A Page of Midwifery and Birthing Support

References In An Age of Birthing Technology

(Click on the stars to view)

Biomonitoring and Breast Milk:

An NPR's Living on Earth program for January 17, 2004 presents the alarming prevalence and levels of toxic chemicals such as PCBs and present in the bodies of all of us, no matter how simply we live, and the concentration of sauch chemicals in breast milk.

Found in products like flame retardants &endash; used in foam mattresses, drapes and furniture &endash; they have now been found just about everywhere researchers have looked for them; in whales, in seabird eggs, in seals, and in breast milk. And nowhere higher than the United States. There is real concern for developing babies, because health effects of early exposure include neuro-developmental changes, meaning learning and memory deficits in children, also thyroid hormone disruption, as well as possibly cancer.

Birthing Stool:

A truly helpful birthing aid in an age of dysfunctional birthing technology - a birthing stool - includes an excellent article summarizing research findings on the use of a birthing stool. Also with a white background so it can be copied.

The Family Life and Matrix Birth Center, Albany, New York

History of the Family Life Center and Matrix

JFL issue #27, Birth Wisdom, with a URL link to the online Journal for Living website.

Interview with Ina May Gaskin, originally published in the Journal of Family Life (Now theJournal for Living). See also a profile of Ina May in the JFL Birth Wisdom issue.

 Lewis Mehl-Madrona:

A page of links to the ground-breaking work of Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD, PhD, well-published research scientist/native American holistic healer/coyote, whos studies of the amazing effects of non-traditional models and practices on outcomes in a wide variety of medical fields, particularly in pregnancy and birth, but also AIDS, orthopsychiatry and health in general.

The Orgone Biophysical Research Laboratory, a Reichian research and promotion web site by Reichian physicist James DeMeo. The subject of this link is not specifically oriented toward birth, but since Demeo is the only Reichian researcher I know of who is doing both general and specific work based on Reich's contributions to the life process - including birth and infancy - but extending out into outer space as well as our earth's environment, I think he needs to be listed here. You will love his site if you have any interest in Reich's work. He also lists - and sells - virtually the entire archive of Lois Wyvell's Offshoots of Orgonomy, which was a charming, highly readable and marvelously informative periodical that was published for several years by Lois, who was once Reich's assistant and personal secretary, and a faithful follower. James writes of her periodical:

Contributions by both professionals and lay people cover everything from art, auras, children, music, plant growth, economics, bird flight, teaching and many more fascinating subjects. Fifteen issues of Offshoots were published from 1980 to 1987, containing many articles and letters to the editor from people who formerly knew or worked with Reich, and they constitute a part of the "History of Orgonomy".

Suzanne Hope Suarez:

An astounding erudite and well-documented article on birth ("Midwifery is not the Practice of Medicine") from the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism by Suzanne Hope Suarez, with 317 footnotes. I've left the background of the pages white so they can be copied and put to good use!

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