Share what you know
Share what you know
Along with learning from books and teachers, midwives learn much of what they
know from each other and from the families they care for. And midwives can
improve health by sharing what they know with the community.
Share what you know with other health workers
and midwives
Midwives can work together to help each other. If one midwife becomes sick or
cannot work, another midwife can help the women she was caring for. Midwives
can also learn from and teach each other. In some communities, midwives and
other health workers share information with each other, talking honestly about
their work. Some midwives come together to meet every few months, compare
information, and share resources. At midwife meetings you can:
• take turns telling stories about births you have attended.
Be sure to share the difficult
births and mistakes.
Admitting mistakes is
difficult, but it is a great gift
Next time I’ll check a
woman’s temperature during
labor. Then I can find an
infection earlier.
when there is an opportunity
to learn from them. Other
midwives can explain what
they would have done the
same or differently. To protect
the mother’s privacy, do not
share her name.
• ask other health workers to come meet with your group. For example, an
herbalist could come talk about local plants that can fight infections. Or a
midwives group could talk with nurses from a local maternity center about
how midwives and nurses can work together.
• share educational books (including this one!)
with other midwives. If no one has much money,
perhaps a group of midwives can put their money
together to buy a book to share.
A Book for Midwives (2010)
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