, or the abortion doula project. I am a doula, and haven’t been able to find a social justice/birthing rights/women’s rights group to volunteer with. Do you know of anybody based out here? I’m sure there are amazing groups in this city, but so far I haven’t found them. Any suggestions would be a great help,

Best,
Danielle

By: Tara Lane Cardinal

Tara Lane Cardinal — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:29:42 +0000

Hello Radical Doula and all other Doula-Midwife-Momma-Baby-Family-Safe Birth Advocates!

It has come to my attention that at change.gov, President-Elect Obama’s new site, there is an invitation to participate in shaping our collective future by sharing our stories and ideas – check it out:

It’s Your America: Share Your Ideas : http://change.gov/page/content/americanmoment

In my submission(s) I plan to mention how midwives and doulas offer quality, comprehensive and cost-effective evidence based maternity care that has far reaching implications for our society’s collective health and well-being. I am going to cite Childbirth Connection’s 2008 Evidence Based Maternity Care Report http://www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10575 and its key findings. I will further encourage the President-Elect to take a part in ensuring access to such care for American mothers by re-considering policies and laws that so far limit accessibility, by funding education programs for midwives and doulas as well as through funding community based programs utilizing such services. I will be sure to point out how affordable such care is, especially given its capacity for long-term healthy outcomes. By including this in his health care plan, I will suggest that he can keep the high risk, high intervention and high cost care for those women and babies for whom it is medically indicated – thus creating a win-win situation for all who are involved.

I would like to invite all you and all of your readers to do the same! I would further encourage you to involve the mothers and families around you to do so as well. The more healthy mother-baby-family topics we can all write on the better (breastfeeding, GLBTQ issues, PPD, women in prison issues, homeless women’s issues, immigrant women’s issues, postpartum doulas and mother care, health disparities)! Please spread the word far and wide:)

All of my absolute best,

Tara Lane Cardinal

By: Lauren Larken

Lauren Larken — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 15:19:15 +0000

Dear Miriam,
Thank you for being such a potent and wonderful example of how life has a place in the right to choose.
Thought you might get a kick out of this article….Sarah Palin and the Apocalypse….written by Merle Hoffman owner of Choices Medical Clinic, long time feminist and Choices Champion

http://www.ontheissuesmagazine.com/2008fall/2008fall_publisher.php

xoxLarken