• safe, effective methods from both traditional midwifery and
modern, Western-based medicine, because good health care
in labor and birth uses
the best from both
My grandmother is a
Western medicine and
the traditions of midwifery.
midwife. She uses plant
medicines and massage
to help pregnant women.
• discussion of the ways that
poverty and the denial of
women’s needs affect
women’s health, and
how midwives can
work to improve these
conditions, because
changing these
conditions can make
a lasting improvement
in health.
• suggestions for how
midwives can and must
work with each other,
with other health
workers, and with the
larger community,
because working
I went to school in the city
to become a midwife myself,
and I’ve been able to teach
my grandmother some new
ways to sterilize tools,
watch for danger signs,
and make birth safer.
together strengthens
everyone’s knowledge
and makes action to
improve women’s health
more effective.
But I’m still learning
the old ways from her.
So many of them still work
better than the new ways.
The basics of midwifery care
will never change. Women
and families will always need compassionate and respectful care
before, during, and after birth. And because midwives always
benefit from learning more, we hope that the expanded and
updated information in this book will help midwives everywhere
learn new and lifesaving skills, and apply those skills for the
good of the women, babies, and families they serve.
A Book for Midwives (2010)