–i am loving the submissions to outlaw midwives volume 2. thank you! and there is still more time to submit if you are interested.
–there isnt the term ‘doula’ in most countries i have worked/lived in. i was asked a few days ago if i identified as a doula. and on the hand, yes, i do. but on the other hand, only to ‘northwesterner’ anglophones. the term doula just doesnt make sense in a lot of the world. and i think this is more than a translation issue, it is an understanding of the differences in birth cultures. having a ‘doula’ assumes a lot about one’s medical structures. most of the places the person who sits with a mama during birth is a ‘midwife’. especially if she does so outside of the hospitals. in egypt, this person is called a ‘daya’. which i like because it rhymes with ‘mai’a’.
–i am realizing that n american midwifery is not going to change any time soon. i mean the term ‘radical’ attached to ‘doula’ or ‘midwife’ has so little meaning. ‘radical’ seems to mean, i support unassisted birthing and women’s choice. but there is no analysis attached to this word ‘radical’ — its a lifestyle choice. it isnt invested in dismantling the abusive structures that are at the root of the violence in n american birth culture. feel me? most of the birth workers that attach the word ‘radical’ to their title are really primarily dedicated to ‘choice’ to those women who have access to that ‘choice’. with a few crumbs doled out — like charity — to those most marginalized. that is just not good enough for me.
so i will learn what i can about the physiology of birth from whomever has something useful to give. but lets get real. im an anarchist, an outlaw, a revolutionary. like bob marley said, i see myself as a revolutionary, who dont have no help, who dont take no bribe from no one, fighting single handed, with music.
with whatever this life gives me.
I love the head n heart space that you are come from and realize that I don’t stop in often enough.
I also love the word Daya and have had the benefit of having the “role” defined for me by many Egyptians who remember when…
The Daya wasn’t/ isn’t just with woman, she’s with family, with commUNITY. Cradle to grave for real! All the N. Amer. midwives I’ve met are so quick to want to count catches and “good outcomes” no mention of teen reproductive health, menopause or saving wombs from unnecessary hysterectomies.
yes. yes. yes. i am really getting tired of the focus in midwifery being on catches. and not people and community’s lives. love.