Guest Post: An Open Letter To the Who Trained My Midwife, RE: Sexual Abuse

This is from Mandala Mom. Recently the Powerbirth Midwives have shown that they have no willingness whatsoever to accept responsibility for the harm that they have inflicted on women. They continue to call them liars, continue to hide behind a "Philosophy" (though it was labeled a "technique" by them until it was brought out what they were doing with said "technique") that allows for no understanding whatsoever of the physiology of birth, only physically and emotionally harmful practices that serve the Midwife only.

Mandala Mom talks about the reason she continues to be vocal, and I couldn't agree with her more, nor applaud her more for her bravery and willingness to speak out. Women who have been traumatized at home NEED just as much of a voice (if not more) than those who have been traumatized in the hospital.

My purpose for continuing to write and talk about PowerBirth is to do what I can to make certain that mothers in my community are not having their rights to informed consent and informed decision-making stripped away during their home births. There are others championing patient autonomy and reform in hospital settings. But when women decide to have homebirths and end up with hospital-births-at-home, having hired midwives whose standards of practice include routine, unnecessary, not-evidence-based interventions that are not being disclosed prior to labor, I feel an obligation to sound the alarm.

Regardless of her history, every birthing mother deserves to be involved in all decisions that affect her body, her baby, and her birth. She deserves the truth right from the beginning about what prejudices and practices her midwife brings to birth.

An Open Letter To the Midwife Who Trained My Midwife, RE: Sexual Abuse


~*~

Victims of "Power Birth" Speak Out

I wrote a blog post in February of '09 about a horrific practice I had just learned of, called "Power Birth". (You can read it HERE) Since that time, I have come into contact with more than a few women who were completely traumatized by this "technique", which is nothing more than an abuse of perceived power, and flat out birth rape. Unfortunately, abuse in childbirth doesn't just occur in the hospitals with Obstetricians. Abuse is happening by women who are supposed to be upholding the sacred art of Midwifery. By women who are simply supposed to be a support in birth.

Thankfully women are starting to speak out. Read Mandala Mom's recent blog post about her experience with this "technique", and the PTSD that followed her first birth. This needs to be exposed, and it needs to stop.

If you have been a victim of Power Birth - speak up. Change doesn't happen until things are brought to light.

Power Birth--NOT to be Confused with "Empowered Birth"